Nineteenth Jump (Kingsman)

Kingsman

Origin: Chav (Free)

Location: A random, decently sized, southern town.

Perks: Unflappable Manner (400cp): I will be almost impossible to startle or panic and I have very good control of my emotions.

Equipment: The Mightiest Pen (200cp): It is a very nice pen... With a point dart inside. 

A Proper Spark(200cp)(Click this.) The Watch to Observe (200cp): A very nice watch with a taser and amnesia darts.

Ah, Such a Relaxing Day

            It had been about a week since we arrived in this modern world and, considering the setting, I didn’t really keep any of my abilities active besides a few cosmetic additions for clothing and the like. No need to scare the populace and, besides, I had a few new toys… Finally have an actual lighter for my cigarettes. Either way, I was sitting in the main room of my apartment, enjoying my weekly glass of rum and watching TV when Bang came running out from the hallway and dived out the front door. “Tadek! Yankaka wants you!” was all he managed to get out as he left.

            If that wasn’t foreboding, the fact that Yankaka stepped out from the hallway with a large, pleased smile on her face as she stepped in front of the TV and leaned over for a moment. Every one of my senses were telling me that I should run for some reason, but I simply set my glass down on the coffee table. “Afternoon, Yan. Is everything alright?” Her hands were folded behind her back as she leaned just a little closer toward me.

“Yes, Nice Guy… It will be, nya. Yankaka found tickets to special event, nya. Tadek take Yankaka?” She asked with a worryingly soft tone of voice, her hands coming out from behind her to show off two brochures to this restaurant that was opening up today, right next to a rather familiar church… Oh well. It was a high class establishment, so I took just a moment to, in a small wave of black, shifted into my usual, classy attire and stood up from the couch to look the cat in her red eyes that seemed to be twitching a little. “Gladly. I owe you a date.”

The Kaka threw those brochures up into the air and jumped up and down with little hops, her usual tone of voice returning on the spot. “Yay! Sweet Guy and Yankaka finally go on date, nya! Now Yankaka doesn’t have to poison your drin-…” She paused for a moment, her ears lowering down a little at her admission. With a huff, I simply reached out to gently rub the top of her hoodie-covered head. “One… That wouldn’t work. Two, we have been over this. No taking Lina’s advice. I forgive you, though, as you seem to realize that would be a bad thing to do.”

Once Yankaka was smiling again, we headed out to the restaurant. The place was for the wealthy, sadly, so it wasn’t really of my own personal tastes… but, as Yankaka was smiling as wide as her visage would allow and occasionally wrenching her braid out of excitement, I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint her… especially not when I felt like doing so would be a very, very bad move on my part. We went to our padded seats, led along by a waitress who gave us about three different menus and took the time to explain today’s specials.

This seemed rather odd to Yankaka whose head was turning one way or the other, her ears and tail twitching with a mix of curiosity and continued excitement. Before we even got our bread, which I had to keep my date from reaching over for other people’s food and keep her attentive with conversation, a man came out, apparently he was the owner of the establishment, and stepped to the front of the room with a microphone in hand to welcome and thank us all for coming.

“Thank you all for coming! This establishment was built as a memorial… A memorial to my sons who passed in the line of duty, a memorial to my wife who died of heart break, and finally… a memorial to all of those who have lost loved ones to the grievances of war.” There was a moment of silence… and me nudging Yankaka with my foot to keep her from speaking up. “Again, thank you. May this restaurant remain open for many, many years to come… The proceeds will always be devoted to aiding those in need-“ He was interrupted as these people with signs and everything else came in, yelling and chanting various religious statements and causing issue.

One of them had the audacity to run up to Yankaka, yelling in her face, questioning her about her appearance and the fact that she had a moving tail and everything else. She, in return, yelled back at him and I took notice of the fact that her claws were starting to show. With a calm sigh, I stood up and moved in-between them, one of my hands reaching down to set itself on her shoulder as she was about to stand up. “Yan, put your claws away.” I mentioned quietly, the man in question glancing down to see those large, sickle-shaped claws that were disappearing into her sleeves.

“And you have no place yelling at her or speaking here-“ Before I could actually get my word across, he went running back to his group and they ran off, yelling something about a demon and needing to cleanse themselves. With a little growl, I gave Yan’s shoulder a gentle squeeze and glanced over toward the owner of the restaurant, who was visibly tearing up, before walking off to follow the group.

This led me to a little, one-room church where I was greeted by the speeches of their priest and, once they saw me, one woman with blonde hair stood up and started preaching at me for whatever reason. Instead of pushing my point, I turned around and started to walk out, all the way up until someone, I couldn’t tell who, yelled out “Be gone! Go back to your devilish harlot and the sinful establishment that you came from!” With a small wave of black, I transformed into a different appearance… Just in case one of them survived. Though, an odd ringing started to sound out for whatever reason.

Fight Scene Link (Click This)

            After I had left the church, having taken care of the disrespectful bunch, I shifted back into my actual appearance and attire before heading back over to the restaurant. Yankaka, for whatever reason, was sitting outside on the curb. “Yan, why aren’t you at the table?” I asked, moving to take a seat down next to her. She was gently clawing at that wooden carving she had of me with a sad expression to her visage.

            “Yankaka wanted first date to be good… They ruined it, nya. Now Nice Guy won’t take Yankaka on another date… First one’s bad, so he will think others are bad, nya.” From the fact that she didn’t seem to notice that I was there and how she never reacted to me speaking, not to mention the way she was talking, it was a safe bet that she had zoned out. I simply reached out to wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her in close with a huff.

            It took a moment, but it did break her trance. “Yan, don’t worry about it, alright? The date isn’t over and, even if it was over, we wouldn’t be alright. I would still want to go out on another one… Just cause a few bastards, may they rest in peace, came marching in wouldn’t change the fact that I enjoy spending time with you. Got it?” I grinned, the Kaka moving to lean up against me, one of her arms moving to slip in around my waist as she did. She still seemed worried, for one she wasn’t speaking anymore, but after a moment I managed to convince her to go back inside with me so that we could eat and enjoy the rest of our date.

            It wasn’t five minutes before we were kicked out when she attempted to knife the waitress for giving me a flirtatious compliment.

Eighteenth Post (Metroid)

Morph Ball… Worth it!

            This time around, we actually found ourselves back in the old Light of Terra… At least that’s what I thought it was considering there were tech priests running around and one of the Eldar on the ship came running by who I personally recognized and who had come with me on the ship. “Sir! Where are we?! What happened to the ship?” He asked as I simply climbed up to my feet and took a glance around my own personal bedroom.

            The walls, floors, ceilings, and even the furniture had taken on a much more advanced appearance. Smooth, lightly colored, metal hexagon plates lined the walls, smooth flooring with more curves and less, well… dark, gritty rails and plates. After going through my head for just a moment, It brought a bright smile to my face as I stepped up to the Eldar and gave him/her a small pat on the shoulder. “Welcome to Metroid this time around. The ship just got an upgrade you might agree with, heh.”

            After I sent him off and took the time to actually explain to everyone what just happened to the ship, which the captain was half and half about, I slipped off to gather everyone up and see about getting us out of the void of space and over to a proper docking area so that I may leave everyone to get acquainted with their 'new' ship and the technology attached to it.

            For now, however, I gathered everyone up into the dining room, except for Yankaka and Bang, who I had asked to leave me alone with the Sisters, of the warehouse for a bit of conversation… Specifically, I needed to talk to them about the fact that they were planning on leaving. Considering how this universe was, it was honestly one of the better ones for them to be left at, if they stayed with the Federation.

            I did my best to try and convince them to continue traveling with me, but as it was their choice in the end, I was less… adamant about such things. They each gave their reasons, Celestian being the most outspoken this time around as what I physically was and what I accepted, my very existence went against her views and, in turn, it did affect the other three.

Cierra’s reason was that she figured that I would be fine without her around, and besides, I could always visit post spark or with the return pad and, since they were probably going to be stuck in timestop, it would be as if no time passed. Fia was similar and, while Lina was a bit more ify about all of this, she settled down once I informed her that I would be visiting… Even if Celestian’s brow furrowed at the possibility. The fact that she didn’t object surprised me, but was quite welcome.

In the end, we parted ways at the first stop that we came to. I left them with the gifts I had given them throughout our time and, well, while it caused my heart to sink that they would be removed from my travels, it was just like anything else. I would see them again, so there was nothing to worry about.

