jump

by asbs

not mine

9. 9

p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I was no longer Sio Jang, the guilt-ridden survivor-slayer of Whispering Pines, but I, EssJay, was not doing well, emotionally speaking, over the next few days. The nightmares when I slept were horrifying, and I kept flashing back to the horrors of war I'd seen in Starfleet, the Zombie Apocalypse, as a SPECTRE, and in the all too many wars I'd fought across all too many jumps. I'd been through far too much to allow what I'd done in Psychonauts destroy me, and had ways of fighting off the worst of the darkness without collapsing utterly, but meditation and medication only go so far, and guilt is a powerful agent. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"So it was that, one the seventh day after the end of Psychonauts, when I saw that Redwall was the next jump in the sequence I almost wept. Might have too, had I not so completely internalized the emotional control techniques I'd gained from being a Vulcan. It's strange what sticks with a person, but while the treacherous voice of doubt and self-loathing was speaking in my head, whispering that I'd make an utter hash of this too, the voices of my better… selves… pointed out that a) dwelling in the past was unproductive and b) I had a pretty good track record for not fucking up royally, and c) while there would almost certainly be pepper grinders in Redwall, they were unlikely to be wielded by mad scientists with a fleet of psychic tanks. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to lighten my mood, but moping didn't earn the Choice Points needed to keep the lights on./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Also unfortunately, I'd never read more than the first book of Brian Jacques' sprawling series, although I knew the names of a couple of the latter books. It was all very… Secret of NIMH without the mad science… lots of woodland animals living together and being medieval in the ruins of a Human built abbey or something. The details hadn't stuck too firmly in my head, especially not with the voracious way I used to consume media… not that I'd slowed down, of course./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Sure, I hadn't encountered any Jump setting that wasn't linked to something created on Origin Earth, but that didn't mean it wasn't ever going to happen. And sure, I was spending a lot more of my time pursuing other hobbies… but thanks to my reading glasses I could read eighteen times faster than before. Shame I couldn't process audio files eighteen times faster as well. Someone should invent '18x Galeforce Hearing Aids… or maybe that would blow out your eardrums and core your brain… but probably not. Of course, I could cheat outrageously in other ways./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"By giving Ziggy a stack of books in my pokebag, then using my ability to bring people inside my mind for up to a full day, every day… a day worth of time in which the outside world was paused in time and no one, not even me, was getting any older… I could effectively sextuple my reading time… assuming that I was reading only four hours a day otherwise. Add to that the fact that there were literally two-hundred of me inside my own head? Yeah… we could go through a frightening amount of books in a day… even if most of those books ended up being read multiple times./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"What can I say? Different me's had different perspectives on things. You try having a book club with twenty or thirty of your own pre-incarnations some time. Of course… that was another question… were they pre-incarnations of the current me? or reincarnations of the original me? Or were they both at the same time? Being a jump plays merry hell with metaphysics sometimes./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"So yeah… Astral Layers had taken my ADHD to terrifying new levels, though there were now so many of me that I could be spazzing out in a dozen ways and an outside observer would never know because the me in the driver's seat could be (almost) totally focused. But secretly? On the inside? I could now have enough thought processes all running around inside my head simultaneously to rival Parliament… Congress… the Kinesit… which country was I from again!? I'd been from so very very many… or not really that many, actually… who's to say?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"In terms of 'Real' nations I'd called home (either as a native or emigree), I'd lived in the US (many times), the UK, Norway, China, Japan, Estonia, France, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Austria (pre-WWII), Poland (post-Aku), Scandinavia (both during the Viking Era and after), and Jamaica. I'd also lived in Hoenn, Pokeland, Council Space, Black Marsh, Vulcan, The United Federation of Planets, Bastion's 'City', Megakat City, The Nowhere Islands, Mirkwood, Gondor, Midgard, The Southern Water Tribe, The Earth Kingdoms, Republic City, The Fire Nation, The Maegi-Yternal Technocratic Hegemony (realm of MYTH? I'm hilarious!), The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros (which became The Republic of Jaynusia), Remnant, Gensokyo, Fiore, Academy City, and Poketopia. And soon the world of Redwall, right? /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"According to my spin on the Wheel of Locations, I would arrive a few miles from the ancient mountain of 'Salamandastron' (a name I'd seen on book jackets but never known to be a mountain), currently the dominion of Lord Stonepaw (whoever he was), just as the armies of the wildcat Ungatt Trunn (whoever that is) are marching towards it… though I'll have a head start. So yay? I could run from the armies of some guy right into the hands of the… I dunno… guards of some other guy. Except here the guys were a cat and… I actually had no idea what Lord Stonepaw was… or who the good guy was./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Anyway, a few seasons (out of the 40 we'll be stuck in Zootopia) from now… then… from jump start, a warrior named Luke (etc.) would… will set out to get revenge on some murderous pirates… are there really any other kind? I mean really. Well, I guess in fiction, there were honorable pirates who just pirated as a economic thing and didn't murder, rape, or enslave others. But they were still thieves who routinely ruined people's lives at gunpoint. Even privateers weren't fighting warships, they were raiding commerce, and that meant ruining economies and making people's lives so bad that their government couldn't continue a war. That was bad enough at the best of time, but since such piracy was usually part of a campaign of terror? It was so much worse. Getting rich off of it was just… deplorable./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"So yeah, I guess good for Luke. At least he seemed to be a reasonable sort. Shame about them killing his wife. Had no idea who the pirates were or what species any of these people were… though all this did raise some interesting questions./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Fantasy racism gets a bad rap sometimes, but when you're dealing with actually different species, each with their own mentalities shaped by evolution and neural chemistry, with different strengths and weaknesses… was it still racism? Was Specism really unfair of the sapient tigers were all murderous sadistic fucks? If the Guinea Pig People were as stupid as a bag of hammers? If the Weaselfolk really did have attention spans measurable with a high end olympic stopwatch? Was it sexist to say that female peafowl were drab, male spiders tiny, and male angler fish functionally useless? Was it transphobic to be confused over which sex a clownfish was this week?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"One argument would say that it wasn't as long as one treated each of them with respect regardless of their differences. That was a fair statement, in my opinion. Looking down on someone just because they were an actual snake was wrong… but how did one deal with species that were too different, too aggressive, too stupid, too foolish, too sadistic, too destructive, too… much?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"When did one cross the line from tolerant and respectful to just being a sucker? The Xenomorphs might be sophonts… but they were the kind of sophonts you destroyed with atomic fire as soon as possible or you found yourself regretting it just before your chest was ripped open from the inside out. The Orcs of Sauron, the Orks of Warhammer 40k, the Gremlins of Gremlins… Demons and Vampires, Tyranids and Zerg… some species just didn't play nice with others. Were there species like that in this world? Was it that optimistic a setting that everyone was redeemable if you tried hard enough? Or did nature override nurture? I guess I'd find out./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Age and Gender were both free picks, which was an interesting (and welcome switch). Maybe that spoke to a high level of optimism in the setting? Or maybe the Jump Crafter didn't think making someone pay for something like that was very interesting. All the backgrounds were free. as well, which was something I hadn't seen that often either./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I set aside the question of age and gender for the time being, though I was fairly certain I'd be female. I'd only been male twice now (outside of the Maegi King-Priests), once to avoid the sexism of the early 50s (the glassblower Solomon Judd) and once thanks to a glitch (ex-cop Sam Jones). I had three male forms, courtesy of my Jusenkyo Curse, which allowed me to could gendershift in general, but Soap of the Joketsuzoku was entirely female of gender, regardless of her sex. I'd make my final determination once I had an idea of who and what I was going to be and kind of person that would be./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And that meant Background and Species, of which there were four and fourteen choices respectively… with Species divided into three 'alignments'; Goodbeasts, Vermin, and Neutral… I guess Redworld wasn't that optimistic after all./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Wanderer Background was the rootless vagabond with no history or family or memories… the drop-in in other words. It didn't speak to me… the last person I wanted to be right now was Sio Jang. whose memories and personality had been spun off into a new astral layer as she faded from primacy… but EssJay was a close second. Sio Jang might carry the weight of those deaths (and was being tended to by some of the King-Priests who had experience with survivor's guilt), but EssJay's choices and foolishness had brought her to that pass and not protected her. Sio had been nine; EssJay had been fifteen-hundred times that age. One of them should have known better. A break from both of them seemed in order./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That left three options, and neither Warrior nor Scoundrel appealed to me at the time, for obvious reasons. In fact, in my current state, not only did the relatively pacific Abbey-Dweller seem like a good idea… it seemed like a warm hug… emotionally speaking. A warm hug more than one part of me desperately needed… as for deserved? Who can say? Forgiveness is hard to ask of the dead./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Up next was the choice of species. Maybe it's girlish of me… maybe I was just counting on there being a Stewart Little, Secret of NIMH, MAUS, Mouseguard, or American Tail jump sometime in the future… but being a mouse now, with so many other choices, no matter how prevalent Mice might be in the books (although, as I've said, I'd only read the one), seemed silly. Shrews were out for the same reason… a mouse by any other name and all. Moles have terrible vision and live in dirt. Hares, as much as I love bunnies… I dunno, the lack of binocular vision would get to me, I think, no matter how good the hearing is./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That left Squirrels (poofy tail!), Hedgehogs (spiiiikes!), Badgers (growf!), and Otters (weeee!). With all due respect to the Herbivores… I'm not one. Sure Hedgies are mostly insectivorous and Squirrels are tree rats… they'll eat anything… but I'd rather go with something higher up the foodchain./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Of course, Badgers and Otters are both relatives of the Ferret, so there was certain appeal there. Sure, I could go Vermin and take Weasel but Vermin couldn't be Abbey-Dwellers (or Warriors for some reason) just as Goodbeasts couldn't be Scoundrels. Racial profiling there… or species profiling, I guess. Birds were tempting, but cost two-hundred. Badgers were very cool, but cost three-hundred (as did Wildcats). Serpents cost a whopping six-hundred, which was just bonkers. I couldn't see paying for species, unless there was some kind of amazing bonuses attached to them, especially since I wanted to avoid Drawbacks if I could. Too many negative associations. So Otter it was./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Before the system took me to the perks, a pop-up popped up on screen (as they are wont to do). It said it was 'A Note On Scale, Both Temporal and Spatial'. Essentially, it was there to make it clear that the books were less than clear on the exact length of time things took or the sizes of the creatures of the Mossflower region. As such, some clarifications were in order./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"First, on the subject of time, my stay in this world would be pegged at forty seasons, not ten years, and while the small creatures like Mice and Shrews could expect to reach an age of, perhaps, eighty or ninety seasons, the larger creatures, such as Badgers and Wildcats could live considerably longer, while the 'reptiles' could live longer still. Since Otters range from about half the size of Badgers to considerably larger, depending on the subspecies./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"As for size, a thing that had confused me very much as I'd read the titular "Redwall", was just how big the creatures in question were. It seemed to be mice-sized mice living in the ruins of a human-sized Abbey… but wasn't always consistent on that subject. I had wondered how, say, a shrew and a rabbit, which aren't even close to being on the same scale, no matter how small they may be to a human's frame of reference, might function in the same environment./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The average shrew (assuming we're speaking of the Eurasian water shrew, which is large in shrew terms) is about eight centimeters long and weighs perhaps sixteen grams. The Etruscan pygmy shrew is the smallest real-world mammal by mass, being perhaps four centimeters long and weighing slightly more than a tenth as much as the water shrew./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"By comparison, the European Hare, which shares the same general range as both the shrews I mentioned, rangers from sixty to seventy-five centimeters (all of these measurements exclude the tail length), and mass between three and five kilograms. That is, for the mathematically disinclined, on the order of seven to ten times the size of the larger shrew and two to three-thousand times the mass of the smaller one. A halberd for a shrew would be a toothpick for a hare. Clearly, that was not going to work for a shared environment… not to mention equipment and cooking needs./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"However, in Mossflower, the mightiest badger (real world mass on the order of ten kilos… assuming they aren't bulking up for hibernation, when their mass can reach some eighteen kilos) was little more than twice the height of the average field mouse (fifteen grams). Thus, for the duration of our stay in Mossflower, all our stuff would be scaled to fit the world, regardless of the implications of the Square-Cube law… and anything we took from this world would scale up to human sized… thus maybe a meter and a half or so for a shrew and perhaps two and a half for a badger. That would make me one very big otter, once I left this world behind (Eurasian otters routinely outmass European badgers)… though both of them are dwarfed by the Giant River Otter, the largest weaseloid in the world… which is roughly man-sized even outside Mossflower./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Speaking of rivers, as an Otter, I started off with the perk 'Born in the Streams' for/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" free. Not only did it make me better at swimming than almost anyone else, allowing me to swim upstream against a raging river, or keep my head above water in a hurricane, it also came with an overall boost to my strength, and made my belly a bit tauter. Mmm… abs. Sexy… not that I wasn't already lean and tight. Still, I do enjoy swimming, so being better at it was a plus./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The freebie I got as an Abbey-Dweller was called 'With Open Arms', and it made me better are find community, security, and family… or, if necessary, founding them. It gave me a sense for how to make a good first impression, and how to quickly integrate myself into any sort of loose hierarchy I might be invited to join. It wasn't a guarantee that I wouldn't find myself cast out if I continued to violate the rules of those communities that had welcomed me, but it did mean that, at least on a first offense, I'd be (probably) be given the benefit of the doubt… especially if it wasn't something egregious./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Those were both a good start, nice, wholesome, the kind of thing a world weary veteran of the psychic wars… not to mention several other kinds… would want. While I was at it, I figured I might as well check out the rest of the Abbey-Dweller line… and having checked it out, I figured I might as well take it. Lock, stock, and fermenting barrel; all for the low low price of six-hundred Cheese Points… Cheese? /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I blinked, looking at the coins for this jump. Yes… indeed, they said '50 Cheese Points'. Cows were not on the list… nor were goats or sheep… How the hell was there cheese in this world? Rabbit's Milk? Were they milking sophonts? Did this world even have beasts of burden? For that matter, were the fish of this world sophonts? Because what else was anyone not an herbivore going to eat? "Hey, miss Hen! Can I trouble you for a dozen of your unborn children?" I don't think that would play very well… but maybe there were both sophont birds and non-sophont birds? Were there deer to hunt? And were they human-scale or abbey-dweller scale? This was going to bother me… but back to the perks./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And speaking of food, 'Wholesome Home Cooking' made me a culinary genius, one able to whip up a delicious four course meal on a moment's notice, or keep a whole abbey fed for weeks under siege conditions. It gave me knowledge of all the various local cooking styles and the ability to make vegan substitutions nearly indistinguishable from the real thing (ha… I'd believe that when I saw it). It was even future-proofed, allowing me to learn the most popular meals no matter where I went. It was, all in all, a fun little boost to my steadily growing art portfolio… plus… you know… tasty tasty foodie-noms. Best thing about Jumpchain, swear to god, was all the food I'd gotten to try over the centuries. And never having to worry about what eating seven cheese-cakes and enough brownies to cover an entire soccer pitch in a single week might do to my figure… or health./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Still, other people did have to worry about that, or just about their health in general, and 'Expert Healer' was thus another no brainer. It gave me next gen folk medicine and medical skills across the board, plus the ability to integrate more advanced medical knowledge with the down-home style of this pre-industrial world. That would be good, not only in Mossflower, but places like it, helping me hide futuristic medicine in more folksy ways as I provided treatments to the primitives… and maybe I'd learn something. Herbalism wasn't homeopathy, after all. Herbs and spices often contained medicinal properties. Birch bark was where asprin came from, digitalis was foxglove, and even athelas contained a potent and fairly generalized antitoxin. Only a fool passed up the bounty of nature without a second look./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And on the subject of fools… I'd have to be a fool to pass up 'JITTAGALL', the Abbey-Dweller capstone. Jittagall/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;", an initialism that barely qualified as an acronym, stood for 'Jumping Is The