Seventh Jump (Black Bullet: Part 3)

The Release of the Class V’s Army

            It was a cold, December morning, snow coating the ground and the buildings nearby as I walked through the city. I shivered softly as I walked along, pulling my duster a bit more tightly around my body. I was at least able to keep up my work over the past six years… curing as many as I could to the point that the number of Gastrea had actually been lowering quite drastically over the course of the last year and a half, something I was quite proud of… Even if I wasn’t as passionate as I normally was. Granted, I was rarely passionate even before I lost my want to fight, but it became even worse considering that every time I brought myself into the path of a Gastrea, I felt ever worse. They were Human at one point… Were.

            Oh well, it didn’t really matter at this point. I was simply keeping track of the numbers and cases as best as I could to combat the plague that had been assaulting this world. I went over to the local diner that I frequented and got something to drink and to snack on, paying with the money that I was given by Edmund. I didn’t really have a job and healing the infected didn’t really count as I was not compensated for my services.

            People were going about their day as if everything was alright, the waitresses taking orders while everyone else ate. I could see the cooks working behind the little shelf were the food was set out for the waitresses to take… Though, I had to wonder why the cooks were always male and the waiters always female… Hmm… Even back home that was the case.

            As this rather mundane thought went through my head, I raised my cup up to take a sip, only to be splashed with hot coffee, the entire building shaking as dishes and people fell to the ground. With a cough and pained groan, as heat still gave me a lot of trouble, I wiped away the coffee with my sleeve as the air sirens wail filled the air. “Fucking hell… Can’t I get a break? I suppose healing a lot of people counts, but… ack!” I fell back out of the chair from another shake of the ground and, without really thinking about it, I planted my free hand down on the ground and quickly flipped back onto my feet. With coffee in hand, I ran outside with the crowd and looked out from the hill that the diner was set upon.

            While I had planned to keep my coffee, it dropped out from my hand as screams filled the air. It was a Gastrea… It looked similar to a mutated cuddle fish, but was as tall as a skyscraper, dragging itself along the ground with its tendrils with a swarm of Gastrea following along behind it. There were so many… In the air, on the ground, and even crawling over the Class V that led them toward the edge of the ring of Monoliths that was used to ward them off. “How did it… There is no way it could have gotten this close without being seen till now!”

            There were screams drowning out even my own voice, but those were suddenly silenced by the destruction of buildings and people running in all directions, various roars and monstrous screeches filling the air as a painfully large number of Gastrea appeared within the city, visible either due to them filling the air through flight or the falling of buildings. “How!? I… I healed everyone in the city… Even if there were a few left, there shouldn’t be this many!” I leaped into the air and jumped over toward one of the taller buildings, making my way up onto the roof so that I could get a better look at the current condition of the city.

            To put it simply… It was horrible. The scent of blood and dust filled the air as buildings collapsed, people being slaughtered by the dozens, and finally the sound of gunfire and fighting mixed in with the wailing of the sirens, the screams of the citizens, and crashing of buildings. Not to mention that fucking cuddlefish monstrosity that slowly entered the monolith field. I wracked my brain for a moment, one of my hands reaching up to hold onto the side of my head, trying to figure out why so many people were turning into Gastrea at this exact moment.

            “I have been curing people… They shouldn’t be transforming. The Class V… Probably awakened by someone. The masked one… But, why are they transforming. Wait…” I thought it over for a moment longer before coming up with the possibility of what could have caused this. I was using magic to cure them… It didn’t provide an immunity to the infection and, even if it did, the Gastrea virus mutated rapidly… It wouldn’t provide any sort of immunity to that. Why did I not appear as being infected when they did tests? “I was always in the effect… It was repeatedly removed from my system…” As that realization hit me, one of the monoliths fell as two large tendrils slammed into the varanium structure from the Class V, sending it straight to the ground in a large, multi-piece heap that crushed both people, trees, and Gastrea as it went to the soil below. Dust and dirt shot up into the air, only to be pushed away by the flying monsters that went through the air and landed down on any Human or partial Human that happened to be present.

            ‘Beautiful, isn’t it? Seeing all of your work being destroyed in a single movement… To watch as everyone is killed.’ I heard from my left, my head turning to look over toward Kagetane. He stood there, moving his hands like a conductor might as the carnage continued, but would eventually cross his arms behind his back as he normally did before turning to face me properly. His daughter was nowhere to be seen, but I don’t remember ever seeing her in the crowds that I healed… She must have changed. ‘All the violence, all the bloodshed, all the destruction… Poetic, don’t you think? You helped prepare everyone for this exact scenario… Curing them… If they never continued to return, well… They eventually all start to turn at the same time like a batch of popcorn.’

            I simply held onto my head for the moment, the pressure from the stress burning into my head and stomach keeping me from speaking as it practically ate away at my mind and body. It was my fault in a way… I tried to stop a plague with an instant fix that gave no lasting effects. I didn’t think about the fact that a non-natural cure would not provide a lasting immunity and, even if it did, the virus mutates rapidly, so it would be temporary either way. I set everything up for this world to die…

            One of my hands slowly reached up to gently rub my tearing eyes, trying to clear my vision and gather myself as I looked out over the destruction before me. ‘So… Are you going to watch and enjoy the show or are you going to become your title? Will you feel remorse over this and just fall-‘ “Will you just shut the fuck up!” I called out, my body acting on its own in such a fashion that my hand appeared against his throat, my fingers curled in close so that, instead of punching or grabbing him, my palm slammed into his throat and send him flying away and into a distant building, not to be seen again. “Alright… I fucked up. I fucked up majorly… but, that doesn’t mean that I can’t at least TRY and fix it. Absolute morality has no place here… Can’t save everyone, but… If I cause a problem and put those I helped into a position that is a living hell just because I tried to do what most people consider to be right...”