They each did leave me with a memento to remember them by… Celestian left me with the car from Young Justice as she had no use for it anymore, Fia left me with a rather large pile of stories that she had wrote, Cierra actually gave Yankaka a cookbook of her very recipes and asked her to make sure I continued to have something sweet each day to make sure everything was well… which Yankaka was more than happy to agree to… and Lina left me with one of the paintings that she did in her spare time that was of herself. I would explain further, but it’s Lina and Yankaka was twitching a little by the time it was put away, if that answers anything.

Once they were gone, I decided to stay in my quarters for the day… Give myself some time to settle. I still had the picture and Meddy was kind enough to keep me company. While I didn’t want Yankaka around while I was in a bad mood, Meddy has seen every face I have, so I didn’t mind if she spent some time with me. Besides, I assured Yankaka that we would finally go on a date while we were here. Come to think of it… I am a terrible boyfriend sometimes.

We spent time together and went on short outings, but we never went on an official date because of the whitelight virus monster (Which popped up again cause I forgot about the arm.) and because the military was after my hide. Now that we were relatively safe and I had full control of my body… Though, there was something gnawing at the back of my mind, I simply pushed that off to the side. I knew what it was, but it was of no importance as of this moment in time.

For now, however, I took some time to myself to get used to my new upgrades. Because of the combinations and everything, I could actually transform properly… Change appearance, physical sex, voice, everything that I could physically change about myself. Even my cybernetics and other technologies, once integrated, could change with me as they were incorporated into my cellular structure on a level that I physically don’t have the knowledge to explain it properly. In short, the line between biology and technology had been erased at some point for me.

All of this was minor, however… There was one thing that was truly of note, of being mentioned. Setting myself up in the main room of the warehouse where I had plenty of open space before I took a step forward and rolled into a ball. I appeared very similar to Samus’ morph ball from what I could tell, but there were a few obvious changes in appearance.

The outer shell was the smooth, grey carapace of my Prototype armor, a smooth, dusky organic metal running through the gaps with small traces of black running through it all as if it was keeping it held together, the circle in the center of each side being a small, blue orb of similar make to the black material… Aka, organic.

I felt so compact, aware of everything around me and able to… to roll… So nostalgic. I remember playing Metroid Prime back home and this was the most entertaining part of the game. Worth every penny or trouble. I felt on top of the world… up until I realized I was a little stuck. As this was the first time I did such a thing, I was having trouble actually unraveling for one reason or another, which forced me to call out for Yankaka (As Bang was elsewhere.) for aid.

She came in with a little meow, glancing around for me until she caught sight of the rolling ball that was obviously new. “Hey, Yankaka… Can I get some he-“ The cat woman suddenly leaped toward me, barreling over with me in claw as she came to a stop, instinctively… At least I hoped that it was instinct… batting me from side to side, relentlessly rolling me around without any sort of mercy. “Oh, Nice Guy got Yankaka a present, nya! Little racist… but, I love it! He's so nice to Yankaka... Needs to take Yankaka on a date, but this make up for it, nya!” She exclaimed, which informed me that she did not hear me speak from the ball... and that her dangerous attachment may run a little deeper than I thought.

“Yankaka! It’s me! Stop knocking me around, I am not yarn!” I stated firmly, which caused her to pause for a moment. Everything seemed fine until she let out a sharp gasp, her sickle-shaped claws extending from those little slits in her jacket. “Nice Guy alright, nya? Yankaka help… Get you out of that trap gift!” Her toothy grin lowered, her eyes gaining lines to denote anger. Ah… Fuck… Still worth it!

Eighteenth Jump (Metroid) Perks And the Like

Metroid

Location: Hmm… So, I can choose? I choose… That place. That one right there.

Age/Origin: 20 (Does my age matter at this point?)/ [NO-DATA]

Perks:
Find My Way (Free): Something of use or interest always seems to find me or I find it. Hmm.

Justice Will Prevail (Free): To ease the burden of my own mind, my words have apparently become earnest and true.

One With The Galaxy (100cp): No matter how much of me is machine, I will still have a soul and the metal won't interfere with spiritual senses or abilities. I am also a bit better at using esoteric practices to give me new insights into technology.

Power Armor (1500sp free, 1500cp to sp): What’s Old Is New Again – Praetor Suit (100sp), Life Support (Free), Internal HUD (Free), Suit Up (200sp), Bio-Suit (200sp), Power Insulation System (Free), Varia Suit (100sp), Hazard Shield (200sp), Gravity (200sp), Light (300spD), Fusion – Blacklight Virus (600sp), Legendary (600sp), Arm Cannon System (Free), Power Beam (Free), Light Beam (200sp), Dark Beam (200sp), Annihilator Beam (100sp. Requires Dark and Light.), Scan Visor (Free), Morph Ball (200sp), Dark Visor (100sp)

Equipment: Masked Identification Signal (Free): A simple ID that lets me, both physically and electronically, come off as a civilian... Useful.

Recharge Station (Free): Refuels everything in my power armor, repairs it, reloads everything. Simply a warehouse attachment.

Spaceship – Imported the Light of Terra. Now with cryostasis systems, an improved look, and properly FTL. (Free),

Drawbacks: Corruption (+400cp) In short... Mental corruption for awhile that I have to fight off till the end of the jump.

A Ravenous Abyss (+200cp): Everything that could be considered a enemy... Space pirate, alien creatures, and other things of that nature... Is much better at giving killing me a shot.

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Life Support: Provides protection against vacuum, has a self-sustaining oxygen supply, and helps to repair the suit. It also combats toxins/poisons that move past the seal, but it does take time. Only possesses one tank.

Internal HUD: A HUD that depicts the status of life support, weapons (Ammo included), and a map system that automatically updates. Needs to be modified manually upgraded, but it is quite flexible.

Suit Up: Allows me to read as flesh and bone/whatever I am made of instead of a walking tank.

Biosuit: This seamlessly integrates my power armor with my biology, making it impossible to outwardly tell that I have any physical augmentations. It even allows my body to naturally repair the suit. In short, it was turned into special cybernetics.

Power Insulation System: Protects against hacking, general systems damage, and prevents short circuits. The system will reboot if it is compromised in any way.

Varia: Creates an isolated temperature environment for the user. Protects against extreme heat, including volcanic caverns or the lack of heat, such as the nighttime arctic. The internal body temperature of the user’s body can be adjusted at will, too!

Hazard Shield: A self-sustaining energy field that protects against radiation, toxic waste, poison, acid rain, Phazon… Anything of that nature. It isolates them and prevents it from affecting the user. Even if something is strong enough to get through, the shield will still block any poisonous or long-term effects.

Gravity: The suit creates an isolated gravitational field around the user. Pressure and force have a mitigated or nonexistent effect on the user and allows them to adjust the personal ‘gravity’ of the suit as long as some form of gravity exists near them. As a bonus, impact based weapons or things relying on kinetic force do less damage.

Light: If a dimension or world will simply kill you by you existing there, it no longer will. The suit and it’s user will never be altered against your will nor harmed by an environment where bent space, dimensional horrors, or even the howling winds of the soul will affect you. The beings of such worlds will have to fight you personally to have any power over you.

Fusion: A perfect fusion between technology and biology, created from the Blacklight Virus that inhabits my own being and meshed with power armor technology. The benefits are twofold. Any sort of biological natural ability the virus possessed is accessible through the suit and any technology that is installed will immediately integrate with the suit’s biology without fear of conflict. I can even genetically modify the suit like any other organism and the technology will adapt in turn. Not always a 1:1 effect and will require research and trial and error… but, it may, no… is… the link between a bioweapon and a suit of armor.

Legendary: Now the power armor can take damaged/stolen technological devices from friend or foe and immediately install it without error or fuss. For example… Taking the module behind a flamethrower will give me the same flamethrower’s ability… Even applies to stuff taken from cybernetics.

Arm Cannon System: The classic arm cannon! Of course, it is stylized to my exact strain and can, because of the previously stated abilities, be transformed in appearance, but still. Oh and it has the neat ability to toggle or combine weapon systems that are now going to be mentioned and has a switch to set it to ‘stun’ or ‘kill’.

Power Beam: It fires yellow, pellet-sized charges of energy… Hmm.

Light Beam: A high temperature beam of light that is good at piercing defenses, but is also the natural enemy to things that rely on the ‘dark’ or the ‘absence of light’ to power their physical forms and can even be counted as a ‘holy’ weapon.