Thing A Good Abbey Leader Learns'. It would transform me into an embodiment of the seven virtues exemplified by the great leaders of Redwall Abbey. Or so it claimed. I had no frame of reference, seeing as how I hadn't the faintest idea who those great leaders were. As to the virtues they supposedly possessed (either individually or collectively), apparently those were: Humility, Patience, Wisdom, Understanding, Kindness, Friendliness, and Strength of Character. This was to be no metaphorical transformation; the embodiment was all too real, though it didn't manifest as a visible glowing aura, but rather as a faint smell of lilacs (which could, thankfully be suppressed at will… I detest lilacs)./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Not only would I be granted each virtue to the level possessed by a living saint, but those who shared/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" my values would quickly come to regard me as exactly that, and even my mortal enemies would hesitate to hurt me… there was even a guarantee that those virtues would never come to harm me… Kindness would not weaken me, Friendliness blind me to the failings of others, Humility never make me doubt myself, and Strength of Character never force me to be honest when it was counter to my best interests./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Saintly virtues… I could use a hefty dose of those, right about now. Wisdom most of all… Humility too, for that matter. I put a hard lockout on the Medbay pods containing the Kihara's. They could not be opened by anyone for ten years and forty days. If I decided to forgive those psychos, it would not be under the kinder, gentler, pacifist me./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Before moving on to the physical components of the Abbey-Dweller, package, I paid three-hundred Cheese for the companion import package . It came with eight slots, each gaining a free background plus three-hundred Cheese for Perks, Abilities, and Gear. Using my newfound wisdom… well, that and a general knowledge of my followers, I selected Velma, Toph, Yoiko, Ryoga, Bao, and Uriel to accompany me. The pokecrowd (and Cirno) were highly unlikely to find fault with my actions of the previous period, and Kendra was, to put it bluntly, furious with me. True, Velma was avoiding me too, but we'd have an entire decade… sorry… two score seasons to work things out. Thus, I had two slots left open, and, after a few minutes consideration, I filled them with Joy Ahab. One of these days I was going to find a jump that those two wouldn't be helpful in (that still had companion imports) but this was not that jump./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I could have shopped around for more Perks on which to spend my final hundred Cheese, but if seemed wiser to check out what Gear Abbey-Dweller's gained discount on… not that I anticipated there being much that could grab my interest; this was a feudal society after all. Of course, right away the VMoD proved me wrong. Wisdom is not precognition, as it turns out./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Free to everyone came a Sturdy Haversack… and not a useless oldtimey one, but a large, rigid-framed backpack with several pouches and compartments (all substantially bigger on the inside for extra excellence). Sure, I already had a PokePack and duffle from Infamous… but the Haversacks came with a bedroll and mess kit, and could, in a pinch, be used as a surprisingly effective bludgeoning weapon. I imported the PokePack into my Haversack… I do love that word. Haaaaversaaaaacccck./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Okay, okay maybe that wasn't that good, but I had to get it out of the way before I touched on the ultimate prize, free to all Abbey-Dwellers… Infinite Cheese. Apparently, whoever had constructed this Redwall Jump had also wondered where, exactly, in a world without livestock, did all the dairy products come from. That hypothetical entity's answer was that it was probably best not to think too hard about it. That said, I could now rest easy, since my cheese would come from endlessly refilling barrels in your warehouse, rather than anywhere ethically questionable. Not that I was terribly concerned with such questions… sorry cows… but given the choice of cheese that hadn't required labor (either bovine or human)? I was going to take it… especially when the word 'Infinite' was appended to 'Free'./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I cackled with glee as a list of cheeses hundreds of items long scrolled across the window of the VMoD… Sure, I had near infinite sandwich cheeses already, but they were sliced for sandwiches… and there are plenty of cheeses that don't go on sammies… the Infinite Cheese was six massive oak barrels, one full of brine and brined cheeses, the others full of wax sealed or paper wrapped cheeses, ranging from semi-soft all the way to very hard. Mmmm… Behold the Power… I knew I'd chosen right./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"For the low low cost of my last hundred, I could also buy an Abbey Kitchen, a fully-stocked kitchen, pantry, and cellar, equipped with hot and cold running water, many ovens, stoves, and cauldrons, the best cooking utensils available, a large deep fryer, fermenting and distilling equipment, and even refrigeration facilities. Not only did it sound downright cozy, there were fiat backed reasons to take it… fresh, clean water was a precious commodity in any world, and fuel was too. Of course, I'd have access to my Warehouse already, but having something that fit in with local expectations would be most excellent. And not only did the kitchen start out stocked, but once per season, my supply of fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables would refill automatically./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Let's put that into perspective. Enough fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables to feed an entire Abbey… for an entire season. Every season. The largest Abbey in history, Cluny in France, held a congregation of over a thousand, but even relatively modest abbeys could have upwards of three-hundred people. Redwall is not described as being particularly small… certainly far larger than my number of companions… and after my stay in Redworld ended, the kitchen would become an attachment to my Warehouse. What more, really, could I ask for?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Still, I had to check the Drawbacks. It was… necessary. I'd done one jump without looking and always regretted not knowing what was on the list. Always consider your options, even if ultimately you reject them… I didn't need my new wisdom to know that knowledge was power. I also didn't need my new understanding to understand that swearing off Drawbacks forever because of what had happened was the height of stupidity. Humility, however, was the quiet deciding voice, as it told me that, as much as I might view myself as the center of my own narrative, the worlds I visited did not revolve around me. To assume that only I had a hand in what happened would be to think too highly of myself. To assume that I'd always get things right? A goddess I might be, but even the biblical Almighty had made a mistake or two in his time./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Ack…" I commented to no one in particular as I read the Jump's offerings. No one else was sharing my lonely vigil, and it was deep in the Warehouse's night and I was all alone in the dark. "All these drawbacks are heavy hitters…" I muttered. VIctoria and Atura, everpresent, wisely chose not to comment, and VIvian had been told to ignore me until morning, unless directly addressed./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Indeed, the Drawbacks, of which there were ten, were not joking around. Even the hundred-pointers were more comprehensively ugh than normal. Where Great Detective's 'Chust a Zhoopid Accent' made me sound a bit silly (and get mistaken for Scots), Redwall's 'Incomprehensible Accents' meant that not only would I have great difficulty understanding any but my native dialect, other people would have difficulty understanding me. Not only did 'Voice Like a Sack of Boiled Frogs' make one a terrifyingly bad singer, it made one convinced of one's own talent… too vain to acknowledge criticism, too proud to attempt to improve, and too foolish to shut up. The less said about the global pacifism enforced on the goodguys by 'This is a Peaceful Place' the better. Having a world full of nice guys who wouldn't stand up for themselves? That I couldn't have on my conscience./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"However, for once I found myself actually considering the virtues of taking an amnesia perk. Called 'Child of the Storm', it didn't actually strip me of my powers. Rather, it would force me to rediscover them and figure out how to properly utilize what I'd discovered. My local memories would gradually return as well, leaving a sense of something missing… that something being all my other memories… memories that were, right now, something of a source of pain… memories that would be available in dreams and brief flashes of insight and understanding./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"All said, the prospect of forgetting who I was for even as short a period as a decade was terrifying… but the King-Priests assured me that it was hardly the first time I'd been uncertain of who I was. Each of them had begun to remember who and what they were around the age of four, and had come into their own over the next decade as more and more of the old slowly came back. Each of them had been shaped as much by the past as the future./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"So yeah… with the promise of remembering who I was at the end of forty seasons… Child of the Storm sounded good… even though it would inflict that amnesia upon all who came with me. I wouldn't force them to accept it… any who backed out would be allowed to sit out the Jump rather than be affected. The text was vague on if all my companions would be hit by it or just those imported, but a query to the Banker clarified that any who opted out would be placed into stasis for the decade, rather than be hit with the whammy./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I considered that for a long while, several hours in fact, then finally paused the construction and waited until everyone else was up. I'd go with the majority's vote… though perhaps that was cheating I had to acknowledge. AJ, Francine, Petra, and Ziggy would back me no matter what. Cirno, Dyna, Zane, and RayRay were a little less dogmatic in their loyalty, but they too would almost certainly stand with me. Uriel relished new experiences, Ahab and Joy would think of it as going deep cover, and Bao would find the entire idea fascinating. Yoiko and Ryoga would be on the fence. Kendra would hate it and claim I was a coward for running away from my guilt. Velma and Toph… I didn't know how they would take it… but at least the illusion of fairness and inclusion was there./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Why?" was Toph's question, though I could tell she was speaking for the majority when she asked. I'd presented the option and given them an hour to discuss it as I meditated and didn't interfere. To be honest, I had no idea what I'd do with the extra three-hundred Cheese the Drawback would give me, but the temptation not to be myself… or rather, to be a self unfettered by the past… for a time? It had its terrible siren's song. "What do you get out of this? What do we get out of this?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I'd known the question was coming. I'd have had to be a fool not to know. "To answer your last question first, nothing. You get nothing out of this besides confusion and hardship. Personally, I think you all should get three-hundred extra points, and I'll see if I can wrangle that for you with the Banker… but ultimately, I'd ask this of you all regardless. As to Why? I was soo certain of myself, so certain I could handle everything that was thrown my way. Hubris brought me low. I've forgotten what it's like to be a mere mortal… and while this won't be that exactly… it will be close." I sighed, looking around at the group. There were sullen looks and angry ones and few looked reassured./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Finally, I said, "Think of this as a test. Without my history and memories to guide me, will I still be a good person? Without that, will each of you? Yes Joy, I know you don't consider yourself a good person, and I know Ahab and Uriel have their own doubts about themselves." I looked around the group, seeing that most of them wore introspective expressions… except Toph, who shrugged, RayRay who looked bored, and Kendra, who looked defiantly up at me as if to say, 'Bitch, I will stake you if you suggest I could turn evil one more time.'/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I leaned in close and whispered, "Faith." to her. The reminder of her replacement as Slayer, the Slayer who had, in fact, gone over to the dark side for a time, who had committed murder and nearly gotten the entire town eaten, soberred her immediately, even though she'd been in cryosleep for the entire decade. My other companions had been more than willing to tell her what had happened./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Okay, okay, I wasn't exactly honest there. Ziggy and Dyna didn't look introspective either. To be fair, that's because Ziggy's idea of looking inside himself was licking vitamin goo of his own stomach and Dyna's species utterly lacked any capacity for introspection as far as I'd been able to determine. Aliens are alien, after all./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Ultimately, the consensus was nearly universal. Only Kendra and Velma bowed out, opting to use the Return Door to spend a decade with the Poke-crew and Cirno in Johto. Unfortunately, that decision didn't sit well with Zane, who was pissed off at Kendra for abandoning the rest of us and for being a coward. Long story short, he took Velma's spot and now Kendra isn't talking to either of us. Great. Wonderful. Just what I didn't need./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I tried to get him to go with her, but for once he's was playing the 'Bro's before Ho's'… despite that I'm not a 'bro' and Kendra is not a 'ho'… as she reminded him by throwing Mr. Pointy into his shoulder. Ah… domestic violence… We might be a little dysfunctional sometimes… or we've gotten used to having a med bay. The fact that everyone besides me respawns within a day if killed doesn't hurt. Zane, as a Pokemon, doesn't even usually die, since he reverts to his Pokeform and is KO'd first./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Sadly, since I'd used the 'Call it a Test of Character' justification for 'Child of the Storm' I couldn't then take the 'Prophecy's Puppet' Drawback, which normally would be a lock as it made gaming knowledge of canon impossible… a canon I had virtually no knowledge of. Unfortunately, it did so by making everything adhere to a script… which would counter my ability to deviate from the path laid down by the Author's Hand. A test of Character where predestination was in play was a rigged test./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"As for the other options, 'Always Hungry' was right out… No way was I going hungry for a decade… especially not with limitless cheese… though I'd have to remember it was there to take advantage of it… maybe it would show up wherever my kitchen was in setting? I was guaranteed to find my companions within a few days… did that also apply to my purchases? I'd have to ask the Banker when I asked about extra CP for my people./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The 'Dibbunsitting' Drawback, which would have saddled me with the care of infants and toddlers (called dubbins in the local ideolect, apparently) might have been a fitting punishment… but it was a fail state waiting to happen since even one death… in a world often rife with violence… would end the chain. It also sounded vaguely like hell./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And speaking of hell, 'Relentless Riddles' sounded excruciating… but might be worth it even if it wasn't worth an extra two-hundred Cheese. In fact, the idea of being challenged by endless cryptic answers and riddles amused me… and it amused me right up until I thought about how Ryoga and Yoiko might take to the lack of straightforward answers… at which point it reaaallly amused me. Hopefully Ahab could keep from killing people in frustration./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To round out the make things difficult for this new and confused me… and test her patience to the limits, I decided to pick up 'Incomprehensible Accents'. I'm not certain why, since (to be honest) I had no idea what I was going to spend all those points on./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"In the end, I settled on a miscellaneous (read as undiscounted) Perk called 'A Little Light in Every Heart', which cost me three-hundred of my six, and granted me an unusual degree of insight into the content of the character of others, a sense of when they might have nagging doubts about the correctness of their ideals, and the ability to (with a precisely chosen kind word or two) assuage those doubts… or cause them to bloom and grow. It wasn't mind control nor a magical alignment change, and there wasn't any guarantee that it would result in a convert to my cause but it probably couldn't hurt. It was, apparently, particularly useful for promoting ideals of tolerance and nonviolence, but could almost as easily be used to spread paranoia and distrust, or whatever values I wanted to spread. It wasn't wonderful, but it came with the added bonus that would allow my companions to bypass the limitations that stopped Vermin from being Abbey-Dwellers or Warrior and Goodbeasts from being Scoundrels./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I considered taking the serpent's 'Active Camo' perk. It was tempting in the extreme, but so were the sensory boosts (hearing, vibration, touch) from the Mole's racial perk. Also tempting was the 'Aerial Acrobatics' perk for birds. But ultimately, I went with 'Musician and Poet Extraordinaire' for two-hundred, which not only made me competent in the use of every sort of musical instrument common to the world of Redwall, and a virtuoso level of talent on one instrument of my choice (I chose drums… and not just because they're excellent for annoying others), but gave me a talent for poetry and songwriting, especially when writing songs about my adventures or those of my friends. It even boosted my memory (as if I needed it), especially with regard to recall of verse, which probably meant increased memory access speed rather than capacity./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Oral history is cool… and embarrassing my friends with heroic ballads seemed like a fun way to while away the long evenings of cold winter months. Poet Extraordinaire even came with a free musical instrument, in my case a finely made and well-maintained hand-drum. I wonder if I could teach Ziggy to play the drum? Belly Drum was a Linoone move… though I guess that meant that the question was "Can Ziggy be taught to play the drum without hurting himself… or others?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"With the last of my Cheese Points I purchased the mousine racial perk 'Heart of a Mouse'. Of course, in Redworld, that was actually a compliment. Mice may be one of the smallest sophont species, but they produced a disproportionate number of heroes (because who doesn't love an under… mouse?). HoaM imbued me with a great deal of courage even in the face of overwhelming challenges and a great deal of luck when faced with lopsided odds./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I hadn't had too much problem with courage issues in the past, but a little good luck couldn't hurt, especially since the primary reason I hadn't faced many courage shortages was because I was more than a little bonkers. Bad luck, however, had (in the recently past in fact) utterly boned… well, not me, but the inhabitants of the camp and the surrounding zone of destruction pretty completely… but if I wasn't the one boned, I was the one who had to live with the guilt and shame. Wasn't fair, but life seldom is. Before I locked my build down and sent out the pads for those of my companions who hadn't already departed for farer… or at least less medieval… climes, I pulled up the query screen and made my pitch. For once, the Banker didn't give me grief about my request. His only comment was that, per the wording of the Companion Import was that companions could not take drawbacks… but before I could argue that I was the one taking 'Child of the Storm', he brought it up himself. "They are being penalized not by a worldstate, as might arise from This is a Peaceful Place, but a personal amnesia state. Very well. I agree… though I feel that, if you desire to test yourself, you should see how you do against adversity."