            I reached out to the side, my hand vanishing within the void that was my personal inventory for a moment so that I could slowly pull out my sword. “Well, fuck absolute morality… Fuck the thought that killing is always bad. That saving people is always right… I am going to do what I feel is right! In this case… If I brought them hell… Then I shall bring them peace and cut out the cancer that I brought before it kills this world!” With my sword in one hand and my other slowly taking on its malfested state, Medusa actually crawling out of my pocket to merge with me after such a long time apart. ‘Going to slaughter a world again, aren’t you, Aaron?’ I let out a small huff and simply reached up to give Meddy a little pet to ease her worries. “No… Only that cuttlefish son-of-a-bitch and anything that gets in my way.”

            I adjusted my stance, trading the sword from my left hand to the right. “They shall know my regret… Even if it is extremely edgy.” With that, I toggled my aura, a sudden silence coming over the city… at least to me... There was still violence, but all of my attention focused itself onto that giant cuttlefish-like Gastrea as it continued to pull itself forward and destroy anything that came within range of its body and tendrils. I planted my feet into the top of the roof before leaping forward, tearing up the shingles of the roof in a burst of dust, plaster, and ceramic. To avoid destroying even more of the city, whenever I reached the point where I slowed down, I jumped off the very air (I don’t know how… I just could double jump because of a perk. I was told not to think about it too hard.), sending me ever further.

            A flying Gastrea leaped up to try and attack me, Meddy quickly glancing down and coating its front portion into stone. I brought my legs up to slam into it in a spray of stone and blood before leaping off of it to continue toward the Class V. This was an incredibly stupid idea to be going after it… but, I had to stop this creature and try to break up this attack.

            I continued forward, leaping from roof top to roof top, across the sky, and using random Gastrea as stepping stones as to stay off of the ground and buildings. I came within range of one of the tendrils that came around toward me. With a quick reaction, I turned and brought my sword around. “Negate Regeneration!” I called out, the blade glowing a sickly green as I brought it down into the tentacle. The momentum of the tentacle pushed me back, but it eventually severed itself as I went flying back. I flipped in the air, bringing my sword off to the side. If there was one thing I knew about large monsters… They had to be taken down quickly.
            Time slowed down around me, the colors taking on a tan color as I prepared myself. I placed various Xs across its body in a zig-zag pattern, five in total that ran from the head to the back of its body and a final one back at the head to complete the attack.

            “Dimensional… Evisceration!” I burst forward, a blur that went across the top of the Gastrea’s head before slamming into the stone, only appearing for that instant before vanishing once more. Every now and then concrete and a trail of blood appeared where I had to land on the ground or, occasionally into a building to continue the attack. The final slash was quite visible as the final result was me appearing in front of the beast, purple blood flying into the air as a wide gash slowly opened up across the top of its body. Wait… I forgot to transform into my vampire form first… Shit. That single thought hit me as I held my sword off to the side and slowly started to step forward. This wasn’t a single attack… It was honestly a combination of Deadeye and multiple Dimensional Slashes, which… Really hurt.

All at once, my muscles seized up and started to burn as if I had worked them much too hard. On top of it, there was a sudden feeling of exhaustion that went through my body. I forced myself to remain standing, slowly trying to take a step forward as the beast behind me slowly fell to the ground. The other Gastrea noticed that their leader fell and converged on me. They stayed a certain distance away because of my aura, but I knew that they wouldn’t stay away for long… If I pass out, they will tear me to pieces.

            “Well… Let’s see how lucky I am…” Is all that escaped my lips before I fell to my knees and then the ground with a small thud, everything going dark as I went to the concrete.

            I eventually woke up in a hospital, Meddy curled up on my chest while my malfested arm was, well… no longer monstrous. No one was present except for a nurse, who called for a doctor once they realized that I was awake.

            Come to find out… Edmund came running in after me with the support of others once they realized that I had fallen. Well, isn’t that convenient? The only reason that many of them helped was because of the Gastrea and the fact that, now that we knew that it was only a temporary cure, we could figure out how to better keep people cured and avoid this situation again.

            I remained for the rest of the time that I had in this world, helping how I could, but… I left Edmund here as this was his world and he would be better suited for helping those present. At least I got to do something awesome, heh.

Seventh Jump (Black Bullet: Part 2)

When the Butcher Comes to Hate The Slaughter

            ‘Ah, good evening, gentleman. Do not worry, I am not here for you.’ Said the man in the top hat, his face hidden away behind a white mask depicting joy. He had appeared without warning, dropping in from the ceiling to land with a small click of his shoes. When he straightened up, his arms were crossed behind him and an initiator had landed beside him with blades in hand. ‘I am here for that little lass you have been listening to. Though, I fear she may be older than you can imagine for a twelve year old.’

            Without thinking, I already reached down toward my sword as everyone else grabbed their various firearms and drew them. Without thinking, they opened fire on the man and the girl at his feet, the bullets stopping mere inches from him before being sent back in a hail of lead. I drew my blade and, stepping in front of my friend, I parried and cut down every stray bit of metal that came our way… and accidentally destroyed a rather gaudy lamp that was standing nearby. No one would miss it.

            As bodies fell to the ground in resounding thuds coming from every point around the table and even the guards that had been present in the corners of the room. I held my sword up, the tip of the blade pointed down toward the ground as I usually did whenever I planned on striking first. “Ah… Fuck… Not you. Shouldn’t you be dead by this point in the story?” He simply chuckled to himself, one of his hands casually drawing one of his pistols to point it toward Edmund, right over my head. ‘Oh, Rentaro keeps me busy, but I would feel ashamed not to give someone of your reputation a proper greeting, Regret. After all, I am a fan of your work.’