Dark Beam: This beam acts similar to an acid, attaching to and burning through the flesh and armor of whatever it touches. Even gets worse if it touches vital organs. Even spatially displaced or dimensionally intangible beings can be hurt by this weapon.

Annihilator Beam: This is a combination of both the Light and Dark Beams with a rapid rate of fire, being able to home in on targets without any user input, and takes the best qualities of both beams and mixes them into one. Even has a faster rate of fire.

Scan Visor: It scans individual objects, persons, or otherwise and can give basic, cursory details about the subject in question. If the armor has access to a larger intelligence network or any sort of long-term data banks, it can even give fairly accurate conclusions and guesses about the scanned subjects.

Dark Visor: This allows me to view things that exist in spatial or dimensional distortions between the reality I am in and the one they are “close” to. Also good at spotting portals and the like.

Morph Ball: Need I explain this one? Has the Prototype look and even has those little energy bombs.

This armor also possesses everything from the Praetor Suit and is integrated with every single piece of technology I have had installed in/on my body at some point that would be reasonable to install. What this specific combination is telling me is, though. I can actually alter my entire body... Have to try and figure out where the cybernetics begin and end and where the biological aspects begin and end now... Kinda weird, really.

Installed cybernetics include: The MC Package from Deus Ex, Cyborg Hindu God Body enhancements and Mantra Reactor, Monofilament Whip, Shock Hand, Dermal Armor Plating, Shenfield, and the Deus Ex sunglasses… Even if they aren’t actually cybernetic.

Installed weapon systems: Plasma Gun (LoT), Storm Bolter, Stakethrower, BFG 9000, Gauss Cannon

Seventeenth Jump (Prototype) Part 2

((As a out of character note. Tadek can regenerate the primary cybernetics of his body because of Cyborg Hindu God Body stating that they can be regenerated. However, this does make it to where he still loses cybernetics that are outside that perk. Second... Any weapons formed from his limbs are actually extensions being grown around his cybernetics and not the cybernetic aspects being altered.))

Armor Reference
Claw Reference

To Accept What You Have Become

            Fire and smoke filled the air, people screaming and buildings collapsing wherever that beast chased me. Further and further into the city the fight went, leaving pain and destruction in our wake. I attempted to step away from the city and lead him to a deserted area, but the large, viral monster did everything it could to keep me near these people and the structures they resided within. I came to realize that it was to make sure it continued to have fuel to regenerate and function with, as well as a psychological tactic against me.

            My companions were spread throughout the city, helping where they could to get everyone out of the city while I simply kept the blasted thing busy. It wasn’t in my nature to help everyone, but the least I could do was give them a chance and prevent a few casualties that the abomination, and at times my stray attacks, were causing. Fire worked… Anti-regeneration worked… but, both were temporary as even anti-regeneration was never permanent, at least the form I possessed. Only really worked against the immediate injury and still allowed for extreme levels to surpass it. Heck, I saw the thing pull flesh around the injury for limbs and physical structure to work by bypassing the injury entirely. It simply grew flesh around it instead of healing until the anti-regeneration ceased.

            Sad thing was, it was pulling out everything while I continued to suppress abilities that it had nothing against using, primarily those that came from this world itself and I wouldn’t activate my Ghost Rider aspect or use Mantra… Not here and not against this thing. The downside was I couldn’t even figure out why I wouldn’t… They would help to end this sooner rather than later and it didn’t have access to them.

            I did not have any time to really think about why, instead being knocked through buildings, the monster always caught within the chains of my flail to keep it within reach, but I could not pull it around, only fight to keep it from going off and eating. That was up until it tore the length of the coiled links from it’s body in a show of blood and torn sinew. It’s claws closed in around it and, with a sharp yank, swung me around into a nearby building.

            Next thing I knew, I was on the ground with a chunk of rebar sticking out of my side and glass slowly falling away from my body as each were individually pushed out by my comparatively minor regeneration. Like they say… Material matters not if they can hit you hard enough… Best example from back home was a record that was half-way into a foot thick, wooden pole from a tornado.

            With a sharp groan, I rolled over and took a hold of that piece of rebar, slowly pulling it out from my body while I watched the monster take it’s time to recover. People were running around us, trying to find refuge where they could or simply get some distance. Honestly, it looked as if that walking virus was taking it’s pick from the running humans around it. “Look at them run. Does it remind you of anything? Of anyone?” It asked, taking a moment to stretch it’s claws and transform one of it’s arms into a coiled, bladed length that I personally knew as a Whipfist.

            “Ah, shut the fuck up. You’re just trying to get under my skin.” I forced myself up to my feet, ignoring the concrete that fell away as, despite having been half-way buried in it, the weight meant nothing to me. “Even if I am not a hero, I am not a monster. While that means I can’t defeat you, at least according to what you say, I can at least make your life hell.” The rebar came right out with a sharp hiss of pain on my part as I tore it out of my torso, the thing having just missed what I think was still my liver by an inch or two… Not that such a thing would kill me at this point.

            The creature didn’t comment at first, instead flexing the shifting coils of it’s arm and the massive spearhead where the thing’s fist used to be. “Then, if you’re neither hero nor monster… You shall not care if I feed.” Up to this point, I really hadn’t cared in the same way that most others would. A few dead were to be expected, after all. All were adults from what I could tell… I expected non-adults to be caught in the fight, sadly, but it was something I tried to avoid to the best of my ability.

            My attention turned over toward where the monster was looking. There were two children off near some of the rubble, one attempting to get the other one free of the rocks with tears streaming down his cheeks. The creature looked back toward me before turning and sending that Whipfist out, the links extending and seeming to grow in number as it shot toward the two of them. “Fucking shit!”

            Yes, I expected even the younglings to be injured during all of this, but that was a direct attack toward them. My feet moved first, my arms second, and with only a following gust did I cross the distance. Concrete tore up underneath me as dust blew past, my hands gripping onto the spread digits of the Whipfist to keep it from reaching the children in front of me. Wait… In front of me?

            Glancing down, I realized that in my rush I didn’t actually turn the correct way, the claw-like protrusions that came from the spearhead had gone through various points of my body before I had grabbed them to stop them from advancing any further. Blood ran down my body, those claws starting to close on my torso, catching metal, bone, and flesh at it tried to close. “I… am incompetent… when it comes to saving people.”

            While the children were safe, my feet came out from under me as the monster pulled me close, the length of the Whipfist curving as I flew through the air and was brought straight down through one of the closest semi-untouched skyscrapers, going from the twelve floor straight to basement, the building closing in on itself as glass, concrete, and all came down around me. At least those claws were out of me, but I felt hollow… Physically so, as if chunks were torn out of my body as the spearhead had been retracted.

            I couldn’t see much, but I could feel plenty. My body was wrenched in odd ways… Limbs forced to take unnatural positions, rebar and glass sticking out of my body while I denied my physiology from doing as it should through the use of ‘Toggle’. Hmm… Seems I was going to die here… A world left to die as I would either remain dead or be forcibly sent back… I didn’t know which, honestly. I didn’t like the possibility of either, but it would be my fault a world died, too stubborn to accept the cards I had been given and took so that I could stop something worse than I.

            Nah, come to think of it, that would make me worse. Condemning an entire world to death and worse just because I refused to change and to accept, grasping onto old, corrupted ideals and thoughts simply because I didn’t want to change. My eyes, clouded by dust, stone, and blood, slowly started to close, my body weakening as I could physically feel myself dying… and then I refused.

            My teeth clenched, a broken jaw being pulled back together by dark tendrils, my body slowly pushing up against the weight that was resting upon it. Limbs forced themselves back into place with sounds of shifting metal, bones and metal being forced back into place as wounds closed and fire enveloped them all. As one of my arms snapped back into place, it erupted through the stone to grasp and claw at whatever it could to help pull me through. Thing was… My arm wasn’t that long, the biomass itself listening to my desires to make it all possible.

            When I refused to die, to condemn a world, I accepted everything else. I was no hero… but, I could be a monster… and by what I was given, I wasn’t human by even the descriptions of my perks. I climbed out of that hole, my blackened body crawling out as smoke filled the air, the very stone and metal around me melting from the warp fire surrounding me. “You’re… Fucking… Dead!” I called out to get the monstrosity’s understandably surprised attention. He knew what I could recover from and what I refused to activate… but, I don’t think he expected me to accept it.