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Mmm? How? I'm not taking the giant evil bear thing," I said. There was a six-hundred CP drawback that inflicted Lord Arctos, a bear that could be as large as he needed to be… able to fit through mouse doors one moment and tower over the entire abbey the next. He would also lead a confederation of all the villains from the entire series and possess some of the powers of the worst villains I'd faced on the chain. Considering that ranged from the planet-busting Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII to the First Evil and Glorificus of Buffy to the Reapers of Mass Effect to Lord Voldemort of Harry Potter… I was going to say no thanks. "I suggest you take Endless Hordes." "You want me to inflict barbarians upon the land… to test myself? Isn't that kinda… evil?" "The barbarians as you call them are always there. Civilization is little more than a thin veneer over the seething chaos of what you mortals term 'existence'," the Banker pointed out. Even the emotionless words on the screen seemed to pulse with smugness. "What matters is how the barbarians are dealt with. Will you not learn more about your true character from seeing how you treat enemies than how you treat friends?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Probably," I agreed. "But innocent lives would be put at risk by my taking that drawback."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Innocent lives will be at risk regardless of your choices." I blinked. "How do you figure? Do you relocate me to a version of the world where the drawbacks are destined to happen?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Negative. It is far more complex than that. Each reality you visit contains the potential to have all drawbacks in play as part of its… Genesis, if you will." The letters seemed to glow and ripple extra ominously, as if the word Genesis was giving off pulses of something ineffable./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""As for why lives will be at risk… it is the nature of dramatic worlds to be dramatic. Events will attempt to unfold in a way that suits the will of the narrator… what you'd call the Authorial Intent. In Redwall, that manifests… aways, in the battle between decency and savagery. It is a cycle that continues again and again. You cannot stop it from happening… but you can encourage it to unfold in a way useful to your purposes… and perhaps take advantage of it. This is as much a world of redemption as it is tragedy."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"It was, by far, the most comprehensive explanation I'd managed to get out of the Banker ever… maybe he was disturbed by what had happened in the previous jump? Or maybe there had been protests of some kind from whatever subscribers had tuned in expecting The Psychic Shenanigan Hour only to get Slaughter at Whispering Rock instead. But I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the trojans… I simply said, "I'll consider it while the others do their builds. Thanks."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"A day later, I called council of the Companions, asking them to present their builds and to justify them as best they could. Interestingly, absolutely none of them had taken Abbey-Dweller… I guess they didn't see in it what I did… heathen swine. There were, however, many interesting… if odd… builds./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Zane, deciding to distance himself from his typical hyper-aggressive noir motif, had opted to be a Bird (not a birdbrain… he always was that). In fact, he had gone for an Owl, a big snowy leopard Owl Wanderer as it turned out. Without the extra from 'Child of the Storm' that would have cost him all his points, but boosted his strength and given him some downright fierce claws… but no hands to speak of./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Aerial Acrobat' was free for Bird(brains) which made him a veritable flying ace (or ass), able pull off amazing stunts and turn on a dime… not to mention making flying less tiring for him no matter what might be powering said flight… and Wanderer came with 'The Open Road' which made him a seasoned traveller, at home on the road, able to travel farther with less fatigue and make himself comfortable almost anywhere. Came with skill at avoiding natural hazards and, in addition to his Haversack, he (and the other Wanderers to be) received the 'Abbey Records' for free./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"For the record (haha), those were a bookcase containing, among many older books and scrolls, signed first editions of the collected works of Brian Jacques, as well as DVD copies of all three seasons of the Canadian animated series, which cover the events of Redwall, Mattimeo, and Martin the Warrior… which wouldn't do a Wanderer much good without a portable DVD player with a screen. It's a shame they weren't some kind of magical children's books where the pages came alive like Jim Hawkins's book in Treasure Planet… I do hope I get to go there someday… I have such a crush on Captain Amelia./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"With the remainder of his points, Zane bought 'Riddle Me This' from the Wanderer perk-line and 'Arguments for Argument's Sake' from the Shrews. RMT gave him elevated pattern recognition skills, a talent for wordplay, and an intuitive feel for the intent of the original author of any riddle, puzzle, or word game. It also made him exceptionally good at both solving and making his own. AfAS was all about keeping up with the best debaters, granting a firm understanding of logic and experience of common rhetorical techniques… as well as making the lunkhead all the more stubborn./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"In both cases, he claimed it was a defense against both me and his girl Kendra and our wicked feminine ways. He was, in his own words, sick of losing a fight because he was unarmed. Personally, I didn't think this was going to help, but if it made him happy to try to compete, more power to him. However I suspected that the real reason he took Riddle Me This was that he planned to use it against me when I was GMing! We have a no powers at the gaming table rule for a reason ZANE!/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"He just smirked at me and said, "Intuition isn't a power. It's an attribute." I glowered, but he was right./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"For Toph, her choice of species was something of a toss up. She'd been trained in Earthbending by Badgermoles… and unfortunately, had to now pick between the digging Moles and the fighting Badgers. This resulted in a lot of hemming and hawing and complaining about single natured animals, before she finally (day 20), settled on a Badger Scoundrel, since she was already the best at digging and didn't want to sound weird (Moles in Redwall have a rather extreme accent… like worse than Welsh)./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Personally I think she picked Badger so she'd be able to Hulk Out (at least mentally), as being a Badger meant she got 'Bloodwrath' (both a four-hundred point perk and a zeropoint drawback in one inconvenient package) for free… well, free with purchase, since Badger cost three-hundred just like Owl. Bloodwrath was a kind of berserker fury, one raised by harm or threat against a loved one or the presence of a hated foe. It increased the Badger's strength, speed, and ferocity, and allowed them to ignore anything short of an immediately fatal wound (as long as the fury lasted)… but shattered the Badger's ability to concentrate on anything that wasn't CRUSHING, KILLING, and DESTROYING… though, with great mental effort it was possible to direct what got Crushed, Killed, or Destroyed./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Scoundrels just got Dirty Fighting (which was exactly what it sounded like) and some free basic weapons…. plus the Haversack… and a stash of 'Booty', a small coffer full of precious and semiprecious stones, as well as gold and silver jewelry./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I was rather amused by her actual perk purchases, since she'd bought the Warrior's 'A Welcome for Bullies' and the 'Hedgehog's Dilemma'… which was, as one might imagine, the Hedgehog's racial perk. A Welcome was all about acting the part of a fuzzy little drill sergeant, taking raw recruits (such as a bunch of peace-loving farmers and monks) and, through motivation and training, turn them into professional soldiers. The Dilemma fit surprisingly well with that, since it allowed her to swap between 'brusque and standoffish' and 'warm and welcoming' at a moment's notice, allowing her to keep others (especially overly clingy friends like Cirno or Ziggy) at arm's length when she felt like being alone, while also being able to signal when she didn't mind being glommed. Of course, odds were I'd ignore that anyway. I love hugging the prickly. If you can't annoy your friends, who can you annoy./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Yoiko and Ryoga had also decided to follow the Scoundrel's path, and they had formulated a bit of a plan to go with that decision. Yoiko would be a big bad Wildcat (a vermin species as opposed to the normally valorous goodbeast Badgers… ah fantasy racism.) while Ryoga would be a Shrew. Together, they'd be the Tom and Jerry of relatively harmless brigandage, though willing to change their thieving ways, if given a chance./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"In addition to her free weapons, booty, haversack, and 'Dirty Fighting', the former otaku fangirl ended up with 'Eye of the Tiger', the ability to size up an opponent's strengths and weaknesses at a glance and intuit how best to exploit or counter them. With time and contact, that understanding would only grow deeper and could be extended to inanimate structures or even hypothetical concepts. It sounded impressively… angry and damaging to me, but also extremely philosophical in nature. Introspection was often a trait Yoiko lacked./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"She also picked up the Scoundrel capstone, 'Master of Hordes' which would make her into something of a terrifying warlord, one who inspired fear and loyalty in all who followed her, and one who was a mastery of military strategy, of unorthodox tactics and psychological warfare. She'd gain a long shadow, reputation wise, one that all who opposed her would have to deal with long before they ever even faced her (theoretical) troops. And those seeking glory, vengeance, or violence for violence's sake would flock to her banner if she let them./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"It all sounded a little… worrying… but if she could divert even some of the troublemakers into our camp before they joined our enemies, maybe it was okay. I just had to hope that I wouldn't have to fight her myself./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"When I'd read the description of 'Eye of the Tiger', I'd figured Ryoga, already master of the weak-point detection, would follow suit, but he hadn't. Not only had he gone Shrew for, as he said, 'the logic' (remember Argument for Argument's Sake?), but he'd picked up 'The Freebootin' Way', 'Bully Pulpit', 'Dark Apothecary', 'Weaseling Out', and the 'Corsair Ship' from the Gear section. It was, by far, the most diverse build of any of my companions, lacking any real punch but rounding out lots of little bumps and burrs nicely. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Freebootin was all about finding plunder and drink and handwaving away the less pleasant parts of the job (scurvy, digging latrines, having to murder people to get them to hand over their shinies). Not only did it apply to him, but also to his 'mateys'… so I guess that's nice. Bully Pulpit was described as a PhD in Mean, giving comprehensive knowledge of all the little ways to frighten and belittle others. It even came with the potential to be a sarcastic but lovable asshole instead of a ruthless sociopath… though it did rely somewhat on being bigger than his targets, either physically or mentally… did I mention that this was Ryoga… in a Shrew's body? Who the hell was he going to be bigger than? Ziggy?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Dark Apothecary was a fascinating choice for Ryoga… Quite frankly, I'd expected Uriel to take it, but he hadn't. It was the Fox racial perk, and granted knowledge of all the medical and alchemical properties of any and all plants that he was ever likely to encounter… though it did pay special attention to the dangerous ones, both to brew poisons and antidotes. It also granted natural resistance to poisons, venoms, and toxins… maybe he was remembering eating Akane's cooking./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"If Dark Apothecary was from Foxes, Weaseling Out was from… you guessed it… Weasels. It was all about avoiding blame and or responsibility… and all without trying. Criminal charges would be unlikely to stick to him unless there was ironclad evidence, he'd never seem to be picked first for unpleasant duties (unless he volunteered), and even if he spent 90% of his shift sleeping, his boss would only ever walk in during that rare 10% of the time he was actually doing his job… not that Ryoga had ever had a job… like.. ever. I'm not certain he knew what one was./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Then there was the ship… a sleek, swift vessel, equally suitable for piracy or pirate-hunting, equipped with sails and oars, and a loyal crew of NPCs suited to the task the ship was set to. He imported Black Jenny into it, with my permission… which transformed the ship's machine intelligence, VIrginia, into a somewhat wooden (pun intended) Vulpine Bosun with jet black fur./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""That's… very wise." I was impressed; Ryoga… shoring up his weakness at last… even if AfAS might make him a bit unbearable at times. /spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I couldn't say that everything sounded useful, but Ryoga seemed happy with his purchases, so eh./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Thankfully, that was the last of the Scoundrels… but not the last of the Vermin. Bao, who'd been born in the year of the Rat, claimed he had no choice but to be faithful… not even when we pointed out that Chinese and European Rats aren't exactly the same thing… Rat Wanderer was his choice./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Rat racial perk was called 'The Scourge', which made the Rats (who generally, as a race, believed in the concept of Might makes Right) incredibly ferocious combatants, stronger, tougher, and faster than most races and tended to make other beasts respect that strength. While it didn't make them truly fearless, it tended to give them such a reputation. It also came with impressive facial scars and a badass story to go with them that could be redesigned or suppressed entirely at the beginning of every Jump, and Bao was already designing his scar and composing a tone poem about how he got it… I refrained from telling him that tone poems are not usually considered badass in European style Cultures… maybe in Redwall they would be./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"As a Wanderer he got 'The Open Road', another set of the 'The Abbey Records', and the ever present Haversack… to which he added the Wanderer capstone 'Prince of Mousethieves' and the Serpent's 'Active Camouflage'. The Prince was a legendary talent for stealth and thievery, to the point of snatching the very whiskers from under a foebeast's nose. If it wasn't nailed down or on fire, he could probably steal it – and if it was, he'd just steal the nails and the fire as well. It came with a talent for picking locks, wriggling out of bonds, and ventriloquy, and made him a little more likable, ensuring that his reputation for theft would not be a barrier to people trusting him… great… a thieving rat… wooo. Add in scales (sorry… fur) that was capable of rapidly and dramatically changing color to match his environment… it even worked on his clothing and any items he carried… and extended to limited thermal control to match ambient temperature… If he wasn't actually invisible, he was the next best thing. Great. Bao the tone poem thief./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Uriel's choice of Hare Warrior, was, so he claimed based on the well documented valor of the Tamrielian Moutain Hare… As someone who'd slain over a thousand of those cowardly little food packets in Skyrim alone, I didn't comment, but I suspected it was more about the Hare's 'Stiff Upper Lip, Wot?' racial perk. It was a substantial increase to his stamina, toughness, and ability to recover from both physical injuries and emotional trauma… though relying on it would give him a prodigious appetite./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To go along with all the freebies (Weapons Training, Weapons, Haversack… have… a… sack… sigh) he also bought 'EULALIAAA!', which made his voice much more powerful, able to carry over longer distances and be clearly audible over the din of battle. His battle cries would fill the hearts of allies (and himself) with the courage of a thousand hares, boosting their fighting ability and allowing them to persevere in the face of adversity. Apparently, Uriel just wants to be the British Bunny version of the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket… huh… hope that's not a jump./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"He had thought to take 'A Welcome for Bullies' as well, but figured he really didn't need it. He had plenty of experience as it was. Instead he bought the most expensive item in the Gear section, a Prophetic Tapestry that not only depicted many of our past exploits, but showed hints of adventures yet to come. Of course, they were only broad details, most of which would only make sense in retrospect, but it did say that an exceptionally clever viewer might, given even such subtle hints, determine valuable intel on things to come./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Joy seemed almost embarrassed to present her package (Squirrel Warrior), and it didn't take a telepath to sense that she'd picked it because of the giant fluffy tail more than anything else. Good to see her being relaxed enough not to be the Iron Maiden around us. Her freebie pack included the usual suspects (Weapons, Weapon Training, Sack of Havering) and the Squirrel Racial Perk 'Treetops and Timber'/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;", a quintessential squirrel skill… forest freerunning that extended to rocky crags and urban environments, making her an almost unequalled climber and granting a moderate agility boost… it also came with a memory improvement for where she'd stashed things for later. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"But with six-hundred left to spend, she picked up the Warrior capstone, a perk that had all but been made for her. 