            He brought his free arm around and clapped roughly three times to show his approval, his hand thudding against the gun as he did. Though, that act simply made me rather sick to my stomach at the thought. “What do you want, hmm? Here to stop my advances… If not, then you have done such a thing… or at least brought them to a speed bump. Though, why shouldn’t I kill you where you stand?”

            I couldn’t tell what he was feeling because of the mask, instead, he simply brought his gun back up toward Edmund… and then snapped down toward me to fire a few of those varanium bullets and then back up toward Edmund, firing a few more as a follow-up. With a quick thought and a shift of my body, I hopped just high enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Edmund and deflected the bullets, a few managing to slip through my defenses as I was distracted by Kagetane and his daughter leaving through the hole in the roof that they came through. To make matters worse, I honestly think that I was… tired. Just… Tired. I didn’t have time to think about it, however, as I fell to the ground and, as that rare sensation of pain started to seep in, I fell forward onto the ground with a light thud. “Dang it, Edmund… Need to work on your reaction speed. I think I am going to take a nap…”

            It took a full day for my regeneration to kick back in after that, as I was too exhausted mentally to force it through the use of my other abilities. I am not sure what was causing this, but I simply did not feel like fighting this time around, so I took my chances with remaining in bed most days until they forced me to climb out of bed and return to healing those that were infected.

            This lasted for six full years… I just… I just had a hole in my desires. I couldn’t enjoy combat or challenge. It was as if I found no reason in it anymore. Why should I continue fighting when I have already killed more people in more ways than even a middle schooler’s edgy favorite character ever think of doing? The desire to fight was simply gone, even when I ran into the situations where I had to fight, I simply, took them out as quickly as possible. No thought, no try at giving them a chance or making their death creative, I simply slaughtered them in the quickest, least painful way possible.

            There were two years left before I ever ran into the chance to redeem myself and reignite my passions… At least that was what I told myself as I watched everyone turned into Gastrea before my eyes.

Seventh Jump (Black Bullet: Part 1)

Black Bullet (Jump 7)

1000cp

Starting Location: Detroit, America

Origin: Initiator… This is what I get for allowing people to vote.

Abilities: Roach (Free): Your flesh is harder than most and your wounds quickly regenerate at a speed that allows you to quickly recover from all but the worst injuries. While you can take a considerable number of bullets or some seriously heavy blows, you have a vulnerability to varanium and weapons made of this material bypass this perk.

Rabbit (Free): You're incredibly agile and strong. Your kicks pack a punch and your punches have quite a kick - you're strong enough to easily use an anti-material rifle, but your kicks are powerful enough to render it unnecessary. Not only can you jump incredibly high, but you can double jump. Don't think too hard about it.

Owl (150cpD): Your vision is improved to ridiculous levels and you gain the ability to see in the dark. The incredible detail lets you bypass all but the best illusions and camouflage. You're also extremely effective with any kind of ranged weapon, be it a simple bow and arrow or a railgun - when you take aim, people start taking cover, or they start dying.

Mantis (300cpD): Your ability with any kind of blade is nigh precognitive - expect to easily be able to deflect firearms and defeat CQC experts in close combat while you've got a blade or two in your hands. Parrying is reflexive for you and you've managed to deflect attacks that you didn't even see coming. That's how good you are.

Dolphin (150cpD): You have improved intelligence - you almost certainly won't make dumb mistakes like accidentally using high explosives in a stealth mission. You haven't poured molten lead into your eyes recently, but if you had you'd probably be fine, anyway. You've got echolocation allowing you effective blindsight and can 'see' through walls.

Let’s Get Tactical (100cp): Your uncanny ability to analyze the battlefield even while in the worst situations has saved your life - and the lives of others - on more than one occasion. You have an instinctive knack for determining the best approach to any given fight and isolating any opponents vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

Equipment: Varanium Weaponry: Overlord Sword “Yet-to-be-named” (Free): Provides you and your companions with a supply of Varanium based weaponry. Think swords made of the stuff and varanium bullets (guns are provided). One weapon for yourself and one for each companion is provided. In the notes it states that you can have one existing weapon upgraded with the alloy for free.

Shenfield (300cp): You've been upgraded with a cybernetic neural interface that allows to remotely interact with machines. With this, you can control remote 'Electronic Eyes', floating UAVs (Four are provided for free with sensors, but no weapons), and sentry guns, turrets, and the like. You could theoretically modify other machines to work with this upgrade.

Well… What the Fuck, Jumpchan!?

            I let out a little yawn, my body rolling over on the soft bed that I was curled up on. While that wasn’t too odd, as I woke up in a bed for the last jump, I simply pushed it off to the side of my mind and slowly sat up. My hands came up to gently rub my eyes, the all-but-forgotten feeling of sleepiness still hanging over me as I pulled my hands away and climbed out of the bed as a whole. Hmm… Odd… Don’t remember having any interest in stuffed animals to such an extent as having five just laid out in one corner. Eh… They were organized, so probably nothing.

            With a small huff, I made my way over toward the bathroom, my memory functioning just enough to know where it happened to be, one hand rubbing at the top of my head as I went. I quietly hummed as I stepped up to the counter, my eyes half-closed as I grabbed my tooth brush and started to brush my teeth. Just felt like doing it after what… seventy years of not doing so because of my body mod and the settings I went to? Didn’t really matter. Either way, my eyes slowly started to open entirely. Brush to the left… Brush to the right… Brush to the left… and then jump to the right in surprise. “What in the ever-living fucking shit!?”

            My body went through the wall, hanging half-way out into the living room, the toothbrush falling onto the chair that happened be positioned there while I went into a literal fit. Only took a few moments for me to pull/break my way out of the wall that I had made a new hole in and ran off toward the TV (As it had a reflective surface) and looked at the reflection.