            “You’re right… I’m not a hero! I am not even human anymore! Not physically, not mentally… but, that doesn’t mean I have to slaughter others… and I am fucking done focusing on the past!” My hunched form stood up from the rubble, a black and grey carapace growing around it as I stood straight, the flames dying away to reveal the faint, blue ones that escaped from any gaps that they could find in the forming armor. “Always beating myself up over it… Letting the horrors I caused tear at me when it is all in the past! I may not have had a reason to fight, to kill, to go against what I thought was right… Nothing justifies what I have done, but if I let it continue to consume me, I won’t ever grow!”

            My feet slowly stepped forward, my arms dangling in front of me as I stumbled along, my body forcing everything back into place underneath the armored carapace. The flesh and the carapace moved as commanded, my fingers elongating, segmenting into proper, forearm length blades as I continued forward. “Too stubborn to accept new ideals… Too thick headed to realize I could be so much more or even act upon it when I realized such… and I am tired of giving these speeches when I realize something!”

            The creature was speechless, it’s large frame shifting as it actually seemed to take a step back away from my advancing form. “And now… I actually care. I care what is going to happen… Looking forward and in the present instead of focusing on the past. My name is Tadek Pezrin…” I took a solid step forward, my back snapping straight as I did. “I am no longer human, but I am not evil…” I took another step, my claws stretching out as if they, themselves, ached to sink into whatever they could. “And I will stop whatever gets in my fucking way in making sure others don’t do or see what I have wrought before!” If I wasn’t pissed, I would realize how cringy this was.

            After those last words left my mouth I burst forward, concrete beneath me being turned into miniature craters of dust and sundered stone with every movement. The monster was quick to act, knowing full well what was to come. One of it’s arms shifted into the iconic sword and came forward and came forward. I simply walked right into it, my body coming to a stop once it was firmly nestled into my abdomen. “Seems you’re not as scary as I though-“

            I cut him off, one set of claws sinking straight into his arm to hold it still while the other came around to cut it off at the bicep in a spray of blood, fire, and torn flesh as I severed the limb, leaving behind a trail of the blue, holy fire from being a Ghost Rider where I had freed the sword from it’s owner. As the creature stumbled back, I calmly pulled it out, the flesh and metal sealing in behind it as it was freed before simply tossing it away. “Got your arm… You know how many times I lost mine.”

            I had him at this point, the creature starting to turn so it could take a tactical retreat, only to be stopped as I leapt on top of it’s back, those segmented blades tearing and cutting away at anything they could reach till the thrashing, fleeing creature’s very body gave in and collapsed. The flesh that was left behind tried to seal itself, but the fire prevented it from healing too quickly and, after a few seconds of this, it began to slow down any further. Every time it tried to stand, I turned around to grab a leg and tear it away, slinging it away with little care for where it went. Another arm here… Flesh there… Tearing the skull away every few moments till the creature finally stopped moving and it’s regeneration had come to a crawl.

            As a point, I didn’t stop. People kept their distance from what I could see out of the corners of my eyes as I widely tore away at a lifeless, burning corpse, attacking till the blood and the sinew had melted away into nothing but ash and scorch marks. Once it was all over, I eventually clambered up to my feet and started to wander off, the armor, claws, and fire vanishing in a rolling, black wave across my body to be replaced by my usual, classy appearance.

            Taking just a moment to pull out my cigarettes, set one between my lips, and light it before stashing the container away and turning to wander off… Only to be greeted by the watching eyes of a large crowd of people that were hidden away in buildings, behind cars, and various other means of cover and the nervous gaze of those waiting for me to attack. Just how long was I tearing at a body for people to actually stop running? It wasn’t until I saw my companions, who were split up across various points in the crowd that I actually felt a little nervous as to what was going to happen next.

            Celestian would never approve of this by ANY means, nor any of the other Sisters of Battle more than likely. On top of it, Bang seemed to have hopes that I could one day become a hero and I went out and outright denied, potentially even refused the possibly in his eyes. Yankaka, well… I don’t even know how she might act to such a thing when it came down to it after watching me be put through so much, only to do things that no normal being should be capable of.

            They knew that I had all those perks… It was probably fine, right? They knew I was infected, that I had those Ghost Rider abilities… They knew I could do things that humans shouldn’t. I was given my answers when they each stepped forward, a few people trying to stop them only to be put at ease or simply pushed away, depending on the person. First… Were the Sisters.

            Celestian came up and gave me a disapproving glare, one of her hands coming up to adjust her monocle before she spoke. “The initiates and I have come to an agreement, Mr. Pezrin. We had assumed that there was the chance that you may succumb to what you were and we came to the conclusion that, if you happened to do so, we would have no choice but to leave.” That caused my heart to sink to my stomach and, while I did take a glance at the other Sisters, they glanced away uncomfortably. I could understand why, though. For them, they honestly had only been through a few decades, but… They were indoctrinated into certain beliefs and they had few actual ties to continue staying with me at this point. “We will await a suitable universe, however, before we leave… As long as you keep control of yourself.”

            Bang stepped up next, setting his hand on my shoulder as he did. “Don’t worry, Tadek. I will stay around. Even if you think of yourself a monster, I know you aren’t. Even if you are, I shall help lead you onto the correct path!” He stated firmly, offering me a reassuring smile just before stepping away and allowing Yankaka to step up.

            Her ears were pinned back and, really, I had no idea what to expect as to how she might react to the overly dramatic mess I had caused. It took a moment, but she eventually stepped up and simply wrapped her arms around me and rested her head against my shoulder. “Nice Guy isn’t a monster. Not normal, but not a monster.” I simply returned the embrace and, while I realized that I had bigger issues to handle… For one, I need to get all of them out of here before the military catches up and shoots us, but I also need to see if I can work something out with the Sisters, if at all possible.

            All in due time, I suppose… All in due time.

Seventeenth Jump (Prototype) Part 1

Only Heros Can Kill Monsters

            We were sadly split up at the start of the jump. Another drop-in scenario where I woke up with no idea where I was for the most part till I had ran through my head for memories and actually saw what was going on. The Prototype universe… Not exactly where I wanted to be at any given time, but at least it was one of the many universes that I knew something about.

            It took some time, but once everyone was gathered up, we worked on getting out of the city before the quarantine hit and, honestly, it wasn’t too difficult to do as we got out within the first week. It was… heartwarming to see that everyone was with me. Granted, their reasons were a mix of insults, forgiveness, and Bang’s exact words were “You just need an example to set yourself on the path of love and justice!”, so… Eh. Still, I welcomed their company and, after having to explain that I was now dating Yankaka and all of that was over… Which didn’t take long as Bang expected it and everyone else seemed fine after a week or two, we went about finding somewhere safe to set up shop for a while.

            After going through the mental checklist of what I had from the jump, however, I did realize one little issue… There would be something coming this way eventually. I don’t remember when the being actually infected me, but it apparently had and was waiting to find and finish consuming me… That or simply kill me because I was the only threat on this planet for it at this point.

            As we had setup shop in Chicago, we were fairly safe as we were a decent distance from New York. I sadly didn’t know exactly how long it might take for a now super-powered, Ains-level intelligent monstrosity to find us.

            While I hated it, I still had to eat raw biomass… While everyone in the group did know that I was infected, I kept everything turned off… I couldn’t turn off the origin, however, so I had to venture out into the closest forest in search of deer, coyotes, and other beasts to get the biomass required to continue existing at this point and, after enough time, I decided to return to New York… Needed to take Alex Mercer and that one woman whose name I can’t remember. Otherwise, the virus was going to continue to spread, destroy, and evolve.

            As I had my own abilities, I was thinking not at a disadvantage. It took a while to find Alex Mercer, but once I found him, I tracked and followed him for a few months till he found that one woman and, right when he finished consuming her (Just as he did at the end of the first game.), I lit him up like a Christmas tree with warp fire till there wasn’t even any blood left. Simple. The virus couldn’t direct itself, so the hive should fall apart, given time.

            What surprised me was the fact that I didn’t run into the Supreme Hunter. Would have thought that it was going to attack me during my time in the city, but it never did… Considering I could fly, the quarantine couldn’t stop me from leaving once my business was done, so I did instead of trying my luck.

            Well, I should have expected what I found. Everything from New York to Chicago was in ruins. People were outright missing, trees and concrete were torn up, and buildings were in shambles, if they were even present at times… Not to even try and describe what happened to anything they could even attack whatever passed through. I followed along the path as fast as my legs could physically take me. The good news was that I still had the magical aspects and, probably, the cybernetic enhancements compared to the creature, but if what the stuff I was given from the jump was true… This damn thing wasn’t going to die that easily.