'I Am That Is' would allow her to call upon the great warriors of the past in an internal capacity, pulling up ancient martial arts or the knowledge needed to defeat an implacable foe, or even the location of some long lost MacGuffin when pushed to the edge./spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" By engaging in meditation – or seeking them out in a dream – she could also converse with her predecessors directly. Each Jump to a new setting, she'd gain access to a new set of ancestral spirits, as appropriate to the setting and to her chosen background. And, if she should ever die for good (something that I wasn't at all certain was possible anymore), a fragment of her spirit would live on in each world she'd visited, to guide and advise other warriors for truth and justice… and, perhaps, to grant them access some shadow of her vast powers./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"This was, after all, the First Boss. She'd already done that once, inspiring a generation of new Bosses… though none of them had her…. ovaries. She paired that with 'A Welcome for Bullies' and 'Musician and Poet Extraordinaire', calling it the Gurney Halleck package. What can I say, I'd infected her with my love of Dune./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Ahab, last in line, smirked, and said, "I can't match the impressiveness of all those builds, of course… but I can be… The Mole!" which earned him a bombardment of popcorn and couch cushions… we really need to redecorate… this house is soo… eight jumps ago. Ahab the Mole Wanderer. Haversack? Check. Abbey Records? Check. Open Road? Check! Gurt Diggins? Cheeeck? What's Gurt Diggins you ask? Me too. It apparently gave him an instinctive understanding of tunneling and mining, whether using tools or his own paws, whether digging for jewels or root vegetables. It enhanced his senses of smell, touch, and vibration, allowing him to function just fine with eyes full of dirt./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Well, that explained the digging part, but what was Gurt? Maybe Ahab's hundred CP 'Book of Riddles' might help explain. It was a book containing a long primer on the underlying theory of riddles and puzzles, a spoiler-filled walkthrough of every riddle or puzzle used in the canonical Redwall series, and a showcase of some of the great riddles of history. The book was also enchanted with a magical cryptanalysis machine. Unfortunately, it only accepted input (and only provided output) in paper media, though I might eventually find a way to bypass that limitation. A note at the back promised that (In future Jumps), the walkthrough would expand to cover some of the most important riddles in that source material. While this wasn't guaranteed to completely short-circuit any plots, it might allow us to take significant shortcuts. That might come in handy… at least once the jump starts. I'd have to ban use of that book at the gaming table. He also took the Weasel's Out… why? I'm not certain. Maybe he was thinking about the potential to be actually charged as a non-fuzzy mole./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"However, his big purchase was the Serpent's other racial perk (there was a reason they were six-hundred points, apparently): Mad Eyes. Imagine this, a mole, staring at you, with crazy disturbing eyes. Have you seen the eyes of moles? Well, Ahab the Mole would be able to transfix his foes in place or force them to flee in terror, to hypnotize them by pitting his spirit against theirs, bending them to his will and even, with practice, learning to implant more complex commands. Not only was it more effective when used by cold-blooded creatures… it was more effective when used on them. How odd. I looked forward to that showdown; a mole versus a viper in mortal eye combat./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And that was that. Everyone squared away. Those who were going had already gone, those who were coming with me were ready at last. I looked around the group and smiled, projecting a calm I didn't really feel./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Okay, remember, once we drop, we'll all be very confused. Try and not do anything stupid. Hopefully our implants will still function and VIvian will be able to hear us and learn the local language and then guide us back to the Warehouse, but it might take a little while…. And involve miscommunications, riddles, and who knows what all. And apparently there will be an army on the way, so… try not to get yourselves killed and I'll see you when I see you. Sure sure, none of us will remember this consciously, but maybe as a kind of vague impulse it will stick. So, so me proud out there. I'll try to do you proud as well. For the Honor of Team… we really need to come up with something that doesn't have my initials or the word Jumper in it." And with that non-sequitur of an ending, I pushed the button./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"INSERTION/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Wreck of the Merryweather, Churgeon's Log, day one./span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"At least I assume I am the Churgeon of the Merryweather. I found this medical case washed ashore with me and the nearby wreck is, or rather was, the Merryweather. Aside from that, I have no idea who I am, nor where, save that there is a seaside mountain not far from here that, for some reason, I believe is named Salamandastron. I cannot explain my lack of memories, for I seem hale enough… indeed… I am far stronger than I believe is normal for an Otter… or even for a Bear. My clothes are unusual as well, as they shed water like fabric but are as hard as the most resilient armor… and they talk. Of course, they have no knowledge of who we are or where, but her voice is soothing, as if we've known each other a long time…/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Through experimentation, we have determined that although I am (it seems) extremely strong, fast, and tough without her on, I am far stronger, faster, and tougher with her on. Indeed, I was able to cut myself with the edge of my bone saw (a small cut… it healed within moments… though it also took a few seconds for the wound to manifest… curious)… but the teeth of the saw would not even scratch the outside of… Aegis? I think I shall call her Aegis… and, until I find someone who knows me, I shall be… how hard it is to find something to hang one's identity upon./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I shall be Athena. She who bore Aegis… a shield of great power. Athena Bellweather. Now if only I knew where we were… if only I could fly. How would one test that?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Apparently by climbing to the top of a half wrecked mast and leaping off of it. It seems I can, in fact, fly. How odd. Is this normal? I would think not. A damage resistant, highly intelligent (I seem to have no problem doing extremely large sums in my head and I have little trouble remembering even random strings of numbers or random made up words… somehow something tells me this is not normal), flying Otter… at least that's what Aegis and I believe I am. Whatever I am, it seems unlikely it is anything of nature. Indeed, I am writing these words, not with a quill (for I have none), but with ink that responds to my will… and I very much doubt it is a property of this ink, as… when I found this journal it was soaked through and the water departed its pages as if drawn from them by a strong force of suction… and I write this in front of a fire conjured out of the wood in much the same way./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I cannot say what tells me this, but I seem to instinctively understand that such things do not normally happen here. I slept, but woke before midnight, feeling refreshed, despite the strange dream I had about being some kind of blue-skinned she-creature in a place with metal walls fighting reanimate corpses. This too is very odd, a riddle given flesh… my flesh… to solve… itself? Then again, perhaps that is the nature of life. I take to the sky to see what I can see, and find ships, a great many of them, several days travel from the mountain. A pilgrimage? Perhaps… but it could be an army. Either way, they might be hostile… or simply never have seen an Otter before./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I land (if one can be said to land on the water) far from them, having left the haversack I found in the wreckage which seems overly large on the inside… and contains quite a number of chunks of cheese… and swim closer. I hear the people in my mind long before I hear them with my ears, a thundering cacophony that drives me under even as all the water around me is frozen by an unseen force, a shimmering globe surrounding me… a defense? I find I can shape the ice… lower it slowly and the… they must be thoughts, dreams, mental noise of all those people begin to leak back in… I have to struggle to find a way to turn the volume down again… a curious phrase… I wonder what it could mean… but it is appropriate./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Just before dawn I venture onto one of the ships, moving with a stealthiness that feels practiced to the point of instinct, the background thrum of mindvoices guiding me towards the encampment. Their words are almost gibberish, a dialect so divorced from the common tongue as to be patois, but the thoughts in their head are clearer… images instead of words… they are an army, led by a fierce Wildcat, heading to the mountain of Badgers and Hares to plunder and kill. I sense no motives beyond that and so I make to leave by flight… only to be attacked in midair by a massive snowy owl./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I sense confusion from him, a dazed scramble inside his head, with only the knowledge that somehow I have done this to him. The fight is hard, long, made longer since I have no desire to harm this creature who I have no memory of harming. Finally, I pin the owl's left wing and snap, "Stop!"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Over the course of an hour, I manage to explain, carefully, that I have as little memory as this owl… Bubo, I name him… though I do invite him to join me on the quest to find out what has happened. We head together towards the mountain, the Owl asking if it is normal for Otters to fly, to which I can only chuckle. Although we both seem to be having trouble understanding each other in words, the intent comes through and we are able to make due./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"A dozen miles from the mountain's rise, we chance upon a Wildcat and a Badger engaged in a most curious fight. The Badger was scooping chunks of rock out of the ground as if they were soft mud and the Wildcat was causing them to explode into showers of pebbles. They were yelling incomprehensible things at each other and both looked as if neither understood the other./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And that is how I met Nike (the Badger) and Hera (the Wildcat). I had no idea where I was pulling these names from, but they too were missing their memories, smelling of saltwater, and possessed of strange abilities. They were not the last we were to meet that shared such distinction./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Before we reached the mountain, we came upon a Rat I named Hermes, a Hare I named Ares, and a Shrew I named Apollo. We quickly became a bit of a travelling group, forming a mutual help society for the linguistically and memorially impaired. If only we'd been quicker to begin inventing our own language./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Just outside the mountain's main entrance, we were set upon by a host of several dozen aged Hare Warriors. Things did not go well for the Hares and it took all of my ability to restrain my new companions, keeping them from killing the chronologically blessed old timers, but not before all of them had sustained injuries ranging from simple concussion all the way up to compound fractures./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"With great difficulty, I convinced the least injured of the Hares to limp back inside and fetch their leader, while I tended the hostages / my patients. Aegis discovered that she could see inside their flesh and somehow place that information upon my eyes so that I could see it but none else could. Setting bones was thus as simple as writing in ink without a pen, for the blood within these Hares responded to my commands as well. Indeed, the more I focused, the more I found I could manipulate their wounds to repair or restore flesh as well./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I looked around, seeing fear on the faces of these Hares (though they tried to hide it) as my companions demonstrated powers and abilities beyond the normal ken. Thus did the Lord of the Mountain, the Badger Lord Stonepaw, find me in contemplation. We were all of different kinds, some of us from the force preparing to attack, others of the kinds within the mountain, and still others foreign to both factions… all lacking memories… all lacking the ability to speak clearly to each other and to any local not of our kind (Ares seemed to have little trouble talking with the Hares)… and all possessed of strange powers and prodigious physicality./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Nike, our Badger spoke with Lord Stonepaw and, as best I could make out, explained about the coming fleet and how we'd come to see if the people of the Mountain were worthy of our assistance. The Old Badger took some umbrage at that, but Nike was able to subdue him with relative ease… and then sit on him until his rage passed./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I spoke to the gathering of Hares and Badger, speaking slowly, clearly, and loudly so they could understand me as clearly as possible. "We. Are. Not. Here. To. Fight. You. We. Will. Help. You. Fight. The. Ship. People. If. They. Attack. We. Bring. Cheese. And. Our. Strength. If. You. Offer. Us. Hospitality. We. Shall. Pay. It. Back. Tenfold."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That's when a Mole dug up from beneath us and said, "Oy, thas wa she sais, init?" We all looked at the mole in confusion, then laughed as an acorn bounced off his skull and a Squirrel landed next to me and said something else in yet another incomprehensible dialect. I wondered how many of these individuals we were going to collect, but this wasn't the time. We had an enemy navy and the army it contained to fight off./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Wreck of the Merryweather Day 4/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Have you ever tried to fight off a massive invasion of wode painted rats and spiders and other creepy-crawlies with a hundred-fifty elderly warriors, a truly ancient berzerker captain, and nine demigods… none of whom speak the same language and only vaguely trust each other? It is not a position I recommend./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Thankfully, a collective enemy gave us something to focus on and we spent the day fighting back the forces of unrighteousness. It was, truth be told, strangely… familiar, as if I'd fought off waves of enemies on multiple occasions… but I didn't bear any scars nor was I all that old… at least as far as I could tell./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"It also seemed clear that we were rather unique, me and my memory challenged friends, for standing up to us, even unarmed, wasn't safe. And yet, it was, for me at least, a strangely joyless experience. I longed to reach out to these creatures, these 'Vermin' and to find out why they seemed so angry, so driven to brutality and cruelty…. But I could not, for I lacked the words./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I retired that night, wondering at that, sitting inside the stone cell I'd been offered, only my thin bedroll between me and hard stone, and yet… I felt at peace. I drifted into sleep… and dreamed of wars… so many wars… wars against dozens of different foes, foes who used sorcery, foes who used science, foes who used words, and foes who used secrets. Metal enemies, flesh and blood enemies, enemies wrought from energy itself. I saw through my own eyes as I commanded the very oceans to rise and crush enemy ships, saw as I stood on the bridge of a ship made of light and metal as it soared through the skies, saw as I cut down foes as they slept, saw the smashed bodies of deformed children and knew, somehow, that they had died at my paws./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Wreck of the Merryweather Day 5/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I woke, shuddering, and strode out into the early morning haze, looking down at the army arrayed on the beach before the mountain's slopes. This would not be. I grabbed Hermes, who was standing watch and snapped, "Hera. Quick." and he ran off to find the Wildcat. When they returned, I pointed down to the army. "We go. Find Leader. Teach… Lesson."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"We descended upon the encamped army just as they were readying for the second day of the siege, and smashed our way into their numbers, arrowing for the central tent. I ripped the canvas apart with a wave of my paw./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I seem to be able to control the wind, but not as well as I can control Fire or Water… I also have some ability to manipulate Dirt Stone, Metal, and Wood, though again, not as well as Wind… though somehow I sense my control of wind is part of a larger ability that I am only vaguely aware of and it certainly seems to drain me mentally while the weaker elements drain me… spiritually? And the strongest elements drain me physically and spiritually. /spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I am unsure why, but this seems par for my course… though what Par is or what kind of Course that phrase refers to I don't know./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Inside the ruins of the tent, I glared up the fierce Wildcat who was just pulling on his armor… though not that far up. I suspect I am quite tall for an Otter./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I pointed to Hera, "Tell. He go or we kill. Not his army. Him."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"She relayed the ultimatum, but Ungatt Trunn (their Wildcat) seemed unimpressed. In fact he smirked, saying something. After I asked Hera, she said, "He say "Us and What Army?'." I laughed, then snapped the enemy cat's whiskers off with a thought./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"His eyes narrowed and he muttered something that didn't sound complementary, so I called up the wind and, eyes actually glowing (though I cannot tell how I knew that) shaved the cat bare. "Tell him, come back with bigger army. And bigger…" I mimed testicals and Hera laughed, then spoke to the warlord. He glowered, then nodded understanding, hate radiating out of every pore./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Blue Horde sailed with the evening tide. I knew they'd be back. We would have to be ready./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 20/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The central problem facing us was our lack of ability to communicate readily. To solve that problem would require collecting a 'Speaker', a normal member of each of our nine different races, one who would be able to speak for us and interpret, but that would slow things greatly and be useless in combat. Still, we sent to the nearest communities seeking an assistant for those of us without one (we had plenty of Hares and too many Badgers would be a bad idea) but while that was brewing, we communicated in a hodgepodge of mime, yelling, and the written word, something that each of us understood, though even then our handwriting was all different enough to cause annoyance./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"We also began working on basic pawsigns for basic things, and reviewing the mountain's defenses, trying to find ways to multiply the effectiveness of our Hare allies. The mountain contained housing for thousands, and a war forge the likes of which few might have ever seen. It was a foundry of staggering proportions and when at full heat must make the volcano look still active./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Part of the communications issue was that no one here knows how to give a straight answer. Ask what time dinner is and you're likely to be told about thrushes and winds of autumn. Ask how many days worth of stores the Hares have laid in, find out it's as many as white stallions graze on yon red hills. Ask what's for breakfast and get an ode to lidless treasure boxes. Allegory, metaphor, riddles, allusions… straightforward speech is alien to these people…. But at least the Hares are no longer pretending not to be scared of me./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 81/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Lord Stonepaw's son, Lord Brocktree, has arrived, having heard that his father is being held hostage by strange invaders with stranger powers. Thankfully, I have my faithful speaker Urvo, a local Otter, to translate for me when I explain who we are (as best I can) and why we are here (in the immediate sense… existentialism notwithstanding). He brings an army with which to reinforce the mountain, and though there is tension between father and son, it is clear they have affection and mutual respect between them./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Brocktree is suitably impressed after each of us demonstrates a few of the things we can do, and begins flirting outrageously with Nike./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 85/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"It seems Brocktree's arrival was well timed. A larger fleet than before has just been sighted bearing towards the mountain. A small squabble broke out today between five different Hare Maidens all claiming that they were walking out with Ares, who didn't even have the grace to look abashed as he assured us all that he'd never told any of the lasses that they were his only special friend. For some reason, this annoyed Hermes and the two