            Barely four foot tall… shoulder-length brown hair… turtle-print pajamas meant for a fucking eleven year old, maybe ten… “What in the fuck, Jumpchan! Why a fucking child!? I can’t spread my violent, angst-filled justice with this!? I can’t be edgy as a child! Children aren’t edgy, they’re outright terrifying! Well… Could be edgy when I get to middle school… No, wait… I wasn’t that edgy till high school and even then I wasn’t that edgy- Why is my voice so high pitched?”

            Before I could conjure up a reason as to why I was on the verge of squeaking out everything that I said, someone picked me up by my ribs and turned me around. A tall, purple-haired man stared at me with an obvious sign of distress and, to make me as uncomfortable as physically possible, he even pulled me into a hug… I think he was trying to comfort me… I think… I really hoped that I was correct.

            That seemed to be the case as the man reached up to give me a small pat on the back. ‘What’s the matter, Laora? Did you have another nightmare?’ I simply froze for a moment, one of my eyelids twitching as the realization, and a chunk of the memories, hit me all at once. I was a ten year old girl… In the Black Bullet universe... and an Initiator to top it all off.

Without really thinking, I popped up, grabbed him by the collar and yelled out “I will kill you until you die!” and then headbutted the man in the nose… Thankfully, I hit with only a small fraction of my strength, so I only broke his nose and not outright kill him. He dropped me to the ground, grabbing at his bleeding nose as I crawled back from him at first before eventually just dropping to the carpeted floor with a small whine.

My eyes were glowing bright red, but I forced myself to calm down, the glowing eventually fading as I did my best to gather myself and come to terms with what was going on. It was temporary, of course… It was temporary. Just ten years. Ten years… With puberty and everything… but, ten years. At least five fucking years of bleeding!... Well, I suppose that is one thing. I will finally understand what it is like to be a woman... Hmm.

As I continued to go through the various thoughts coursing through my brain and tried to correct myself, the man stumbled off to find a paper towel and plugged his nose, only taking another moment to apply a bit of gauze and a tongue-depressor to keep it all in place. He made his way back over to me and simply, and obviously holding back his anger as, if my memory served, this wasn’t the first time I had lashed out because of a scare… Good. ‘What has gotten into you, Laora? What happened?’ The man crouched down in front of me and I took a moment to pull out a small paper talisman and heal his injury. It was the least I could do and, because of the rules of this jump, he didn’t react as if it was odd.

“Nothing… Nothing. Everything’s fine. Uh… Sorry about the wall, Edmund.” At least I was able to sort through everything and remember who he was and, it seemed, that he was my promoter. Well… He was nice, if my memory served and, despite breaking his nose, he was still showing kindness. I climbed up to my feet and glanced down, wiggling my toes for a moment in the fluffy socks I had. Alright… First… These have got to go… They are comfy, but this just feels so… so wrong…

Seriously, I am a guy in a trenchcoat… This is very wrong. Ten years… Just ten years of this. I wandered off toward the kitchen, though, trying to remain calm and just act half-way normal after all of the things that had just happened. I was stopped when Edmund pulled me right back into a hug from behind. “Look… I appreciate this, but… I’m ten. This is very, very odd and very, very uncomfortable for me.” He simply patted me on the head for the moment, trying to help in his own way. I gave him five seconds before finally just breaking his grip, turning around, and giving him a sharp kick to the stomach… Being mindful of how hard I actually hit as to not outright kill him. “Fucking lolicon!”

After that event, I spent the first few months adjusting to what was going on… At least until I remembered that, given time, I would transform into a monster… Taking that into account, I spent a full year gathering the materials and worked on creating talismans. Specifically, I was creating talismans that could remove disease and, to at least remove the worry, I cast it on myself first and then Edmund. I did fight during this time, but… Even now they didn’t pose too much of a threat as long as they weren’t Class III and even they didn’t prove to be too difficult.

It took two years of this and, while they were wondering why my percentage chance of transforming wasn’t going up, the organization that I now worked for didn’t seem to pay it much mind considering the fact that it meant that they continued to keep a resource with a high-success rate, but I eventually gathered enough resources and took enough time to create the talismans that I needed.

            That was where the hard part came into play… I now had to somehow find and cure EVERYONE as only I could use the talismans. It didn’t even appear to be an easy task on paper, let alone in action… So, I did the best thing that I could. I went to the organization that was running all of this… The Civil Security Corporation. They might listen… After all, it meant that they might finally have a chance at winning against the Gastrea instead of simply surviving. Class Vs would still be an issue, but they did take one out before.

            It took quite a bit of effort, but I did show that I no longer possessed the virus by allowing them to take a sample of my blood for examination, but they finally did allow me to present to them a way of ending this threat and even a suggestion on how to combat the Gastrea after the cure is dispensed… Though, it would be very slow. Fast compared to only doing one at a time, as I could do up to one hundred people per talisman, but that is still a rather extended period of time.

            It was a rushed effort, but they called everyone to a meeting, me and Edmund standing right in front of a large gathering of the top officials of the various CSC that existed in the world. They just needed to listen and watch and, as a sign of good faith, they actually provided another cursed child for me to demonstrate.

            It was all going well… All things considered, as Edmund had to speak most of the time… Seventy two years and I still couldn’t speak in front of people, only ending up a blushing, stuttering mess half-way through the presentation. Still, it was all going very, very well… Until the man in the top hat and mask appeared…

Sixth Jump (Red Dead Redemption) (Part 3)

Redemption of The Bandit

            It was a few more years before anything of note, but I already had it in mind of what I needed to do. This was a short event…. I went to the ranch that John possessed and was shot down at, arriving just in time to see the government officials driving and running off. I personally had to hide as to avoid another slaughter… of them.