            When I got back to Chicago, I was greeted with a mix of gunfire, explosions, sirens, and the yelling of both civilians and military personal. It was obvious that the creature wasn’t actually trying, otherwise there wouldn’t even be a city. “Probably trying to draw me in... I hope that my companions are staying out of it.” I commented with a slightly worried huff before continuing on into the city. Being mindful of myself, I moved as quickly as I could, flashing miles at a time in search of that sentient, viral monster.

            As the usual stories go, it found me before I ever found it. This came to my knowledge with an arm to the face. The monster close lined me, sending my head back as my feet went out from underneath me. My momentum carried me forward, sadly, causing me to skip along the concrete like a stone across water through a few buildings till I eventually came to a stop in a tank that was now twisted and torn metal, the head of one of the crew members sticking out from the wreckage to greet me. “… Ow.”

            With a huff, I climbed out of the wreckage and, just as my feet were about to touch the ground, I found my vision obscured by concrete dust and a large, white-red fist that was soon followed by another, and another, and another. Thing was, I could actually feel my face starting to cave in as these earth-shattering blows connected, each one harder than the last before I could see this grey, carapace-like substance grew around his entire arm before it came down like a hammer.

            Thinking quickly, I used my psionic ability to bring me up and fold inward, barely avoiding the strike that sent jagged obelisks of rebar and stone up into the air. I brought my legs around and snapped them out into the side of my opponents head, send him flying through the obstructions a good ten feet away. While one half of my face was slowly repairing itself, blood pouring out from that side as I floated out of the crater and set myself back down on the ground. “Ah, the-… Thrrre…” I held up one of my fingers to tell the creature, as it pulled itself up out of the stonework, to give me a moment. My free hand reached up to snap my jaw back into place. “Ack… Ah, there you are.”

            The creature was hulking, standing at what I personally thought as over seven feet tall and easily five foot wide with a surprisingly humanoid shape. It appeared similar to a white and red Carnage, only much more massive with broader shoulders and thick limbs. “There you are.” It stated, those bleach-white eyes narrowing while its fang-filled jaw never moved. It didn’t appear to possess lips, constantly baring six inch long fangs that were as thick as large kitchen knives. “Others fled… Will you flee?”

            “No, cause I am a hero-“ I was cut off short, my body dropping into a crouch to avoid a wild strike from the beast, those carapace-sheathed arms flailing over me. I brought myself up, slamming my fist straight into its vulnerable gut, only to be stopped. My forearm was embedded into its gut, the creature preventing me from moving as one of those carapace fists slowly morphed into blades, curved and sharp, reaching out as long as my forearm. “No hero. Denying monster.” It stated before that clawed hand took hold of my torso and physically tore me away itself… Leaving my arm behind in the process. “I know your memories. You deny. You’re no hero!”
            It slammed me into the ground a few times, my ribs cracking and the concrete below raising up with every crushing movement before it simply tossed me aside. It all happened so fast that I barely had time to react, my missing arm causing me quite a bit of pain… What was with me and losing limbs?! “I’m a monster to you. You deny you’re a monster and it takes a hero to kill a monster. That's how stories go.” The creature stated as I slowly climbed up to my feet.

            “Fucking shit… Why do you even care!?” I directed my working arm toward the beast, sending a blinding flash of heat, flames arcing from my eyes as it simply formed a shield to deflect the blast of heat. Flesh melted on contact, smoke and steam filling the air as the monster advanced upon me. It’s free arm took on the classic, elongated cleaver that was iconic to the series. “Worthless. A hero kills a monster… A monster kills a monster. You kill only things monsters kill.”

            From what I could tell, the creature was simply playing with me. We were still in the same area, so I know it was just chatting… Playing with something it probably considered prey at this point. My arm was slowly reforming, but I had lost sight of the first one that I had just lost. I planted my feet and burst forth, the monster’s shield caving underneath the force of my repeated blows before I simply grabbed the edge of his shield and vaulted over. Meat and sinew snapped and wrenched grotesquely under the force of my kick, the creature’s lower jaw twisting before finally snapping free.

            It’s upper fangs dug and tore into my leg, metal and blood flying as it brought that big cleaver around in a wide swing. Twisting my body sharply, I narrowly avoided the blade as it glided across my chest, the nearly monomolecular weapon cutting clothing and all as it went across. With a burst of flight, I flipped back, my hand grabbing at its jaw, completely ignoring the fact that they were impaling my palm as my feet planted themselves and, with a quick push and pull, I leaped away from the monster in a shower of blood, the top half of its head held between my fingers.

            As my other arm had yet to heal fully, I lowered my hand down, planted my foot on the torn portion of the creature’s skull, and ripped my hand free of it’s teeth. The main body never stopped moving, the head visibly reforming in a few seconds as it turned to face me. Our movements, while normal to the both of us, were barely even flashes of color to anyone who happened to be looking, sometimes it wasn’t anything more to a focused observer than sudden bursts of splattered blood and crunching sounds before their brain registered anything happened once we paused our movements.

            My arm had almost recovered by the time the creature spoke, glaring at me once again. “You can’t keep up. You will die.” Just before it finished recovering, the creature moved toward me at full speed, it’s shield melting away to form another cleaver. While I was trying to figure out how the being could form metal, I wasn’t entirely worried about that at this moment. I reached into the black void of my inventory and drew my flail, the chain straightening into a proper haft through telekinetic manipulations so that I could parry each of the blows that the creature sent my way. As I only had one hand currently, I was being slowly driven back and knocked around with each parry.

            This went on for a full minute, sparks flying with every parried blow, my body bending and twisting to avoid any secondary strikes he sent my way, even once I had my other hand once more to brace each blow, the creature’s hulking frame kept forcing me back. Even if we were moving faster than any person could help up with the blows, I forced us to a slow crawl, trying to not lose what ground I had in the process. Every few swings from the beast was returned with a single strike in return, the properties of the flail allowing my blows to shatter bone, metal, and sunder flesh, but the being continued to regenerate faster than I could even damage it. Fire would work, but I couldn’t concentrate long enough to produce anything.

            Wait… I still had Ghost Rider and other flame abilities. Hmm…

Seventeenth Jump (Prototype) Perks and Equipment (Not a Post.)

Prototype

Location: New York Apartment Complex

Age/Origin: 24/Runner 300cp

CP: 1800cp

Perks: Predator (Free): Better than a bloodhound and I now have other animalistic senses, such as sonar. Which I already had... Hmm. What Makes Me Unique (300cpD): I shall always be me, even if I am no longer hu-... I'm still human! Wait, I didn't choose this one. Why does it say that it isn't active yet!?

Equipment: 

Bodyguard (400cp): Companions

Tank (300cp): Why... APC (200cp): ...Not? 

Thermobaric Rounds (100cp): Rounds that function as a thermobaric missile with a 6m radius. Hazmat Armor (50cp): Protects against infection and bullets. Stun Baton (50cp): Has a good enough shock to take on Runners.

Prototype Abilities (1000pp for free and 800pp from 400cp.): Consume (100pp), Canon Weapon (100pp) + Non-Canon Weapon: Meteor Fist (50pp) + Runner Rounds (50pp), Regeneration (600pp), Armor (200pp), Excessive Force (400pp), Transformation (300pp), Critical Mass (100pp), Bio-bomb (100pp): I... Uh... I didn't choose this... Well, maybe the Meteor Fist, but some of this stuff isn't mine. Granted, I am a glitch in the system... Hmm. Wouldn't be the first perk/equipment/drawback I didn't choose. I refuse to use any of this... Even in the game's lore, it says any infected are physically no longer human by any means.

Yankaka: 22/Drop-In

Perks/Equipment: SHTF Senses (Free): Yan can now sense... Good Guy? Hazmat Armor (50cp), Stun Baton (50cp), 

Flamethrower (200cp): Yan can burn away the competition, nya.

Bloodtox Rounds (100cp): The box says they hurt infected. Nice Guy, who are the infected, nya?

Bang: 19/Drop-In

Perks/Equipment: SHTF Senses (Free), Hazmat Armor (50cp), Stun Baton (50cp), Keep Your Cool (100cpD): Never again shall I lose my cool! 

Not a Hypochondriac (200cpD): Nor shall I ever be infected with any disease!