got into a bit of a scuffle. Stars forfend I ever succumb to the call of nature. It seems to make fools of us all./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The fleet will arrive in three or four days according to the scouts who reported it./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 88/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"We met them on the beach, a tidal wave of rats and voles and weasels. We stacked them up like kindling, and yet they came on and on. Finally I flew up into the air, enemy arrows bouncing off my armor and raised the sea itself to push their landing boats and swimmers and even their ships back out to sea, smashing all the wood together to create a jumbled floating island trapped in a growing sheet of Ice./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I called up Urvo, outfitted in as many defenses as my companions and I could muster, then landed upon the first ship. "Surrender or face the ice," I commanded, trying to be both regal and demanding. Ship by ship, the vermin gave up their weapons to me, and ship by ship I took the officers hostage against their crew's obedience./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"There were a hundred-and-thirty-one ships, carrying over thirty-thousand vermin. Ungatt Trunn had been joined by his brother Welak Trunn and the dark furred brother did not look pleased to be captured by an Otter./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I spoke, through Urvo, to each leader and each captain, seeking a reason for their invasion, be it climatological, famine, or simply lust for battle. While the latter was foremost, also prevalent was overcrowding of the lands they called home, a rocky, snowy peninsula to the north east./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I explained to the captains that their men would be allowed to come ashore in small work parties to build a compound, a town… to my specifications… which would be both their prison and their home. Twice now has the Blue Horde dared come against lands under my protection, and twice had I spared their lives. Now they would farm and mine for the Lords of this land and in exchange they would learn to embrace peace… or they'd feel the embrace of the sea./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I could feel the eagerness of these treacherous creatures to be allowed into the forests and fields of the countryside, where they would no doubt pillage and burn… but I had a surprise for them. At the far end of the beach from Salamandastron, upon the very stones the Merryweather had wrecked, I had had those of my companions with the power to shape and control dirt and stone, raise a causeway a mile or more out into the sea and at the end of that causeway to raise up a low island, bare of all greenery but large enough for a camp ten times as large as was needed to house all the vast horde./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The leaders were shocked, aghast, demanding to know where they'd find wood or stone to build with, and I pointed at their ships, still trapped in ice. "As for stone… you will have to earn that… as well as farmland… and the causeway will flood every day except at low tide."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I pointed to the stone fortress that was, even now, rising at the shore end of the causeway. "That's ours. Work well, earn our trust, pledge peace, and you'll get all you need to survive. Don't… and the sea will take you… and don't try swimming from your island, it's surrounded by reefs and shoals of knife edged rock and undertows." Indeed, the entire island was braced by just thirteen pillars of stone and could be sunk into the waves with relative ease. It also had no natural source of freshwater or soil in which to grow crops… and winter was coming./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 205/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"WHY IS UNGATT TRUN TRYING TO SEDUCE MY HERA? Grrr…. Stupid biology./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 374/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I look stupid in a dress. Why do dubbins need a party to celebrate their birth? Stupid horney badgers./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 600/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"If I smash my head against a stone wall enough, will it make these Vermin stop pestering me? Stars… it would have been easier to just kill them all. Now they want to form an assembly and elect leaders… but every racial faction thinks they should be in charge. The groups with small numbers (foxes, spiders, voles) think every group should have an equal number of speakers… the groups with lots of members (rats and weasels) think they should get more speakers. I point out, through my spokes-otter, that while the rats may have numerical numbers now, that might change, and they'd be at a disadvantage. To the weasels I point out that the more spokes-weasels they had, the fewer they'd be able to keep an eye on… even weasels don't trust other weasels./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Three per group, all reporting to the Wardens… the council of Brocktree, myself, Watch Captain Ares, Educator Hermes, and Scout Captain Bubo. Politics… so much more hassle than just killing everyone. And it is a problem. Vermintown has more people than the surrounding countryside does… and they aren't great farmers, though they're getting better at it… there is a lot of crime, which to me is crazy, poor people stealing from other poor people./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"But internal problems are to be handled internally. They respect strength, inasmuch as they respect anything, and the less heads we (The Great Ones) have to crack, the better. The threat of us has kept the peace these last five seasons to a large degree, with each successive mutiny getting less and less popular. The vermin aren't slaves, merely prisoners working on parole and to support themselves (and pay taxes and tithes)./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hermes wants to create a formal school for the younger crowd, while Ares is trying to make builders out of some of the more enthusiastic and trustworthy of the rats and spiders. Hephaestus and Artemis are doing their best to train the local soldiery up to a higher standard, but ultimately, we're still outnumbered./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 681/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Unrest in the camp. A work detail of some two dozen weasels went out with three otters and a squirrel scout two days ago and the entire group have now disappeared. Both groups are blaming the other and rabble rousers are hard at work drumming up trouble. Nike and Bubo lead search parties sent out to find the missing beasts./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 683/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Unrest has become alarm. Nike and Bubo have returned, Nike alone, Bubo missing half his scouts. Both parties ambushed, ambushers unseen, arrows out of the trees, archers gone by the time Bubo could swoop down to ground level, Nike barely surviving several dozen arrows thanks to Bloodwrath. Although the others advise against it, I shall go and have a look./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 685/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Have searched the woods most carefully, looking for campfires at night, cannot find anyone. During the day, I see signs of movement, but when I investigate, I find only empty woods./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 686/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Something is wrong, smoke on the wind. I rise from the hilltop vantage and see the Catchpole Otter Village burning. I arrive too late to save them, the people slaughtered, dubbins missing. Boats missing too. I move a moment too late, a pair of saber-like fangs sink into the exposed skin of my neck and searing heat floods into my veins. My backhand shatters the teeth, leaving them sticking out of my neck and a sword springs to my hand unbidden./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I cannot see my foe, cannot hear his breathing or thoughts over the throbbing of my veins as something within me pushes the fangs out, black metal forming across my neck and hands. The blade is cold, so very cold in my hand, but right, very right, a familiar vibration, one from hundreds of dreams. I know this blade… this is Soul of Ice… and I know what those fangs mean…. And I unleash a frozen hell upon the dead village, the temperature dropping from the height of summer day to the burning chill of the Heart of Winter./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"There is a groan to my left and a figure, covered in frost… long, serpentine body, falls to the ground. I place my sword to his throat. "Speak." I command, hoping to be able to make sense of his words in time. I bring fire burning on my other hand close to him. "Or Die Screaming."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"It isn't easy, it isn't good, it certainly isn't nice… but I get the information from him. Padraig, Lord of Poison, has brought an army of the Warriors of Summer to reclaim the mountain of the Fire Serpents… And to feast upon the folk of the long coast./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I freeze the toothless viper into torpor and fly as swiftly with my load as I can to Vermin Town. I do not see the stolen boats along the way, but they are there, somewhere. I land in the assembly square and lay my prisoner at my feet as the crowd gathers. Urvo was not there, but his cousin Radd was and he served as my speaker to rally the people of the town./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""We do not ask you to defend the mountain, where we, your overlords live. We do not ask you to defend the mines that bring forth metal to make our weapons, nor the farms where you toil to bring forth our food, nor the woods that provide nuts and berries and wood for our boats. We do not ask that of you, for that would be madness. Instead, we ask you to defend the walls of your town, the forge and mines where your tools come from, the farms and fields and woodlands where your food and the wood for your homes comes from. You came to us as conquerors, and we welcomed you as countrymen. Fight now for your homes, for the peace you have learned is possible. For if you don't… the serpents will feast upon all our bones. All they have is poison, while you… have me."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I lifted off into the air, a jump of over a dozen times my height, willing my sword into my hand, and brought it down as I landed, cleaving the Serpent's head from its neck. "Place this above the gate to show the Serpents what we think of them./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 744/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Today Padraig, Lord of Poison, was brought in chains to the hall of Lord Brocktree, his fangs shattered, his wicked eyes blinded. The brothers Trun bested him in mortal combat, at the cost Ungatt's life. Tomorrow, we shall lay him in state, a cruel man who nevertheless died a hero's death. Though the serpent horde seems unending, perhaps removing their leadership will cause internal strife… which it will, if I have anything to say about it./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 902/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I had a most peculiar dream last night. I dreamed that my flesh would melt and flow at my command… and when I awoke, I found myself in a form most alien, that of a catlike creature, but of more refined, less animalistic form than a Wildcat, and with soft and silky fur. No sooner did I wonder if I could return to my native form… than I transformed again… but not, as it were, into my otterform, but into a smooth-skinned nearly hairless being much shorter than my normal form. Was this, then my natural form? I had seen these strange paws in dreams before, but to actually feel with them was fascinating indeed. They had so much more sensation than my paws and the skin was shockingly sensitive to the touch./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I sought to recall all the forms from my dreams, annoyed that my otherwise nearly perfect memory (baring the whole lack of a past thing) did not seem to extend to my dreams… when I found myself inside a dark, winding labyrinth of dank stone. The pillars were massive, towering vaults a giant could lose themselves in, and there were semi-luminescent clouds everywhere./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To my astonishment, I discovered that, if I peered into a cloud, I saw dreamlike images flowing past. Indeed, they were familiar, for they were my dreams. A Labyrinth of Dreams? Was there then a Library of Memories? If only I could access that… though with my luck it would be…/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I found myself in a hall, brightly lit, full of signs and symbols and memories of my life, both before and after the wreck. The rooms of new memories were orderly, clean, and organized… the other rooms, the older past, was a storm-lashed ruin, everything tumbled and tossed. I did find my name however. Symbeline… how odd to know my true name… or was it? For Symbeline seemed to be the name of an Otter… not whatever I was. Was I then an entity of some cosmic realm, manifest for a mortal lifetime as Symbeline? I could not say, but it seemed likely./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I tried to leave the hall, but the door at the end was locked shut, strange symbols writ upon it in a language I had seen in my dreams but did not now know. Mysteries and riddles./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 1140/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I am really getting sick of killing Serpent Chieftains. It seems like a new one shows up once every hundred days or so… with a longer gap for the colder months. Maybe if I can find out where they're coming from…./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 1260/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Found out where the Serpents come from at last. Lots of swamp. It's a massive bog that stretches from the south-east coast of the island we're on to part of the northern coast of a larger landmass. Oh… and the world is definitely a sphere. Go up high enough and you can see it curve away from you. Very cool. Can totally understand why Bubo spends all his time flying super high… that, and the high speed swooping must be incredible./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Turns out that that far to the north is an island covered in rocks and snow and big white bears. Looks lovely in a stark kind of way. If only I could get the Serpent Chieftains and sub-chieftains there, they'd have loads of fun. That gives me an idea./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 1300/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Today we poled the massive pleasure barge 'Poseidon' into the edge of the bog and called for a summit, just us and the Serpent Leadership. We sent flyers to every clan and sept of serpents. Let them figure out their own order of precedence. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 1312/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"We have plied the Serpent Lords with wine and sweets as more and more of them arrived, explaining that we are waiting until all of the Serpents have arrived until we discuss the Terms of Surrender. The feel of their minds is cold, unpleasant, and full of slow wickedness. On the day of the talks, a thick mist rolls in, blanketing the marsh and warded off only by the torches we have burning all over the barge. For hours the Hares, under Ares leadership, tangle the Serpents up in establishing proper hierarchies, pitting them against each other until the entire thing dissolves into a shouting match, only to repeat./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Finally, one of the Serpents, the most likely candidate for Warlord of the season demands to know when we plan to get around to actually surrendering. At which point I motion for the Hares to leave and the hall soon contains just me and the Snakes and a very brave Urvo./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""Oh. It's not we who shall be surrendering. It is you, oh venomous ones."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That got a few laughs… until at my second motion, the mist turned to snow and through the billowing drifts, the Snakes beheld that the 'Poseidon', rather than being moored by the edge of the swamps, was deep in the middle of the open sea. It might look like a barge, but underneath the surface, it had rat-powered paddlewheels, eight of them, churning away nonstop, pulling us smoothly through the water./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""You could fight me, but then I'd get to fight back. You could try to swim… but I doubt any of you would make it… the water is dire cold and none of you know where land is. Or you could surrender, pledge peace with the warmbloods, and all that… or not."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"A few of them decided to break the peace-bond and attack. Their frozen shattered forms were left on deck amid the finery and spilled wine to remind the others of what I could do. A few others braved the sea and quickly succumbed to the torpor and then the deeps./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 1320/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"We arrived on the Island of the Snowbears… I do not think the Serpents are enjoying their stay. Most of them are huddled very close to the warmth of the braziers. In fact, once I'd explained that they'd be staying here for the next sixteen seasons and, if they wanted anything from back home, we'd be happy to ship it up to them… as long as they surrendered…/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Of course, it was possible their relatives would just write them off, but that would hardly be our fault, now would it?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 2001/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"As it turns out, loyalty is not a snake virtue, and no shipments were ever made. But without their leadership, the various snake clans… ate each other./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Day 3649/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"For weeks I have been having dreams of going down to the sea. I am no longer a young otter, perhaps sixty or sixty-five seasons, and my companions are all of an age. I have remembered many things of my life before the wreck, but it seems mostly like a dream. The Frogs came against us, but we turned them aside and directed them into the marshlands once held by the Serpents. The Crows came against us and we captured their rookeries and held their eggs for ransom. There were other smaller hordes, but we either converted or destroyed them all. Vermintown is a thriving city now, it stretches all the way along the coast between Point Vermin (the original town) and Salamandastron. Lord Brocktree passed some seasons back, but his daughter, Lady Cassandra, sits as overlord of the Coast. Tomorrow I will go down to the sea, the sea and the shore… and perhaps something wonderful will happen./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Are you guys sure she'll be okay without us?" Cirno the Ice Fairy asked as the others dragged her off to THE DOOR THAT NEVER OPENED. Cirno had long been curious about THE DOOR, but nothing she'd done had ever so much as made it budge. Even pouting at it hadn't worked, and pouting at things almost always worked! She'd even pestered her Liege Lady, the great and powerful EssJay (who was sometimes a Ferret Tengu, and sometimes not) about opening the door for her, but she'd steadfastly refused to even hear of it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"It was a given that, if there was a door in the place known as The Place Between (aka The Warehouse, The Place, Between, The Reality, Elsewhere, and Home), EssJay could open it. She could do everything. She controlled the universe… or at least as much of it as Cirno cared about./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah," Kendra grunted. "She isn't even going to be herself for the next jump, so for all practical purposes, she won't even be anything. Won't even remember us at all, for what it matters."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Are you certain you don't want to try to get Zane to come along?" The redhead asked the lady with the ebony skin. The latter merely grunted and continued packing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Before the coming of the Jumper, Cirno hadn't even known people could have skin that dark… or be that grumpy. She didn't really understand why the Jumper and the Slayer didn't get along very well, but they didn't and it wasn't Cirno's place to try and change that. All she had to do was obey EssJay… and Velma, now. EssJay had said so. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Velma's in charge of this little side-trip. What she says, goes. Got it?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Those had been the words of Cirno's Lord and so she'd obey as best she could. Otherwise there would be spankings. Of course, even when she did her best, there were often spankings, because she often got confused… or asked for them. If she was lucky, the spankings were even from her Lord!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Everyone ready?" Velma asked, looking around at the six pokemon and two humans. Nine total. Cirno liked the number nine. It was a good number… and important Jumpchain-wise. Everyone nodded, although the energy level ranged from half-asleep in the case of the dragon to hyper-energetic in the case of the little fuzzy monster who liked chasing Cirno far too much for the Fairy's peace of mind. He didn't actually know what had been asked, he just liked agreeing to questions. And people said that Cirno was clueless! She was sooo much smarter than Ziggy! That had to count for something, right?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"With everyone in agreement, Velma took the authorization card that EssJay had given her and waved it over the lockplate of THE DOOR. The card had "Return #1 Authorized. Destination: Johto, PokeLandia." printed on one side, and the other had their names in a list. As the card passed in front of the plate, THE DOOR shimmered, then vanished from the frame, leaving only a swirling blackness beyond./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""This Return has been authorized as a special exception by Jumper EssJay," a soft female voice said in a bored tone. "Due to drawback related circumstances, return to the Warehouse before the end of the decade will result in being placed in stasis. Is this understood?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Velma said, "We understand."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good. As this is a Return and not a Jump, you would normally not be entitled to any form of import. However, EssJay has negotiated that you be given the standard freebie package that she was given when she went here. As this consists of a Pokebag, Pokegear, Pokedex, Hat, ID, five Pokeballs and three potions, this was deemed acceptable. She has also arranged for you to have a yearly stipend of 100,000,000 Pokebucks per year per person to keep you comfortable. Do you accept?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Velma looked around at the others, who all nodded. "We do. Will we be given local forms?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You will each be drop ins, but you will be able to choose any age between 10 and 17 or remain your default age. Additionally, the Banker would like to extend a special offer to you. Since this is an atypical Return, and PokeLandia is not normally host to beings of your varied abilities, we are requesting that you submit to voluntary powerdown. Each of you will be restricted to your basic body mod so that you do not disrupt the flow of history too much absent your Jumper's oversight."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What about our Movesets?" Francine asked. "Most of us are Pokemon, after all."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What about powers that are inherent to how we are?" Kendra asked. "I'm a Slayer. I don't know how well I'd cope being weaker and slower and…"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The voice of the void beyond THE DOOR interrupted. "The Banker guarantees that you will not notice. Your limits will seem natural to you. You will not be brought down to normal human levels anyway. The Pokemon Universe is listed as Low Street Tier Normal, meaning that peak human feats are not unusual for common humans in this world. As for those of you who are pokemon, you will retain your ability to shift into your pokemon form, and project a copy of that form to your starter. If the copy faints, you faint as well, however."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You said as a Starter," AJ said, "But all of us are level 100. And those of us who can evolve are already maximum evolutions. And RayRay and Dyna don't even start that low! They're legendaries."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Dyna's a Mythic, not a Legendary," Petra corrected, looking smug./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The Banker feels this will draw too much attention," the voice said, still sounding bored. "Your projections will level up rapidly, twice as fast as a traded pokemon would level. But it will begin at level five. In the case of Companion Designate RayRay, it will take the form of a Dratini, Bagon, or Swablu. Companion Designate Dyna will take the form of a Meditite."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Dyna seemed unphased by that, but RayRay humphed. "All those mon are blue! I'm green!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""EssJay anticipated that you'd say that. She points out that shiny Dragonites are dark green and shiny Salamences are bright green. Shiny Alitarias are yellow. Take your pick." For the first time, Cirno detected a hint of smugness in that voice… but maybe she was projecting. Then again, she knew smugness. Most of the powerful people in Gensokyo were extremely smug./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I…." RayRay began, then looked torn. "Which should I pick?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Go with the Salamence," AJ suggested. "EssJay used to have one."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Dratini," RayRay said. "She also gave the Salamence away."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good point… though that was probably more down to not wanting to keep her in box and wanting her to have a good home than not caring. She also set Doomwaffles free, and she loved the big crazy bastard," Francine pointed out. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""How would you know," Petra teased. "You were usually asleep."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Only when I was an Abra!" the Alakazam protested. "We have to sleep a lot when we're that size!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""People!" Velma snapped. "Argue later." She turned back to the door. "Surely you're not going to give Ziggy a human form?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Negative. We are instructed to allow the Zig to do as Zig will," the voice said. "The three of you who are not Pokemon are to be given your choice of any non mythic or legendary starting pokemon, but the Banker has ruled that these mon will be pets, not Companions, so cautions against choosing sophont pokemon. You will also not be allowed to capture any legendaries or mythics."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Cirno watched as the two others talked between them. Both of them had played the rebuild of the Pokemon games that EssJay had programmed using her Pokedex and memory of the games. Cirno hadn't… keeping track of all the types and what they were strong and weak against had seemed like far too much work. She'd much prefered the shooty games./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Facing the door, she demanded "I want an Ice Fairy!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There are no Ice Fairy type pokemon in Johto," the voice said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"For a moment, Cirno was about to pout… but then she realized something. She'd heard that kind of statement before. Like when she asked for a Cookie and EssJay said "There are no more Chocolate Chip Cookies." That didn't mean there were no more cookies, it meant there were no more chocolate chip cookies. Cirno was a genius. She knew things like this. "Then I want an Ice Fairy type pokermom from a place where there are Ice Fairy type pokermoms," she demanded, stomping her foot petulantly and glaring at the door./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Confirmed," the voice said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I want a dog… so I'm going with Growlithe," Velma said, referring to the Fire Dogs that looked super fluffy but secretly scared Cirno. She wondered if Velma was plotting against her and shivered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'll go with the Chikorita," Kendra said. "They're plant type and can learn Solar Beam. Very useful against vampires."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Cirno giggled. "There aren't any vampires in Pokeplace! And it wouldn't bug the vampires in Gensokyo much!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Or Twilight Vamps," Velma pointed out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Or Dracula," AJ added./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Or World of Darkness Kindred with high enough Potence," Francine said, grinning./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. Well, we haven't been to the World of Darkness yet," Kendra snapped, "and if and when we do, it will be Fortitude that grants resistance to sunlight." Francine blushed at being corrected./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Okay, enough," Velma said, "Are there any other provisios? Any other terms of service? Can we get out of here?" A moment later, they were falling into darkness… and then they were standing in the middle of a lakeside promenade, watching as the sun rose near a massive white mountain. Velma nodded. "Very appropriate."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What is?" Cirno asked, still not certain she understood what 'appropriate' meant after all these years. People usually said it when they were pleased with the situation, but neve really explained what the word actually meant. She'd looked it up, but the dictionary was clearly lying, because it claimed that the word meant fitting or suitable, and almost never was anyone using 'appropriate' to talk about clothing, let alone suits./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's Mt. Silver," Velma said. "It has to be. That's the Pagoda Bell Tower of Ecruteak city."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And so it was./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*******/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So? Did you have fun?" EssJay asked the Ice Fairy who'd spent the last hour and twenty minutes telling her all about the food they'd eaten and the battles they'd fought in and all the times she'd helped some strangers… who had mysteriously turned out to be Team Rocket in disguise./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Cirno nodded happily, munching on a plate of cookies. "Yuh! And I made a bunch of new friends! And… and… I got to keep some of them." She licked her fingers clean of cookie crumbs, then pulled out her pokeballs and summoned the contents one by one. "This is my Ninetales, his name is Hilbert." She seemed exceptionally proud of herself for coming up with such a clever name as the blue-white fox with, yes, nine tails yawned hugely, then belched frost./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Since when are Ninetales Ice type?" EssJay asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""He's from Alola!" the ice fairy explained. "That's a tropical region over near Unova!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay blinked… "Wait… what? The PokeLandian counterpart of Hawaii has an arctic fox… okay… sure… that makes bugger all sense. Must be from a Generation later than six. I guess that's one way of expanding the line rather than coming up with all new designs. Reskin old designs with new types. A tenth of the work for ninety percent of the value." She held out her hand to the fox and said, "Niiiinnnetaaaaales."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The blue fox cocked his head to the side, tongue lolling out, then yipped and fluffed his tails. "Niine! Ninenine! Taaaaaales!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Cirno looked back and forth between her Lady and her pet. "Are you speaking Hilbertese?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes dear," the Jumper said. "Just asking Hilbert if you were a good trainer. He says you are."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The fairy grinned hugely, then schooled her expression. "Course I am! I'm the best!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"A snort came from the dark skinned woman across the room chatting with the asian man who sometimes was a Lucario and was the only other Pokelinguist in the company. "Best, huh? Yuh nah tell nah lies now."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Cirno sighed. "Okaaay… well… I might not have been the best… third best is good though, right?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay ruffled the small fairy's hair, knowing that Cirno was trying to imply that she was the third best in the entire world… when she meant that she'd been third best out of the trio of non-pokemon who'd gone to PokeLandia. "Yes. it's good that your pokemon like you. Much more important than being the best. All the best are those whose pokemon love them."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yaaaay… can I introduce the others then?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Of course," the lady said, scratching the Ninetales behind the ears. Hilbert was a simple creature, fundamentally lazy and so his trainer's personality suited him just fine. Unlike in the games, a pokemon could learn a great many more moves than just four, and each drained endurance from a common pool… and normally that fact would be enough to get a rough idea of how powerful a pokemon was, simply by checking the most powerful ability they had. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work on Hilbert. Not only was he a subspecies EssJay had no knowledge of, but even were he a normal Ninetails… they gained no moves by leveling up, making the process impossible./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"One by one, Cirno introduced the others: Flobit the Lapras (somewhere between Level 52 and 58 from the fact that he knew Dragon Pulse but not Blizzard), Goober the Delibird (not yet level twenty-five since he didn't know Drill Peck, the only move the fairly useless Ice Flying type learned from leveling), Eggsy the Blissey (she was between level thirty-eight (Heal Pulse) and forty-two (Egg Bomb), Thurstan the Donphan (who, despite the name was female, and who was at least level fifty, since she knew Giga Impact, the last level ability a Donphan gained), and Jones the Heracross, who didn't even know Feint, a move that his species learned at level seven. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay tried not to be judgemental. So what if Cirno had had the shiny purple insect that was one of the best attackers in the Pokeverse for nearly six years and had trained him as a beetle racer… what the aggressive bug thought about his largely pacific mistress the Jumper carefully did not relate. There would be plenty of time for that later./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Thank you for introducing me to your new friend," EssJay said, "Now why don't you introduce them to the others while I talk to Velma, okay?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Cirno hopped out of her Lord's lap, gave her a kiss on the cheek, then called upon her clutch of woefully trained pokemon to follow her 'cause she knew the way! /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Got lost in her own museum," the Jumper muttered. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She's a handful, but she's cute," Velma said, offering the woman who'd turned her entire existence on its head a cup of chai. "And I do have to admit that it was fun watching her utterly baffle Team Rocket… and most trainers, with just how… weird her strategies were. She kept forgetting which Pokemon she was using and ordering them to use moves they didn't know… or that don't exist. Flobit sometimes would at least try to do something. Thurston just used whatever attack seemed the most straightforward all the time… and Hilbert apparently think's he's a Snorlax. I thought you had to be joking about just how big and cute those things are… you undersold them if anything."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I am both slightly disappointed and extremely pleased you three didn't return with one," the Jumper said. "Now… before you introduce me to your own passel of pokemon… explain why I now have an infestation of bidoofs, bibarrels, sentrets, furrets, skitties, and what I can only describe as a dunsparce wearing a mongoose skin and a Donald Trump wig?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's a Gumshoos… evolved version of a Yungoos… who is Donald Trump?" Velma asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sleazy / shady businessman from my origin world. Famous for having a casino in Atlantic City that lost money and for trying to sell steaks in an electronic's store," EssJay explained, "No one important, but famous for having a silly yellow hairpiece. But that doesn't explain why the swarm."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They're his… ummm… kids."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh! Oh dear… he… well… good for him!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Actually, this is only like… a sixtieth of the… you do have some idea just how big the Field Group is, right?" Velma commented. "The Zig was… he got extremely busy… a lot."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Of course he did," EssJay groaned. The Field Group was the single largest group of interbreedable Pokemon, seeing as how it contained almost all the Pokemon based on mammals… all the way from the extremely tiny Diglett to the absolutely massive Wailord. It had, in fact, been something of a meme back in Origin before she left: Hot Wailord on Skitty Action. Or more like, with Ziggy around… mildly embarrassing weasel-thing on anything that moved action… and possibly things that didn't move. "Gumshoos huh? Weird. Not as cute as most pokemon. Must have gotten a new artist. So? You going to tell me about your adventures?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Velma chuckled, but nodded, sipping her chai. "I wouldn't call them adventures. We travelled around, relaxed, got some counselling, tried our hand at training. I don't think I've really got the temperament to be the best. My Mon are all more aggressive than I am… though they're not particularly aggressive by Pokemon standards. I didn't like seeing them getting hurt, and hurting others. I guess I'm a big softy."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay gave the other woman a pat on the hand. "Nothing wrong with that. How did you do, Badgewise?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… ummm… seven badges," the redhead said, looking embarrassed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's not terrible," EssJay replied. "Almost there. I'll give you some help if you like."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Velma groaned, leaning her head back and gazing ceiling-ward. She was clearly embarrassed. "Not… not seven badges in Johto… seven total. Three from Johto, two from Kanto, and two from the Sevii Islands."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay blinked. "Wait… the Sevii Islands don't have their own league… since when do they have gyms?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The Orange League is trying to expand to full league status," Velma explained. "They added two gyms in the Sevii Islands and one in the Decolore Islands." She pulled a pamphlet out of her bag and handed it over. "It's not going so well… too sparse of population, too spread out… but they're making a go of it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay, who'd only been aware of the existence of the Orange Archipelago and its League or the Decolore Islands in that vague way that someone with a perfect memory who's glanced at a map of the Pacific is aware of the existence of Tuvalu or Vanuatu, read through flier and grunted. The Orange League looked like the Cuban Baseball League… lots of spirit, lots of gumption, even some really decent players potentially… but essentially no funding in facilities that were, to be honest, a bit dated./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. Well… winning literally isn't everything. Having fun is the most important thing. Did you at least manage that?" EssJay asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh sure. We kept running into these three kids… well, I say kids, but they were teenagers and so were we, at least at the beginning. Cirno started at ten, I was fifteen, and Kendra was seventeen at the start. Ethan, Kris, and Kotone were fourteen," Velma said, showing pictures of the trio./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah. I know them," EssJay commented. "Well, not know. I recognize them, though I've seen only anime art. Protagonists from generation two games. Never actually paid attention to their names. Didn't play Crystal, just Silver. Had Heart Gold, but never got to play it before this grand adventure started. Red, Silver, Ruby, Sapphire, LeafGreen, Colosseum, Pearl, XD, Platinum, Black, and X. Owned more of them, but freetime was a myth. Nice kids?