            Either way, I slowly stepped up to John’s corpse, his bloodied and hole-filled body laid out in a pool of his own blood. “Get up John… You’ve paid your debt. Be with your family.” I stated as I raised my hand, the Ring of Elru that I possessed glowing with a bright light that slowly enveloped his body. His wife and son came riding back as the spell finished, my head turning to look at them as they rode up. “He’s alive… Give him some time to rest.”

            His wounds closed, bullets pushing out of his body to fall or roll off to the dirt below as I spoke, right in front of his family, but thankfully it was fairly subtle at this point. Without another word, I simply turned around and walked off. Along the path, I was greeted by the Strange Man who stepped up and slowly walked beside me. ‘You interfered, Aaron. You interfered with John’s fate and this world as a whole. Care to explain yourself?’

            I continued to walk, one of my hands reaching up to carefully adjust my hat. “Cause John redeemed himself and the government went against their word. On top of that… I don’t want Jack going down the path that I and his father have. I don’t want him to know the path of violence. He has killed now and seen death, but this way he won’t seek revenge.” The Strange Man let out a little hum and followed along beside me, his arms habitually folded behind his back. ‘You’re odd, Aaron. Slaughtering so many innocents… but, caring that someone should not be killed for crimes that they have repented for. You know he’ll die.’

            “Yeah… but, he won’t die due to things that he tried to prevent and make up for. He did what they asked and they betrayed him. He made up for his actions, but still paid for them. His debt was paid, yet they still cashed in. Now… Time for me to leave.” I turned to look at the Strange Man and gave him a small pat on the shoulder. “Wouldn’t you agree? You should stay… I am sure that John wouldn’t mind hearing your commentary.” After I finished speaking, I vanished back into the multiverse to see where I would end up next.

            ‘Hmm… Very well, All in due time, Aaron. All in due time… Stubborn fool. At least he’s learning…’

Secret Santa!

Secret Santa

            One day Bremer would find a special bottle sitting on a small bar stool in the middle of his warehouse. It would be a 14” tall, black-red bottle with various notes laid out around and tied to the bottle.

            The label appeared as if the bottle was wearing a coat, the cap styled in a wide-brimmed hat with the words “Trenchcoat’s Tavern Special: Condolences and Regret”. The liquid inside of the bottle appeared to be a darker rum with a reddish tint coloring the drink. Tied by a small, thin string around the neck of the bottle stated that the drink was of 180 proof and contained “venom” from Twilight vampires with a disclaimer stating that the venom was actually the juice from blood oranges.

            The notes laid around the bottle were from Tadek (Aaron) and the companions/non-companions that he had with him. They all possessed the message “Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, ya’ bastard”, though, there was one stating something slightly different. “I was your secret santa, so… Yay… Don’t know if you drink rum, but don’t worry, it won’t affect your psionics. How do I know that you have psionics? Well, that’s for me to know.”

Sixth Jump (Red Dead Redemption) (Part 2)

Abraham Reyes… The Mexican Tyrant.

            It was quite a long time before I did anything else of note… Mostly taking on bandits and trying to make up for what I had done in the previous jump through actions, despite the fact that I had reversed everything after the slaughter. To be honest… I could feel something scratching at the back of my mind during that whole event, but… Not something to be brought up. Closest thing I could relate it to was how I felt whenever I was writing my horror stories, but… That wouldn’t be a good thing.

             I was sitting on a crate at my camp that I had setup near the San Luis River and the bridge that led into Nuevo Paraiso. I was hunting at the time, mostly out of boredom… Bounties did keep me busy and at least gave the lawmen a chance to not shoot at me until after I turned in the bounty. After that, though, I was lucky to get out without a piece of lead between my teeth that I had to spit out.

            As I was thinking over how, being who I was now, was quite over-powered compared to this setting, the Strange Man walked up, only letting me know that he was present with a small whistle as he silently walked forward. I glanced up from a book I had grabbed off the last guy, giving the man a small nod and a light, but obviously not pleased, grin on my part. “Ah… Strange Man… Welcome. What is it this time, hmm?” I asked simply, having at least gotten halfway used to his appearances. He kept me busy.

            ‘Oh, many things, Aaron. A man was killed at Thieves’’ Landing, John is helping with the revolution across the bridge, and there may just be something of interest to you occurring in a few more years.’ He rambled on, stating a few other things of account that he should have no real knowledge of as he crouched down to gently poke at the fire I had made with a small stick. ‘You don’t like me, Aaron. You never have.’

            As he spoke, I closed the crudely-made (At least compared to what I grew up with.) book and set it off to the side. “What do you want me to do this time, hmm?” The man before me set the stick down and climbed back up to his feet, crossing his arms behind his back as he did. ‘I like you, Aaron. You’re very stubborn about your ideals. Remember that winter back in Corbin? When you wanted breakfast and, instead of accepting that offer from your mother to get a ride, you walked miles in your summer attire in below zero temperatures. How many miles did you walk, Aaron?’ He asked, a small groan escaping me before I answered him. “Two miles for sub-par eggs, bacon, and coffee. What are you getting at?”

            ‘You don’t like me, Aaron… but, you don’t like other people even more. Abraham will take Mexico in another day and I would like you to give him some advice, if you have the time, that is. Just do what you think is best before the dead roll over in their graves.’ After he finished speaking, he turned and started to wander off before I could even respond. Taking note of who he was talking about, I simply stepped over to my horse and climbed up onto the beast. “Hmm… Was planning on paying him a visit, anyways.”

            I rode off toward Escalera, going by horse simply because I was lazy and it looked a bit more… time-appropriate. I knew of Abraham… He would become a tyrant of the people he “freed” as soon as he was in charge, prevent elections, and probably continue his rampant series of laying women that he lied to… Not to mention the fact that he would cause the undead apocalypse later on, if given the chance. It was time for me to pay him a visit.