The Sisters: 22/Scientist (Back in Light of Terra, it says that the Sisters of Battle can be grouped together into one slot. As such, they have been returned to that configuration. This splits any perks and equipment they get between the four of them, however.)

Perks/Equipment: Are You Positive (Free): No such thing as a false positive. We will just run the test again. 

Armory (400cp): 100 men armed, thermobaric missile launchers... Girls, you know what to do.

Drawbacks: Supreme Hunter (800cp): This may be interesting... It's a Supreme Hunter that has all of my physical, non-magical abilities. Hmm... Going to have to kill this fucking thing before it does too much damage.

Sixteenth Jump (Harvest Moon) Part 9

By Popular Vote… Once More!

            I had setup shop by a tree for the next two days. The moon was high up in the sky and, funny enough, it actually was a Harvest Moon, so there was plenty of light emanating from the orangish-yellow sphere above me. Probably wasn’t my best idea to run off, but it was for the best all things considered.

            The air was crisp, a light breeze constantly blowing through the area to rustle the short grass and the leaves of the tree above me. Such a classic scene in the end, but one that was extremely relaxing to me. It was a few hours, but I did eventually hear a small bit of rustling behind me. Taking a moment to stand up and turn around in preparation for whatever was hiding away, I let out a little whistle to get the attention of whatever happened to be there.

            Out from the bushes came a Kaka, specifically the only Kaka in this universe, Yanaka. She was holding a small basket in her paw-sleeves, looking at me with her version of concern. “Sweet Guy okay, nya?” The feline woman asked as she stepped up, moving to hold the basket out to me. “I’m alright. Just waiting for us to continue on and see who actually comes along.” As I spoke with a quiet, straight-forward tone, I reached out to take the basket and gesture for her to take a seat.

            With a huff, I dropped back down into my spot, making sure to face the moon while Yankaka did the same. “Everyone’s talking, nya. Yankaka is going to go with nyou. Yankaka doesn’t care… She knows Sweet Guy is a Good Guy, nya.” While she spoke, I went through the basket and come to find a bottle of gin along with a few cookies. “Good to know. Just keep in mind, I am no hero and I refuse to be a straight-up monster… Even if I have already become one in some people’s eyes.”

            The Kaka simply leaned up against my side, which I ignored for the most part as I took a cookie out from the basket and offered it to my companion. “I’m a stubborn asshole, huh?” I stated with a small grin, which I thankfully received one back as she took the cookie from me and began to nibble on it a little. If she wasn’t inhaling her food, something had to be of issue.

            “Yankaka know that well, nya. Nice Guy needs to forgive himself first and then move forward, nya.” I pulled the bottle of gin out while my friend talked, simply taking a second to open the top, allowing her to continue. “Nice Guy knows, though, nya. Yankaka knows, so nyou must know. Do you know what you want, nya?” She asked just as I was about to take a sip from the bottle, but I stopped and set it down on the grass for the moment.

            “Eh, honestly… I rarely know what I want. I know that I need to let go, but I don’t know how. I know how a good person should act, but… I just can’t seem to care for others.” While the Kaka listened to me explain something that I had already done so before, I felt her arms wrap around my waist and gave me a light squeeze. “Yankaka knows you care, nya. Nyou care for all of us. Doesn’t matter if it is because of your heart… Nice Guy still cares.”

            With a light huff, I reached up to slip a hand underneath her hood and rub the top of her head for a moment. As long as I didn’t take a look, my retinas were going to be fine. “Says the recovering yandere. I’ll figure things out eventually…” My free hand reached over to pick up the bottle of gin and, I was about to take a sip, but instead paused. I glanced over it for a few seconds before simply tossing it off into the bushes. “That can wait for the next universe. Thanks for listening and trying to understand, Yan.”

            The Kaka offered me a toothy smile and started to lean a bit closer, but I shut her down by lowering my hand down to catch her forehead and keep her at a distance. That earned me a whine and a few bats of her paw-sleeves to the chest. “So mean, nya! Give Yankaka what she wants!” I gave a small shake of my head and simply gave her a few pats on the head. “Nah. We have yet to go on an actual date, so... Nah. After our first date, then you can.”

            I explained and, while it took a moment for her to catch on, she did eventually give me a tight squeeze and a happy giggle. “Yankaka win, nya!” Well, I was going to have to watch my back around her, but at least the harem wars were over.

Sixteenth Jump (Harvest Moon) Part 8

Tis’ Finally Over

            After the competition, and the full season that was required for everyone to recover from seeing Yankaka’s still unknown visage, everything calmed back down. It was a bit of time, but eventually the end of this jump was coming to a close. It was nice to finally relax, but I was getting bored once again and it was time to move on before we got too comfortable… Which had probably already happened, but still.

            There was one thing I had to take care of before the jump ended, however, as otherwise I might not get the chance to do so in a calm, collected environment. Gathering everyone up a day or two before the jump was planned to end, I had everyone sit down in the house and prepare themselves. It was time to make a decision.

            With everyone present, I glanced back and forth, gathering my wit and will to say something that I really just needed to get off my chest to everyone at once. “Good afternoon, everyone. First off… I am sorry for leading anyone on, worrying anyone, or otherwise being an asshole… Doesn’t make up for my actions, but I wanted to say that to at least know I apologized. Second… There’s a story I have been keeping to myself this entire time and I think that it is best you know.”

            That seemed to get everyone’s attention, the sisters glancing back and forth while Bang simply leaned back against the wall. “Well, just so you know, I personally forgive you for your actions, Mr. Pezrin. As do the other sisters.” Celestian was the one to speak up, the other three giving a small nod of their heads. Yankaka was busy eating, but she simply offered a fanged smile and Bang gave me a thumbs up. “No harm done and you have been getting a little better from what I have seen.”

            “Right, but you really shouldn’t be forgiving me just yet. I… Well, I have done a lot of bad things in my time. Horrible things. More than you all probably know. To put it simply… I killed the entire population of a planet.” While that did shock and/or surprise Yankaka and Bang, the sisters kind of gave me a look. Fia was the one to speak up. “And? Where we come from many have done so… Exterminatus does the same with little issue.”

            With a small sigh and a shake of my head, my hands coming to fold in front of my chest. “That’s just it. That’s an explosive device. I killed seven billion people… One at a time… With my hands. I saw every last face, heard every last scream, and killed everything from men, to women, to children, to… well, anything. I did it because I made a mistake. The mistake was killing the first few and, because of the rules of the universe at the time, the only way to make up for it and have it as if it never happened, was, well… To finish.” The sisters fell silent, a heavy, discomforting pressure fell upon the room while I gave everyone time for this to settle in.

            After a few moments, when no one spoke up, I continued. “While I can apologize, while I feel hatred for my actions, while I can try to make up for it… I know what I did was wrong and I had no reason to start it. As Yankaka came to find out, I really do not like what I am becoming… I am losing my ability to feel empathy, I kill without restraint, and the only thing keeping me sane is my vain attempts to hold onto outdated and rotting morals that don’t even make any sense these days considering they are helping to tear my mind apart.” While I poured my heart out for the lot of them, as this was the time to let them know who they were actually traveling with, they simply sat there and stared.

            Bang seemed very, very uncomfortable, Yankaka was busy eating more and at a much faster pace, and the sisters seemed to be whispering amongst themselves. “I’m… Well, I am reaching my limit. My mind can’t take it and I know something is going to give eventually. Despite what you may believe, I don’t even have control of where I am going in these jumps or what I get sometimes. I know why I jump… It’s better than going home where I will simply be a menace and I don’t trust myself with a spark, cause with it I lose direction and can no longer focus on the adventure and a self-imposed line to follow. I have no control of which universe we go to, what we get sometimes, and I have brought nothing but torment to myself and others for the most part and I doubt that will stop until something finally gives.”

            Once I was finished giving my edgy, heart-sinking speech, I slowly turned and moved to step out of the house. “So, this is the place if you want to stop jumping with me. Stay here where it is peaceful and safe… Or continue along with someone who might snap somewhere down the road and become something completely inhuman. My mind and soul are already past that point… Just waiting for my body to give and, considering I can break the moon with enough effort, well… Hopefully there is something more to being human and having morals than simply emotions and genetics.” After that point, I left and wandered off. I honestly didn’t know exactly where I was going, but I wanted to go somewhere private so that I could actually have some time to myself and give them time to think.

            Specifically, I stayed away for the last few days, waiting for the jump to end. Guess I was going to see who was staying with me once the next jump came around. 