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah. Very nice," Velma agreed. "Kotone's lucky you weren't there. You'd have tried to steal her hat."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It is a very nice hat," EssJay agreed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Anyway, Kris was obsessed with documenting as many Pokemon as possible, Ethan wanted to be the champ, and Kotone wanted to defeat Team Rocket and become an Officer Jenny when she grew up. Cirno kept trying to convince her that Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy were actually evolutions of Ditto."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay facepalmed. "I told her that as a joke. She didn't actually believe that, did she?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"With a totally straight face, Velma said, "She's a very stable genius, our Cirno. But if you think that's hilarious, Kendra is convinced that they're some kind of infectious vector like vampires, since the Jenny, Joy, George, and Porter families all look mostly identical… clearly something weird is up… but I managed to keep her from declaring a crusade against them."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good on yah. So, did you meet up with the PokeProfessor?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Which one? Sam Oak or Orme Utsugi?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Utsugi? That's the Japanese name for Deutzia Hydrangeas." EssJay blanked, then aahed. "Must be his japanese name. I forgot that the Japanese professors are named for flowers… Oak is…. Hmmm… Orchid I think. Orme is the french for Elm… Elm Deutzia. Sure. My professor back in Hoenn was Odamaki Birch… Odamaki is a columbine flower. Anyway… I'd always wanted to meet professor Oak. He seemed like a real whackadoo."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""He was nice… distracted but okay," Velma said. "His wife, Yukina… Red's mom, is a sweetheart."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wait… what? Red's mom has a name? Red's mom is married to Professor Oak? Is Oak Red's last name… Red Oak… aahahaha… oh dear."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah… actually, his name is Satoshi, but there are two boys named Satoshi in their town, so one's nicknamed Red and the other…" Velma giggled./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Is Ash. Of course there are… what you get when you mix game and anime canons," EssJay agreed. "Okay… well, as long as you had fun. Want to do the introductions?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"What followed was much facepalming on the Jumper's part as her girlfriend introduced her to Daphne the Arcanine, Whooby the Noctowl, and Shaggy the Ampharos (the only male among Velma's clutch). At least the other three (Ragna the Gligar, Thena the Ariados, and Kuutar the Sneasel) had names that weren't Fred or any reference to said Yuppy Prince./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You named a dog after Daphne?" EssJay asked, uncertain if she should be aghast or amused./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She's very nice to snuggle with, but not really right to do anything naughty with," Velma said, smirking./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's… soo… wrong…" EssJay commented, wincing a little. "And Whooby?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Whooby-dooby-doooo!" Velma hooted. "It seemed like a funny joke… and Sheep-boy really is Shaggy. Scared of ghosts, inordinately fond of sandwiches, dense mop of hair."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""If you say so. And Kuutar… the Finnish goddess of the Moon?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She likes using taunt," Velma half explained./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And not a Weavile because you couldn't find a razor claw?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. I have one… Kuutar thinks it's funny to throw it at Kendra's Scizor, Vex. I guess she's not ready to grow up yet. I couldn't find the Razor Fang for Ragna though."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's okay. I have one if you need it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Eh. We'll see. Evolution isn't mandatory."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Says you," EssJay said. "But I know what you meant."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"******/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So?" The Jumper asked. "You want to show off your new friends?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kendra Young ground her teeth, then nodded. Had to be civil. Be a good little dark girl for the boss. Couldn't risk being sent home. That world was a nightmare. Better to be a second class Companion than dead meat. She'd thought she was ready to be a Slayer… thought she was strong. Then Angelus had killed her without effort. She'd still be dead but for the Jumper… she owed her her life… her happiness too. She was happy. Zane was a duffus, but he was her duffus… when the Jumper wasn't monopolizing him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Still, try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to actually like the smug little know it all. That superior attitude, that "I know what's best for everyone" vibe she gave off… oh how it grated. And a decade ago, when she'd messed up spectacularly… Kendra couldn't even rub her face in it. One did not gloat over the bodies of slain children. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"So they'd gone their separate ways for a while… and Kendra had found that she missed the little brat. It was some Stolkholm shit, clearly. If only there were some actual evidence of the Jumper being an actual racist that Kendra could point to, something overt… but she was painfully egalitarian in her treatment of others. If she liked you, she liked you. If she trusted you, she trusted you. If she hated you, she hated you. Ethnicity, Race, Species be damned./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Part of Kendra wondered if it was all in her own head. Had EssJay treated her differently? Or was she just too much like the Watchers who'd trained the Slayers, superior in their knowledge and authority. Was Kendra herself bothered by the Jumper's lifestyle? That was part of it, no matter how non-judgemental she tried to be. It wasn't natural to have so many lovers. Everyone in the group had flings from time to time; relationships outside the group were not discouraged and without the risk of disease or pregnancy, what did it matter?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Of course, such flings were temporary. Everyone in the group knew that. Get tied down and you might get left behind. So those relationships, even friendships, were always hemmed in by a looming separation. But relationships inside the group were different. Those were long term… for some. Not Petra, who was even more laissez-faire about her sleeping arrangements than EssJay… but the Bahs were mostly an item, Francine and AJ were all but formally bonded, and Uriel and Bao were practically an old married couple at this point… /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Then there was EssJay, who practically had a harem… and the relationships between those inside the harem were just… weird as well. The fact that the Hibikis were a pair bothered Kendra immensely, and the idea of them sharing the Jumper was just… unsettling. The power dynamics between Cirno, Velma, and EssJay was enough to make Kendra blush whenever it was thrust in her face… which was all too often. She'd have said something… but she knew that she was the odd one out. Demanding that others adhere to your own social mores only worked when one was part of the majority. Asking that others not engage in Public Displays of Affection when you were the only one who found it icky was just being a prude… and Kendra Young was no prude… well… okay, she was a bit of one… but she wasn't going to let everyone else know that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sure," she said, plucking the first ball off her belt. "We stored them in their balls just in case there was any trouble in the crossing. Have to have balls for pokecenters, right?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Essjay nodded. "I understand. Rules are rules. Also safer to carry them in certain circumstances."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""This is Ganja Mampie," Kendra said, calling the half-flower, half-brontosaurus Meganium out of her ball. "She be sassy an' sweet," she explained, voice dropping into the Patwah of her island heritage./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay chuckled. "Chubby Lady Mary Jane?" she asked as she patted the curious grass-type. "Tell me that you didn't name them all after drugs… no, wait… Velma said you have a Scizor named "Vex"?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kendra nodded, calling the red steel insect out of her ball. "Yah, she be… what you call it… Upsetting?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Vexing. Yeah," the Jumper agreed, eyeing the rather tall bug. "Intimidating."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not good at thinking things through though," Kendra sighed. "She's like Cirno's Donphan… not quite the same, but both are impulsive." Next she pulled out a Kabutops, somewhat shorter bug that was probably the ancient ancestor of the Scizor's prevolution, the Scyther, at least judging by the scythe-like arms. "This be Babylon."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You named your Kabuto after patwa slang for policeman?" EssJay giggled, shaking one of the Kabutops's offered scythe arms like a handshake. "Why?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""He be dead serious an be lookin' like a helmet, ay?" Kendra said, shrugging. It wasn't really a question. "Named me Xatu Wicked because she be wise and don't take no nonsense." she went on. "And me Mismagius Pasa Pasa." As she named the duo, she summoned them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"EssJay regarded the psychic Nazca parrot and the trickster ghost, then nodded. Wicked was patwa for excellent and wise in the mystic arts, while Pasa Pasa was a big ol' mix up, a decent name for a prankster like a Mismagius. "That's five… what's in the last?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… that be Backra…" Kendra said. "Been tryin' t' level her up, but dem Pupitar ain't so easy a ting ta do, nay?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Bakra… I… I don't know that term," EssJay said. Living in Jamaica for five years had given her a decent understanding of the local lingo, but an outsider never heard all of it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""A backra be," Kendra flushed. She didn't want to tell the Jumper that she'd named the soon to be Tyranitar after her. "A backra be a masta… a slave masta, ay?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… ah… a Tyrant. A slave driver?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Aye."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'd comment… but I named my seaserpent Doomwaffles, so I'm not one to talk," EssJay said. "Did you have fun?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Did betta than miss thing," Kendra said. "Got myself eleven badges, seven of them from dem Johto gyms."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Excellent. And did you stop Team Rocket?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Dem foo-foo? Dey always back for mo," Kendra said, grumbling. Team Rocket was a like an itch; you could scratch it, but it just kept coming back. Then again… that pretty much described the Jumper too./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"em style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"This is a Sidestory. To return to Redwall click a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" 2016/06/16/world-35-redwall/"HERE/a and to move on to Bleach click a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" 2016/06/23/world-36-bleach/"HERE/a. I tried to do my best Jamaican. If you're Jamaican, please help./em/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"Kendra's Pokemon/span/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Ganja Mampie' the Meganium (Sassy Female, Level 42) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Babylon' the Kabutops (Serious Male, Level 44) (Police man)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Wicked' the Xatu (Quiet Female, Level 31) (Excellent)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Vex' the Scizor (Rash Female, Level 18) (Upset)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Backra' the Pupitar (Bold Female, Level 34) (Slave Driver)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Pasa Pasa' the Mismagius (Naughty Female, Level 19) (Mix Up)/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"Cirno's Pokemon/span/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Hilbert' the Alolan Ninetales (Lax Male, Level 71) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Flobit' the Lapras (Quirky Male, Level 54) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Goober' the Delibird (Bashful Male, Level 22) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Eggsy' the Blissey (Gentle Female, Level 41) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Thurston' the Donphan (Hasty Female, Level 88) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Jones' the Heracross (Hardy Male, Level 3) /li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"Velma's Pokemon/span/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;" /p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Daphne' the Arcanine (Adamant Female, Level 43) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Whooby' the Noctowl (Bashful Female, Level 43) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Shaggy' the Ampharos (Timid Male, Level 32) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Ragna' the Gligar (Jolly Female, Level 39) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Thena' the Ariados (Serious Female, Level 32) /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"'Kuutar' the Sneasel (Impish Female, Level 21) /li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Being a Chronicle of Zed the Jumper and her army of Walrus-Men (Probably)/span – span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Jump 1: Worm/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I looked at the flyer on the wall, then looked around. It was lime-green and said, 'Live the Adventure! Silverlady Multiversal Cosmic Tours! Interworld Travel! Action! Drama! Free for the Daring Soul. Call 1-800-Jump-365.' in two different fonts and with a weird pattern of asterisks breaking up the text. It was about as non-descript as it was possible to be. Was it a joke?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I thought about it for a couple of seconds, then grinned. Well, if it was a joke, at least I knew who to play it on. Tugging the flier down, I pocketed it. I had a cellphone, of course. I was sixteen and it was nineteen ninety-nine, the year the artist formerly known as Prince had sung about in that old song. Everyone in my social bracket had a cellphone. Now I just had to wait until my best friend got done looking at the new Lord of the Rings Minis. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Zed," Val yelled from from across the game store, waving to get my attention (as if I could miss the six-foot six carrot-colored duffus). "Do you think Elrond or Celebrimbor would be a better fit for Duncan?" Duncan was Val's new half-elf wizard in my DD campaign and he was looking for the perfect mini… even though we didn't play on a dungeon grid or anything. We mostly just sat around Ben's basement on the sofas and bullshitted our way through adventures with me as the GM and the others as my hapless goons. The small weaselly ones sometimes helped by climbing up onto a couch or table and playing with the dice, but it was my game and if I wanted to bring my ferrets, anyone who told me not to wasn't going to have their character live very long./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I wandered over to the towering redhead who was four inches shy of being two feet taller than me, and looked at the two figurines he was holding. "Want to go on an adventure?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?" He didn't even look up from the figurines as his face twisted into a frown. I repeated myself, which caused his frown to deepen into a scowl. "No, Zed. We're not trying some weird new restaurant you heard about that's eighty miles away and just so happens to have a hamburger bigger than your head."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You liked the place with the giant burritos," I responded, pulling out my cell and dialing the number./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We drove across two states to get there and got back at five AM! No burrito is worth that!" he grumped as I waved his complaints away. I am excellent at waving complaints away./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes, Hello? Silverlady Multiversal Cosmic Tours? I'd like to-" That's as far as I got before the world ground to a halt around me and a young woman, clad entirely in a skin-suit that looked like liquid silver, and maybe twenty or twenty-two strode over to us. She grinned, then plucked the two figurines from my best friend's hands… his total unmoving hands. I blinked at her, then at Val, then back to her as she regarded the figurines./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Celebrimbor's full Elven, and a warrior. Your friend would be better off with Eldrond," she opined,/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Elrond," I responded instantly, without even thinking about it. Who had even asked her! How dare she… she… look so good! And why was Val frozen… why was everything around me frozen. Oh god. She'd frozen time for everyone but me. I started hyperventilating a bit and thought, for a moment, of pulling the CRKT tactical folding knife out of my pocket… then thought better of pulling a weapon on anyone who could (apparently) stop time./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?" she asked, looking blithely unaware of my concerns or considerations./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's Elrond. Not Eldrond," I explained… I get pedantic when I'm nervous. "There's only one 'd'. What the hell is going on?" I blushed a bit as that last just kinda tumbled out of my mouth./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh! Sorry," she held out her hand. "I'm the Silverlady… you can call me Jump-Chan. I come from the Internet." A Reboot badge appeared on her chest for a second, then faded back into the silvery liquid fabric./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Riiiight…" I agreed snarkily, "and that means you can freeze time?" It was a stupid question, but not really one I could avoid asking. My entire sense of reality was hanging by a thread at that moment./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh, child…" she laughed, waving a hand airly. "I can do sooo much more than that. Now, you're in luck. As the _th caller," I couldn't make out the number. "You've won an all expenses paid trip everywhere and anywhere. But that's not all! Just for signing up, you get a brand new and improved custom designed body and an extraspecial Cosmic Warehouse to store Souvenirs in!" She grinned maniacally, I frowned suspiciously… we must have looked ridiculous… but there was literally no one capable of seeing us. If two young women look ridiculous in a game store and there are no guys unfrozen in time to witness it, does it really count?