            I led my horse up the winding, hill-climbing path of Escalera around nightfall two days later, watching the various people around the area as they were hounded at by the rebels that had freed them quite a few hours before hand. I was even half-sure that I saw John in the crowds, but I ignored it, simply walking up to the middle section of the town and climbed off of my horse. I could easily go through the front door through force, but that would not be the best course of action right now.

            Instead, I pulled out one of my talismans and, with a quick word and the disintegration of the item, I vanished. Didn’t matter if people saw me, they would probably count me as a mirage or a trick of the light, considering the hour… Maybe. Either way, I quietly made my way through the partway open gate of the gated mansion at the top of the hill and wandered into the building, carefully timing my movements with those of the guards. Stopping when they did, moving when they did, and waiting for them to open doors before slipping inside.

            It took me a minute or two to remember where the man’s room was, but once I remembered, I quickly made my way to it and stepped inside. The door was closed, but I opened it this time around and made my way inside, Reyes and his two guards looking up from the map they were looking over as I reappeared before their eyes. “Hmm… Not celebrating, Abraham? Don’t have a whore on your arm… Oh, wait… You always go after the virgins and toss them to the side when you’re finished. Quite obvious which one is worse.” I stated as I kicked the door closed behind me. ‘Who the fuck are you?! Guards, get this puta out of my sight.’ He stated firmly, the guards approaching with their pistols drawn.

            To make a point, I allowed them to approach… before allowing them to fall. One of my hands was held up, my knuckles turned as if I was admiring them. “Hmm… Amazing what a light tap to the side of the head will do when someone can’t react.” Reyes responded by pulling his gun and shouting out ‘Eres un hombre muerto! Guards!’ (You’re a dead man!) before unloading his revolver into me. With a light grin, I made my way forward toward the man, one of my hands reaching up to grab my hat and bring it down to my chest. “You’re a very… very self-motivated man, Reyes. Remember that fling with a maid that you had when you went to Europe? Got you kicked out of school.” I started to say, simply letting him empty the cylinder before reloading. He was backing up toward the window, angrily shouting various phrases (Which I could only understand because of the Overlord jump.) as he did so. There was a rifle set nearby, but I paid no mind to it.

            He, however, moved to grab it. “What about Luisa, hmm? Tossed her to the side… Though, don’t you call her Laura?” I came upon the table he had been sitting at and simply stepped up onto the edge of it. “You don’t want freedom for your people… You want power!” I stated firmly as my foot came down, the table snapping in half, wood-splinters flying in all directions, along with the larger chunks of the table. I may have overdone it, as my shoe had left a good print in the floor from the display. It didn’t matter at this moment, so I simply continued forward.

            Reyes held up his rifle as I came within only five feet of him and pulled the trigger. To my surprise, I felt it… I actually stumbled back a little bit from the force. He grinned broadly and reloaded as I straightened up, my hand moving to put my hat back on properly. “Hmm…” Instead of evading as I should, I let him fire off a second shot as a test. This time it caused my head to rear back, my head jerking back from the hit for just a moment. “Ow…” I stated simply, my body blurring in that spot before I was directly in front of Abraham, my hand firmly holding onto the hot barrel of the gun. Now that DID hurt, but I wasn’t going to show it.

            “Thank you, Reyes… I needed to see how much I could take.” Just at that moment, various people charged into the room, pointing various guns at me from rifles, to pistols, to shotguns as I leered down at their so-called leader. “Let them shoot… It will make my job easier. I simply have a request from you.” He tried to pull the gun away from with all of his strength, the only thing that was budging was him from the effort he was exerting as it appeared to be the only thing that could hurt me. There were many things he had that could, but this was the only thing he knew of.

            “Stop whoring yourself… Lead your people properly… And if I catch you doing anything stupid… I will kill you. You understand? You will hold those promised elections and, if you get the chance to go into the tunnels below your new home… Don’t. If you do, I will kill you much… much more slowly.” I let go of his rifle, only to be cold-clocked upside the jaw with the stock, of course not so much as moving an inch from the hit. I simply took the rifle from him and turned, facing his gathered goons who weren’t firing simply because I was standing in front of their leader. “You know… Intimidation might not be the best course of action at all times… Hmm.”

            I stated to walk forward, those guns brandishing their weapons at me for the first while before it appeared as if I had vanished. In actuality, I went at my full speed and went out the nearby window, heh. I did my best to get off the grounds and came to a stop outside the village, dropping the gun to gently hold onto my hand. Fire could still harm me rather badly, sadly. At least they didn’t know that or they might use it against me.

            After gathering my new rifle and calling my horse, I went back over the bridge and toward the campsite that I had made a few days ago… The Strange Man probably had words for me, but… At least no one died, right? Maybe two concussions, but… No real deaths… I think.

Sixth Jump (Red Dead Redemption) (Part 1)

Red Dead Redemption Jump (Jump 6)

1000cp + 300cp

Starting Location: Henningan’s Stead

Identity: Drop-In (Free) Age 28

Abilities: Basic Shooting Skills (Free): If you’re going to be living out here you’re going to need to know how to shoot. You can hit a target with the rest of them, you’re nothing exceptional but you won’t be a laughing stock at least. Comes with the knowledge of how to maintain 19th century weaponry as well.

Horse Riding (Free): Living out on the frontier without knowing how to ride a horse? That’d be insane, good thing you know how to ride with the best of them.

Dead Eye Targeting (300cp): You can slow how you perceive time to the point that a second can stretch out to ten. You can hold it for five seconds before having to wait a minute for it to recharge. While in this state you are also able to plan actions that after deactivating this ability you can take at

speeds far exceeding your usual reflexes.

Drifter (Free): You’re not the kind of person to set down roots. As such you’ve learnt how to stay out of the spotlight. A small town that gossip about the mysterious stranger would normally be

common knowledge in a few hours? You’ve learnt how to keep your presence a secret.

Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane (100cpD): You’ve got an air of mystery around you, and any supernatural abilities, if you are not extremely blatant, can be attributed to coincidence. After all it’s not like you can see the future right?

A Regular Annie Oakley (300cpD): You’re easily the greatest marksman in the world. The things you can do with a gun boggle the mind. If you worked on this gift you could reach the point that you could hit a fly from a hundred metres. You can reload faster than most can blink and draw a pistol before they can even think to do that.

Whistle (200cp): When you whistle you can summon a horse that will run out from an area that no one is looking and come to you. The horse is an average horse with no exceptional abilities. If the horse is killed you can whistle for a new one after an hour.

Companions: Strange Man (100cp): He calls himself an accountant... in a way. An enigmatic

character; this man dresses in a black three-piece suit with a black tie and top hat. He

will never give you his name, share any information about who he is or go out of his way

to help you. If you take him to other jumps he will frequently disappear and you will

have no means of ascertaining exactly what he was doing. He appears to be unable to be

harmed by any means found in this jump. He will occasionally direct you to situations

that will test your morality and give no indication of what he thinks of your choices.

Occasionally he will give you information that will be helpful in the future. Might come

with the perk Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane.

Equipment: Guns: Schofield Revolver (Free): It’s the Wild West, everyone has a gun and now you do too. You gain a weapon of your choice such as a revolver, shotgun or rifle that could be found in the old west. You also gain a cigarette box sized supply of ammunition that restocks when used to reload

your weapon.

Moonshine (Free): Moonshine is an illicitly distilled alcohol made in a homemade still. This bottle has a special property though, when drunk it temporarily increases any abilities that grant

increased perception by fifty per cent. This bottle refills once per week.

Elegant Suit (100cp): This is a business suit and appears elegant to all who view it. This also ensures that any attempts to bluff or lie while wearing this suit are more believable.

Drawbacks: Bounty (100cp): There is a considerable bounty on your head; many people will

attempt to claim it.

Wanted Man (200cp): The Bureau of Investigation is after you and wants you

dead.

The Strange Man Arrives…

            ‘Welcome to MacFarlane’s Ranch, Aaron… Or should I say Tadek? Regret? You always did like titles.’ I heard as I woke up in a rough, pre-1920s bed, dust and dirt filling the air as I climbed up to a seated position, my legs crossing for my own personal comfort. “Hmm? That voice- Ah… Fuck!” I stated rather harshly as I looked off to my left. A man with a handlebar mustache, dressed in a tux and a top hat, looked at me analytically, but not judgmentally. “The Strange Man… Ignoring John and coming after me, hmm?” I asked, my body turning so that I could set my feet on the hard, wooden floor and politely look toward the man I was talking to.

            He straightened up, his hands coming to fold themselves behind his back. ‘No, he still has my attention. You’re an odd one, Aaron. You know what you did was wrong, yet you still did it. For what? Not power… I know you. You could care less about power. You simply have it so that you can do what you think is right.’ I climbed to my feet, watching as the man paced around the room. My equipment and clothes were scattered around the room, so I started with my shoes and went from there. ‘Except when you are asked to kill and, thinking that to correct your mistake, you chose to kill every living thing on an entire planet… a modern planet… instead of letting them kill you. Not one to take the easy route, hmm?’

            With a sharp huff, I pulled on my duster and took the time to gather everything that I would actually have visible and put it on my body… Namely my new revolver and that bottle of rum I always have with me, Meddy coming into view by sticking her head out of my pocket. “Let me guess… You’re going to ask me to do something morally just or morally wrong, aren’t you? You seem to know me well enough… So, you realize I am not one who doesn’t know about these worlds.” I asked, taking a moment to load my pistol and stick it into the holster on my hip. ‘No, but there is a friend of mine in Armadillo… I feel like he will be attacking someone soon. If you have the time, it would be real kind of you to advise him on what he should do.’

            I picked my hat up off the nightstand and brought it up, gently setting it down on the top of my head as I spoke. “Well, I got nothing better to do right now. I’ll go give him some advice. Though, it’s not my place to judge.” I stated, turning to the door and reaching out for the angle. ‘But, you do judge, Aaron. You have judged every person you have come into contact with ever since you could do something about what they do.’ My head snapped around to look toward the man who was no longer in the room, having vanished in that time since I had looked away.

            “Strange Man… Granted, that’s his title and he can’t even remember his name.” I stepped out of the building and into the hot sun, my appearance at least giving me the appearance of an albino at the moment… Could be a good thing or a bad thing, considering the time period. With a sharp whistle, a horse coming from around the corner of the building I had appeared in. I climbed up onto the beast and gave it a gentle pat on the head. “Hmm… At least I have something to do and I know the area decently.” With a snap of the reins I was on my way toward Armadillo… The classic western town. Speaking of which… Where was my tavern?

Armadillo and the Bandits That Call it Home

            It was a fairly short ride to Armadillo and nearly a straight shot from the ranch that I had appeared in. As I rode into town, I slowed my horse to a small trot and led the horse over to the saloon. Off to the side next to the saloon, once I had come around the bend, was my tavern from the looks of it. At least I had a place to stay and some form of income. I climbed off and hitched the horse, barely paying any notice to the fact that various people were giving me an odd look. Well, it was probably the clothes… My aura of malice was turned off, so I know that it wasn’t that.

            With a small, quiet hum, I stepped into the saloon, glancing around for the moment as, well… I just realized that I was never told the guy’s name. Shit. Hopefully the bartender knew something and, going off that thought, I stepped over to the counter and took a seat. The saloon was oddly quiet and, if I didn’t know any better, I was half sure that they were looking at me. One guy took out a folded up piece of paper out of his vest and took a look at it and then me before simply putting it away.