Sixteenth Jump (Harvest Moon) Part 7

The Cook Off!

(This one involved rolls, so even if someone should win… That doesn’t mean they did.)

            While I did have to take a day or two to pry Yankaka off of me once I returned home after the storm, all was well at this point. I even managed to get through a few years without any real troubles… Seasons passed, the competition continued to my detriment, but eventually everything did seem to settle… That was until one main event.

            I thought I could escape it, I thought I was the one to not have to go through it after Blazblue, but no… No… Every harem protagonist (And Ragna) had to go through it before me and so it was fated that everything would conspire against me. Everything fell into place as I did my damnedest to avoid the possibility, but no… It happened.

            It was a calm day, I was strolling through town after finishing my chores and, while I paid note as to the fact that everyone was running around and that there were decorations being put, I didn’t pay any attention to it all. As someone hung up a banner, my heart sank. I had stayed in every single year, but now… now I was caught. Scrambling to try and run off before anyone saw me, I accidentally fell right into the trap of the harem protagonist.

            As I ran off, I tripped over a branch, which led to me crashing into a pile of crates. The crates wobbled gently, only one falling to land in a cart and pivoted it sharply, sending the person that was sitting at the front into the air to land right on top of a random person who was wearing a sash. They appeared to be out of town and, as such, that only made things that much worse for me.

            It was only an hour after that, filled with various bits of nonsense before I was sitting at a table with four other people. I got dragged into being a judge for the cooking contest because I accidentally took out one of the judges and was forced to replace them. To my detriment and personal horror, the competitor roster had four more contestants as soon as I was counted as one of the judges.

            The only real comfort I had was the fact that Bang was sitting next to me as one of the judges, his arms crossed in front of him and a large smile on his face. “Good to see that you joined us this year, Tadek! You’re always hiding away during the holidays, so it’s great to see you taking up the reigns of another in their time of need!” Celestian, who happened to be one of the other judges alongside the teahouse woman and the café man. “Quite. You know that Cierra competes every year. Of course, she wins every single year, as well… I would be surprised if she even had any competition to begin with.”

            I simply leaned back into my chair and reached up to gently rub the side of my head. “Right. Well, at least I will be getting some free food. Who were the other contestants that signed up on the spot?” Just as I spoke, both the mayor of Bluebell and the mayor of Konohana stepped up onto a little, makeshift stage to announce the annual cooking competition and to present the contestants.

            Cierra stepped up, some woman from out of town, a few of the local chefs, Fia, Lina, and then Yankaka. Of course… Why did I expect anything different? The while they all took the competition seriously, each off in their own corner, cooking away at a storm. I honestly expected Cierra to win in the end, but Yankaka did have a perk for cooking, Fia was very talented when it came to learning and practicing new skills in a short time, and Lina… I was pretty sure she was going to poison the food.

            “Bang, are you sure that having all of our companions in the same contest a good thing? One of them is a recovering psychopath and another once tried to drug my coffee.” He turned over to me, offering me a quick, reassuring pat on the back. “Oh, I am sure that everything will be alright, my friend. Besides…” Without any warning, he jumped up onto the table and took what could only be considered a Jojo’s pose, yelling with all his might so that all could hear.

            “This is a competition, Tadek! The heart and soul of the warring chefs of old courses through them! They will not go against each other, they will not sabotage, for they wish to win through sheer skill and determination! A few are here for fun, a few for love, and a few to prove themselves, but all are in this for the true, holy spirit of the contest!” As he finished his speech, the ground shook a little as, apparently, Lina managed to blow up one of the kitchens in a, thankfully, non-hazardous manner, sending Bang straight back into his chair. “Are you sure about that?” He simply gave a nod of his head and straightened himself up. “Of course!”

            While Lina and a few of the other contestants were taken out in the explosion, as their dishes were destroyed, the rest were brought out. On the way to the judge’s table, Cierra was stopped by a bee, which eventually led into her dropping her iced soufflé falling out of her hands and straight onto my head, giving me a bruised forehead and, sadly, disqualifying her from the competition as she no longer had a dish.

            Considering she was about to tear up, I gave her a pat on the shoulder and assured her that I would be more than happy to try it if she ever made it again… Later that day, I had three different flavors of the same exact thing. Worth the tooth ache.

            Fia had prepared a salad that was a mix of mushrooms, chicken, and was actually organized so that everything was separate and distributed evenly across what looked like a specially made tray. It was… good… but, I wasn’t a personal fan of salads, so my score was sadly very biased.

            Yankaka surprised me. She had managed to prepare an odd, but to me it was extremely appetizing, meal. A mix of steamed meat buns from her home recipe, spiced steak resting within a bowl of ramen, and even a chocolate flower set off to the side to help counter the savoury tastes of everything else. That won her the grand prize, considering Cierra didn’t have a dish and everything else had fallen apart… Except for Fia’s salad, but I am a terrible person with biases about food. Sadly, I could not remember anything after that point. During the award ceremony, something caught the back of Yankaka’s hood and pulled it back.

            The only thing I, and anyone else, remember is waking up with no knowledge of what she looked like and everyone in various positions of pain, disarray, and outright horror/bliss. To me it felt like the fucking multiverse had to restart itself and, considering even Celestian’s expression was contorted in what could only be described as seeing something truly grotesque and what could be considered heaven at the exact same time.

            All I knew was that Yankaka won, but I can’t for the life of me remember what she looked like… especially considering I was on the verge of passing out from every cell in my eyes flashing white only for the blood vessels to pop all at once, I would be surprised if I could to begin with. That and I learned one thing that day… Yankaka’s unknown visage is not to be seen in public.

Sixteenth Jump (Harvest Moon) Part 6

Cierra’s Day Off

            It had been a full season before anything of note actually occurred. Everything that needed to be taken care of was taken care of… Yankaka had slain another chicken when I wasn’t looking because she was hungry, but at least she cooked poor Hoolio, I suppose. I lose more chickens to her than I do anything else… We even had a wolf roaming around once and he didn’t get as many. Besides, at least she cooks them for our dinner every now and then, but I am going to have to talk to her about it… We get most of our money from crops and eggs, after all.

            That’s not important, though. I had been drinking a little less at the very least, but not enough to really show in our profits, but everyone else seemed to be a hint happier about it. Especially one person who I saw fairly frequently because of where I usually ate each day, but who was working fairly frequently. This day was apparently her day off…

            So, here I was sitting by the pond with my fishing rod out, simply enjoying the hot, summer day in all its glory. The buss of cicadas filled the air, the fish were biting, and… and… then I felt a pair of hands grabbing me by the waist and lifting me up. I held the exact position that I had sitting down, not even adjusting the fishing rod as I was carried off, and the hook dragging through the grass as I went along. “Come along, Tadek. We have things to do!”

            Apparently it was Cierra… Which explained the fact that she had lifted me so easily. Bang and Yankaka could do it, as well, but Cierra was still taller than both of them. Well, Bang is about as tall as she is, but she’s still physically stronger for some odd reason. I blame mutations. Either way, she carried me away from the farm a good feet before I managed to wiggle my way out of her hold and onto the ground. “What is it, Cierra? I am very busy.” As I spoke, I held up the fishing rod and started to reel it in while she gave a response.

            “Well, I have a day off today, so I thought that we should go on a trip to Bluebell. I need to get a few things from the café there and you seemed just so bored sitting there by the pond, considering you do that every day you can when you’re not at the teahouse drinking.” She leered over me with a small, questioning hum. Though, in response I simply held the hook that was currently holding onto a stick, some newspaper, and apparently some pants that someone had left lying around somewhere. “I admit nothing as you already know what I do to be true.”

            That earned me a huff, her hands coming to set themselves on her hips. “Very well. While you’re with me, though, you won’t be drinking a single drop till we get back. Let’s see how well you do without alcohol to back you up.” She grinned mischievously, turning on heel and, as I was just about to walk the other way, I felt a hand on the back of my shirt that dragged me behind her for the first few feet. “I can see why they were training you as a diplomat… You figured out that words don’t work, so you just pull me along.”

            It wasn’t too interesting for the first half of travel. That was the thing about a peaceful setting… Everything was relaxed, but there was hardly anything of note going on. When we had left, it was quite cloudy, but the both of us simply pushed that off to the side as we left town… which was sadly a bad idea on our part, considering that halfway through the mountain pass it had begun to rain rather heavily. Rain was nothing to worry about normally, but when you were walking through anything involving mountains and the wind was causing you to fight to remain on your feet, it was best to stay out of it all. Why was there even a bad storm near a mountain pass? I have no clue.

            Either way, as thunder crashed above us, we dived down into a small cave in the mountain side and got comfortable. She had brought along a backpack and, thankfully, had a blanket for us both to sit down on. I didn’t mind stone… honestly reminded me of the time I went caving back before I went jumping, but the blanket was quite welcome.

            “Well, this isn’t exactly how I thought it would go. I was going to whisk you away to Bluebell, shower you with good food and win your heart through words and your endless stomach.” She grinned, her hands sifting through her backpack for the moment as if she was looking for something else. I took a moment to reach over and give Ciera a small pat on the shoulder. “Heard about the competition, too, huh? Cierra, Lina told me that you knew about me leading everyone on the whole time… Sorry about that.”

            The tall woman sighed softly, straightening up a little as she glanced over to me with an innocent smile. “Oh, it’s alright… When Celestian told me why, I didn’t hold it against you. Not many know how to handle having multiple women… and I think that guy at the diner back in Detroit after them at one time. You don’t seem to care about others, but you do try to take care of us. You go about it the wrong way, but you do try… Like a proper hero!”

            Without warning, she wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer, her other hand pulling out a little gift from her backpack. “Here! Got you something.” I took a moment to try and slip out of her hold, but she simply grabbed the front of my shirt and kept me there until I took the gift. Then she actually let me go so that I could open the little, ribbon-tied box.

            Inside was a single photo and, while it was difficult to see at first until she turned the flashlight we had been using toward it, come to find out it was a picture of everyone in the group. The four sisters were together, Bang was near the edge of them, Meddy was wrapped around Lina’s wrist, the maid whose name I had completely forgotten was on the other side, and Yankaka was holding onto Bang and apparently trying to gnaw on his head as he went to the ground.

            I grinned slightly, offering her a small nod of thanks. “Hmm… Sweet. Thanks.” I stated simply, glancing over the picture a few times before slipping it back into the box so that it wouldn’t be damaged by the moisture. “I thought, since you have a habit of going off on your own, that it might be best for you to have a picture of all of us so that you don’t forget.” With a small hum, I reached over to give her a few pats on the shoulder. My heart was a little warmer than usual, but… Honestly, I had to thank her for that. Just an ounce of actual happiness again.

            Though, then I came to realize something… I left home without telling anyone and a storm had picked up… That was going to have to be taken care of when I get back…. Shit.

Sixteenth Jump (Harvest Moon) Part 5

The Quartermaster’s Attempt

            A while after I had gotten out of the clinic and back on my feet, I took the chance to get everything back in order. We were missing a chicken, which I could probably blame on Yankaka (I was correct.) and I had to help Bang finish up the barn repairs. Everything was fine, though. It was spring, everything was calm… and then I answered the door and Fia was standing there Celestian holding onto her shoulder. “Good afternoon, Mr. Pezrin. I apologize for any inconvenience, but Fia wanted to ask you something that you may find of interest.”

            The quartermaster, who went about wearing a simple dress ever since we got here, stood there with her hands crossed in front of her dress. “Uh… Tadek… Would you like to, well… Would you like to go get some lunch?” Celestian gave her a little tap as if to remind her of something, her cheeks carrying an extra shade of red. What was this? A cliché anime? “Right. I heard about the competition between the girls… a-and I wanted to… to… go on a date.”

            I glanced up toward Celestian, then back down to Fia, then back to Celestian, and eventually tilted my head off to the side. “There’s a competition? Why the fuck is there a competition?” I could almost hear the needle scratching across the record in the background as everyone went still. Come to find out, after chatting with the both of them for a while, Lina had come up with this ‘amazing’ idea to give everyone a single chance at impressing me and affect my view of them in the romantic sense.

            With a heavy sigh, I slammed my palm against my forehead before reaching over to grab my coat and pull it on. “Come along, Fia. We’re going to get something to eat. Not for the competition, though… I rarely get to talk to you properly, so I would like to get to know the person behind those books you read.” As I spoke, I stepped up, set my hand on her shoulder, and brought her along while Celestian was left behind to hold off a complaining Yankaka.

            Fia was smiling to herself as we went to the teahouse, which Cierra was off today, and went ahead and sat down for a decent meal. While the waitress was off, we both spoke about the current situation with her work. Which, of course, she did find the merchant work extremely satisfying as it was something that she was quite used to. In her words “It was the task that the God Emperor had given me back home and it suits my organizational mindset”. I did have to agree with her there as, from what I could tell, she was very single-minded in her focus. If she was ever given a job, she would put all of her attention and time into it before anything else. Multi-tasking was never her strong suit.

            It was at least a calm afternoon. For me there was no keeping track of chores, no taking care of the animals, or working around the farm in general. For Fia, it was the fact that she got a break… Seriously, I never saw her take a break from her work except when I forcefully dragged her away… One time that was much more literal than I would like to admit, considering her employers asked me to do so one day. It took both me and Cierra to pull her off of the shelf that she had latched onto.

            “So, Fia. How are you enjoying it here, hmm? In general, I mean… Everyone, except for Celestian, seems to be enjoying the calm atmosphere. Granted, I think she just wants to run a town… I remember the mayor getting a little uppity when she tried to institute military service.” As I spoke, the waitress finally returned and set down our food and, of course, our drinks. I had ordered some water and some sake with mine… Trying to at least drink less. Fia simply let out a little sigh at the sight, her head shaking from one side to the other disapprovingly.

            “Still drinking, I see. You do realize that you drinking habits account for the majority of the profits at the store, right?” She commented, her eyes giving me a once-over before she simply reached out to take my hand and pull it a hint closer. “You need to stop drinking. Please.” The normally shy woman seemed quite serious, just as my free hand was taking a hold of the glass that had sake. “Hmm… Why is everyone getting onto me about that? Fine… I won’t drink today.”

            She did have a point, though. That is quite a bit of profit for the store… No wonder they tended to listen when I wanted a specific drink. They knew I would buy it in mass. Pushing the glass aside brought a little smile to Fia’s lips, but she did pull her hands back with a small squeak once she realized that she had been holding onto my hand for a good half-minute after she finished speaking, her cheeks quickly turning red from the realization. I personally paid no mind, considering one could honestly call this a pseudo-date in some regards.

            “Heh, no need to freak out. We’ve known each other for how long now? You’re free to touch my hand, if you so desire… As long as it isn’t for too long, of course.” I commented, reaching out to give her hands a little pat to show that it was alright. I… had no idea what I was doing here. That was quite obvious, considering Fia gave me a little look that was a mixture of ‘are you serious’ and honest amusement. She seemed to take it in stride as she simply took my hand and gave it a small, reassuring squeeze.

            We did go ahead and eat, though, taking the chance to eat before it got cold. Everything was calm after that for the most part. After we ate, we headed back to the farm and sat down by the pond. It was… pleasant, as we simply enjoyed the night, up until she actually said something of immediate importance. “Tadek, may I be honest?”

            I set down my fishing rod… yes, I had been fishing at the time… and glanced over to her, making sure to set one hand down on the rod, just in case something happened to bite this late at night. “Eh, sure… Would rather you be honest than lying at any point. Like that time you said you were installing a new HUD for my eyes and next thing I knew I had an AI in my head telling me to buy you things.” I squinted my eyes, earning a nervous chuckle from the scribe.

            “Right, uh… Sorry about that. The machine ghost wasn’t my idea. But, still… To be serious, I really like you. I don’t care who you choose, but know that I will be around in the end to make sure you don’t get yourself killed. It’s better than back home and I think that the Emperor of Mankind would approve.” She commented, actually managing to get me to smile for just a moment.

            “You could actually say that I might… Well… I might l-“ Before she could finish, all that I heard was a loud, shrill “KIND GUY! HELP YANKAKA! NYA!” before I was tackled by an estranged Yankaka who barreled over me and sent both me and herself straight into the pond with a Celestian running behind her. By the time that I actually settled the situation with Celestian trying to teach Yankaka how to, and I quote, “Act like a disciplined, young woman who does not wear that undignified hoodie and animalistic, cybernetic tail”, which lead me to having to explain that the tail was actually part of her body, which opened another can of worms… but, by the time that it was finished, Celestian and Fia had to get back too Bluebell before it got to late.

            Hmm… Interesting. She never answered my question on how she liked it.