            “Excuse me, good sir... I was looking for someone… Did anyone around here look like they might be up to something? Planning on some sort of violent act?” As I spoke, the bartender glanced down a little bit. ‘I think someone wants your attention.’ The bartender stated, gesturing over to an approaching man. He was a little heavy set with an unkempt beard and a double-barreled shotgun in hand and pointed up toward me. ‘You got’a bounty on your head, friend… Just come quietly and your brains won’t be splattered all over the counter.’

            “Hmm… Right. Do you know a man in a top hat? I think you’re the guy he asked me to find. Are going to do something violent?” I asked with a grin, taking a moment to pull out my bottle of rum and, after grabbing a nearby shot glass, brought it close and poured myself a shot. The man shook his gun at me and brought it real close to my face, making sure that I could actually look down one of the barrels. My free hand shifted just enough to gently rub the top of Medusa’s head to keep her from jumping out. ‘Get out of that seat and come with me! Last warnin’!’

            I picked up both my bottle and my glass, holding them up high as I climbed out of my seat. “Alright, alright… Don’t do anything hasty. We wouldn’t want to have the good bartender to be stuck cleaning you up off the counter.” I stated, only to have the butt of the shotgun hit my face, a loud crack filling the air… From the gun. ‘What the fuck…’ My assailant muttered while I simply tipped back my run and set the glass down. “Yeah… That’s not going to work, good sir.”

            He attempted to bash me upside the head again, the wooden frame of the shotgun visibly cracking while everyone watched with sheer horror as the attacks simply did not work. “Sir, please… I don’t want to harm anyone… but, if you do that again, we’re going to have to talk here instead of out there.” I warned, giving a motion off toward the door with my raised hand, just to be silenced with another sharp hit from the shotgun. I resisted the urge to simply beat this man down, suppressing the emotion as my hand snapped down to grab the barrels of the shotgun and jerk it out of his hands. “Would you stop that!”

            I let out a sharp huff and handed his shotgun right back over to him before turning and walking off. “Remember… Violence isn’t always the best right without-“ My body stumbled forward, dust filling the air as everyone ducked and jumping away from me with a loud bang that silenced everyone in the room. A second bang filled the air, my body stumbling forward a little further for the moment. The room remained silent, my body standing there for a few moments before I slowly fell to my knees and then… I simply climbed up to my feet and turned to face the man. “What did I just say? Violence isn’t always the best answer… Now, if you were more polite, I might have listened.”

            He just shook in place, his lips trembling as it seemed as if I wasn’t injured in any way. With a shaky hand, he tried to reload his shotgun while I walked toward him. “I wear metal plates under my clothing, if you were wondering how I am still standing.” I explained, which was quite the lie at this point… I was simply unphased by bullet fire of the caliber that he possessed. More powerful firearms would work, but that wouldn’t. ‘S-S-Stay back… Someone get the sheriff!’ My free hand reached out to take hold of his firearm and jerk it away once more, tossing it across the room and out of the building through a window. I at least tried to hide my true strength, but I was still learning how to hold back, so I could only do much.

My hand came to rest on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze and a pat to get his attention. “Please, just let me leave quietly… And don’t go doing anything violent unless you have a proper reason, alright? Protection of others and defense of oneself is good enough… As well as hunting, but don’t attack someone who hasn’t done anything to you.” In response to that, he pulled out a slip of paper and held it over to me. It was a bounty poster… Hmm.

            I opened it up and took a quick glance. It was me, of course, with my current name of “Tadek Prezin” and a decent list of charges. Murder of an innumerable people, physical and mental corruption, theft, loitering, extortion, intimidation, assault of law enforcement, murder of innumerable law enforcement, conspiring with dark forces (False!), being edgy, and not properly caring for a pet snake. Wanted by the Austin Territory as a whole and the United States Government. Dead, preferred. “Wait… Why do they care about the last two? And I do take care of Meddy…” Either way, I folded the poster up and slipped it into my coat pocket.

            The man I had been standing in front of quickly turned and ran off, but I simply ignored him at this point. I wandered out of the building and was quickly greeted by a good thirteen men with badges and guns. ‘Freeze! Stand down or we will shoot!’ My hands twitched, a few knives filling my fingers, having dropped down from my sleeves. “Please, I simply want to leave. I know that you are just doing your jobs, but do you really think that you can kill me?” ‘No… They don’t. Doesn’t mean they won’t try.’ I heard from behind them, the Strange Man walking along as if it was just like any other day. “You’re here to watch me aren’t you? See what I do?” ‘I did say that my friend might just doing something violent.’

            With a small sigh, the blades vanished and, instead of going the lethal route, I started to walk forward. Of course, they opened fire without a second warning. My body jerked slightly every few moments, one of my hands reaching up to grab my hat when it was targeted, but I continued to walk forward into the hail of gunfire. It wasn’t until I was standing in front of one of the barrels did they stop firing.

            “You’re done.” I simply pulled the gun away from the man and tossed it away. He pulled out his revolver and I did the exact same with it, using it to break the barrel of another gun that I threw it at in a spray of metal and wood. I pulled out a talisman and a short sword from my coat, breaking out into a sprint on the spot to go through and cut every single rifle and shotgun they had into various pieces and then taking away their revolvers, simply dropping them, unloaded, at their feet. I came to a stop in front of them, holding the many bullets in one hand and the talisman in the other. My short sword, which I had reinforced as to even accomplish such a task, had vanished. “Memory Blank.” I called out, my talisman glowing for a moment before giving off a bright flash.

            I put my things away, dropping the bullets to the ground as I wandered off. “No deaths or theft this time… Destruction of private and public property, sure.” I told the Strange Man as I climbed up onto my horse and rode off onto the road before the law enforcement came to their senses.

            ‘Still violent… but, violence to prevent bloodshed. Hmm…’