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Finally, I said. "I have a six-thousand foot tall Ogre in my fantasy setting that swoops down out of the heavens and plucks up people and drops them off someplace else…" I also had a ferret god who did something similar, based on the fact that sometimes my ferrets would steal game pieces and carry them off at random… or just nose them around the board, but I didn't mention that. "Are you like one of him?" I also didn't mention that said Ogre had a false nose in which he stored an entire arsenal of magical weapons. He was a god. Gods don't actually have to make sense. They're legends./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes!" She agreed far too easily. "Very much. Except I don't just drop you off… I make you part of the story! Won't that be fun?" She seemed far too enthusiastic about this. Clearly it was a trap./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sounds absolutely terrifying," I commented, trying to figure out what the trap could possibly be. Clearly this was some kind of higher being. If she wanted to harm me, surely there were easier ways. Without really thinking about it, I found myself saying "But… sure. Fun. A Warehouse, huh? Does it just appear in whatever city I'm in? I have a bar that's in every city in the Universe." I was rambling. I ramble when I'm flustered. I hate being flustered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No," she corrected. "You invented a bar that's in every fictional universe you imagined it in. Someday, if you're a very good Jumper, you might actually have that bar."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The idea was… intensely appealing. I had no idea what a Jumper was, but having my very own Meta-Bar? I grinned, eyes twinkling with avarice. "Okay. You sold me… I'll say yes… but I get to bring my ferrets along. Can you do that, oh great and powerful being of what is clearly mischief?" This was kind of a test… but also, I couldn't leave them behind. They need me! "Also, I'll need to leave a note for my family telling them not to…" I trailed off at her upraised hand./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Never fear, child," she said calmingly. "Time will not pass while you're gone. Even should you fall on these adventures, you will be returned to this world as if time had not passed and with your memories refreshed to the moment you left! Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz… but even better!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Better?" How could there be better than the moment I left?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She grinned exactly like that old guy on The Price is Right. "You'll get to keep anything in your Warehouse and anything else you've earned along the way! As long as you keep me and my friends entertained!" Her smile was a thing of too many teeth and too many angles… but I was already picturing it. Oz! Pellucidar! Barzoom! Neverland! Midkemia! Endor! The other Endor! Majipoor! Vulcan! I would have signed on the dotted line if the seller was actively a giant bat-octopus that had risen out of the ocean deeps to offer me a non-euclidian contract and a pen that had ink the color out of space./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're some kind of Eldritch Abomin…" I began, but then THE UNIVERSE disappeared around me in swirling vortexes of madness, and I was in an empty Warehouse looking at a list of options with prices floating in midair. The first thing on the list was 'Heroic Body' and the price was 'Gratis'. When I looked at that line, the explanation expanded and a full length mirror appeared beneath it. I gasped and blushed. I was very naked and… there wasn't anyone else in the entire vast empty space. I shrugged and examined myself./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I looked a bit different. First, I wasn't wearing my glasses… and after blinking a couple of times, I determined I wasn't wearing my contacts either. My body looked fitter, tauter… healthier. And there were slider bars like in some of the newer games, but the image was much crisper than even the most powerful computer could generate. Total verisimilitude. What? I had the highest GPA in Sophomore Class!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"A bit of fiddling with the sliders and I was happy. I added a few pounds so I wasn't so thin and a couple of inches… boosted my breasts a bit… removed all extraneous body hair… gave myself a permanent tan. I could feel all the changes… it was odd… but not painful. Clearly, I was either insane (more insane) or Jump-Chan had real no shit reality warping powers. Heroic Body also came with Evercleansed and Metavore, which were awesome. One was like always just being fresh from the shower, and the other was a guarantee of perfect nutrition as long as enough food was ingested… and no gaining weight either. Hell, I could be happy with these changes alone!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The Warehouse thing was much more prosaic. I got the Plumbing because a girl's got to have a place to… umm… you know… Get your mind out of the gutter! The other stuff! I was pretty sure I could get generators and heating and housing (maybe an RV or something) in here… but sewage had to go somewhere. No avoiding it. Also the medbay, because it seemed like a good idea to have healthcare. Portal and Link would allow me to use the Warehouse as a teleporter essentially… plus much faster access than the default key that required a door with a lock. Force Wall I picked up to keep others out of my stuff./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hey, this Return option? Is it once per world?" I asked the emptiness. She'd appeared out of nowhere. She could do it again./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No. Just once." She said from behind me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're kidding? That's not worth points? And give me some clothes!" I snapped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What? Yes it is." She said, summoning my clothes. It had been the height of a midwestern winter and I had been wearing many layers (at my previous eighty-two pounds, I had all the insulation of a metal shed… i.e. none.) Unfortunately, while I was now dressed, my clothes were now slightly too tight. She noticed then waved her hand and the clothes returned to their normal bagginess, only bigger now. Useful trick./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No. It isn't," I argued. "For that price, it should be reusable. Or something. Does it allow me to start an adventure over again from the beginning?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No!" she snapped, then eyed me suspiciously. It was a strangely familiar expression and I tried to remember where I'd seen it before. "Are you glowering at me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes!" I snapped back, "I'm trying to make you change your mind."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Whatever," she sniffed. "Fine. Once per six jumps you can return to a world you've previously visited. Fine?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes," I agreed, not really understanding what a jump was, but figured that she must mean after having visited six worlds I could go back to an old one. Seemed a strange metric. Go on six tours and you can go back and take another tour of the same place you've already been. Honestly, I wasn't really certain why I wanted Return… but I'm the kind of person who watches her favorite films over and over and over again until the video tape breaks and then pesters her dad to buy her the DVD… assuming it's out on DVD. If not, she pesters her brother to rip a tape from blockbuster into digital format. Stupid no record DVDs. "Fine. And I get to save up charges if I don't use them… Like Vacation Days."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Fiiiiine." She rolled her eyes. At that moment she soooo resembled my twin sister. I giggled. She glowered. I stuck out my tongue at her. I'm a cheerleader… and a blonde… I'm allowed to be immature./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Cool," I said, then grinned. "And I'll take the Stasis Pod and that's all my points."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Great!" She pulled a clipboard out of thin air exactly like Bugs Bunny would. "Your first stop will be-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wait!" I shouted, waving my hands frantically./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She looked at me over the top of some serious black-rimmed glasses that had just materialized on her face. "Whaaaaat?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I need some stuff from home!" I demanded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I already told you, time won't pass!" she insisted. "Your ferrets and family won't even know you're gone." She was looking exasperated… Many of my teachers routinely looked at me that way. My sister too. Whole family really./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Spiffy," I deflected. "But, I've got all this space and a new body… I want everything from my bedroom and bathroom. Oh… and since no one else is going to be using them in the no time at all I'm away, I want all the games and movies and books and comics from my parent's places." My dad had a huuge movie collection and tons of comics. My big brother had all these video games and fantasy novels… and a really nice computer. It had a 500 megahertz Pentium II Processor with 32 megs of RAM and a 4 gig Hard Drive… I wasn't really certain what any of that ment, but he had bragged about it enough for me to assume it was impressive. It was certainly good at playing games./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Jump-Chan rolled her eyes, then waved her hand airily and bookcases and comic long boxes and clothes and furniture just started appearing around the warehouse. It was the contents of many rooms, each spread out with no walls at all. Even the kitchen cabinets appeared… then crashed to the ground in a shattering of china as she brought in both kitchens. She blinked, then grimace and the cabinets reassembled themselves and just hung there long enough for metal braces to be installed by an invisible work crew./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There. Every non-living thing from both of your parents' residences. Also the contents of the basement where you and your friends play your strange games, and your lockers from school. and Your car. ANYTHING ELSE?" She sounded annoyed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I nodded. "I still want my-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She growled and my ferrets' cage suddenly had three small heads peering out at me. She smiled wickedly, "Good luck finding ferret food where you're going." She sounded smug. I glowered at her. "Oh, it won't be impossible… That would be mean! It'll just be a pain in your backside."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I frowned, then grumbled and nodded. Then I tapped the Stasis Pod. "The description said 'Take One Person With You'."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. You can bring anyone you can get into the pod from any world you visit. They don't count against your active companion limit… that's normally 8 by the way." She was back to impassive chaos entity mode… and a bit lectury. Now she was reminding me of my mom./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I didn't know what she meant by 'Companion', active or not, but I shrugged. "Cool. I want to use it to bring Val along."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Val? Who's Val?" Now she looked confused./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The boy who was looking at elf minis," I explained./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She frowned, then tapped the clipboard against her thigh as she explained, "He's from your original world. You can't bring him along."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It specifically says 'Take One Person With You'!" I yelled, stamping my foot. "It doesn't say from a world other than your own! We're still connected to my world and I want to bring Val- Owww!" I yelped. She'd zapped me! It hurt! I glowered. She glowered. I glowered more. She sighed and waved her hand again and Val appeared, frozen in Carbonite just like Han Solo./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There! Have fun! Now, your first world is a place called WORM! I hope you have fun, because it's terribly dangerous!" And she vanished before I could ask her anything about it. She did leave behind another glowing panel full of very… very interesting choices. This was some kind of character creation… except (apparently) the character I was creating was me? Weird./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The first thing the glowing panels explained was a list of terms, just like as if I was reading an RPG manual. I'd read a looot of RPG manuals./p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Jump:/span a stay in a setting, usually ten years in length. At the end of a Jump you'll be able to choose to stay in that setting, move on to another jump, or go home. This choice is guaranteed to be free of all external forces which might otherwise seek to sway your choice. If you die in a Jump, you will be sent home with all your purchases./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Choice Points / CP:/span Each jump will provide a fresh supply of CP with which you can buy various options such as Origins / Backgrounds, Perks / Powers / Skills, Items, or Companion Imports. Most Jumps provide 1000 CP./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Drawbacks:/span These are additional optional difficulties and challenges that you can take to increase how many CP you gain at the beginning of each Jump. They come in two varieties. Chain Drawbacks persist from Jump to Jump, but provide the same number of points in every jump. Jump Drawbacks are setting specific and wear off at the end of each Jump. You may select up to six-hundred CP worth of Chain Drawbacks. Each Jump may or may not have a limit on the amount of Jump Drawbacks you may take./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Origin / Background:/span Who you will become in a given Jump. All origins that are not labeled 'Drop-In' provide a world specific set of memories as experienced by you had you been born in that world rather than your own. Drop-Ins provide no such memories, and usually no connections to anyone in that world. These pre-memories will be stronger than your core memories during a jump, but will fade into the background once the jump that provides them has come to an end. A Return will refresh local memories./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Perks / Powers / Skills:/span Things you can do that are fiat-backed to work from one setting to another./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Items:/span Things you can buy that are fiat-backed to work everywhere./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Companions:/span Peoples what follow you around and generally get in the way. May alleviate boredom or be useful target practice./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Pets: Non-Companions that live in your Warehouse./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Next to that was a list off everything that was on offer for this WORM setting. I had no idea what it was about, but it sounded like a comic book world if I'd ever heard of one. In addition to the sixteen-hundred CP I got from the Jump and my Chain-Drawbacks, I could take a thousand points worth of WORM specific Drawbacks. Of course, I was mostly flying blind there, but I've always been good at character creation in games… apparently this time I was playing for higher stakes than just a good story to kill a sunday afternoon./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"AWAKENING/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And that's why we're standing in Trafalgar Square, London, with three ferrets, twelve years into an alternate world's history with new memories and super powers. So… what power did yommmmphh" I could no longer speak lucidly from the fact that Val was busy trying to smother me with his scarf. Thankfully, no one was watching and he calmed down a bit after I kicked him in the shin./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You got us transported to a NEW WORLD!" He hissed, inches from my face. It was impressive, him bending over that far./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes, precious. I did!" I was grinning like a goober, but I couldn't help myself. This was amazing! I could already feel the changes all my new perks and powers were working on and in me. "It'll be awesome! Fun! Adventure! Mayhem!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And then you promptly locked away all the stuff from our own world in this Warehouse you say is hidden outside of space time?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ayup. I thought it would leave the beasties behind too, but apparently, Jump-chan is annoyed I bullied her so now she's not letting me lock them in time… apparently time doesn't pass in the Warehouse if no-one's in it. Oh… right… apparently I now own a clothier's named… ummm… Kingsman Tailors… so we should go there. I seem to know that there's a nice secure conversation room there."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He followed me, grumbling the entire way… but then again he usually did that when I dragged him along places. What else is a best friend for if not to drag places. The fact that he was both male and physically imposing was just a bonus as it tended to keep the weirdos away./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You should be happy! You're old enough to drive now, right?" I wasn't. I'd ended up randomly generating an age of fourteen, which meant I wasn't even close… and my newly increased bust size had shrunk accordingly. But Val surely would have picked the older of the two age brackets on offer since he was constantly complaining about not having a car and having to get rides from his older brother or me or our other friend Ben. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No. I picked the younger bracket because I didn't know any better!" he growled, dispelling my impression of him as being the logical one. "I have no idea what's going on here, Zed!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. Right. I have a copy of the book or something that this world is based on. It's in my backpack. We'll take a look at it when we get… wow… that… that is a nice suit." I looked at the window of the tailor's shop my great uncle Arthur had left me and pointed at it. "You should get that. You'd look good in tweed."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Another round of attempted Zedicide was narrowly averted because there were other people on the street./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Once inside and out of the damp and cold… it was January First here in the Wormiverse… we opened up the really high tech (We're talking something that made Star Trek TNG look outdated… this world clearly had some impressive tech-based supers… sorry… in the Wormiverse they were called Tinker Paras.) computer… something called a 'Tablet' like something out of a hyper-tech Sumeria and we took turns reading the book… it was quite long and there was a ton of commentary… outloud to each other as the ferrets scampered around the conference room that seemed a little out of place at a Tailor's shop./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"This world was not a good one to be in… and it was going to get a whole lot worse before what was wrong with it was fixed. It had something to do with a girl in the US named Taylor and an Alien Boogabooga named Zion or Scion… and billions of people were going to die… and that was if everything went well. If it didn't… oooo… fuck./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"LATER/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Anyway, Now that I've explained all this to you, do you think you'd mind not, you know, killing all the humans? I mean, yeah, it kinda sucks about your girlfriend. It really does. But if you think about it, what happened was a kindness. She was dying and in agony. I think that's ultimately the problem with your race. You all suffer so much, and then you blow yourselves up and start all over again. Wouldn't it… I dunno… be better to just try and be… more like us? Sure, we bicker and fight and we do terrible things to each other… but if you're human… or pretend to be, you get companionship. Not just one companion… but thousands, millions, billions. And if you're still worried about the others like you… maybe we can help you find a way to destroy them… eventually. You connect all these worlds… but you could connect so many more if there were fewer entities to compete with for resources. Imagine what a few hundred billion humans armed with your gifts could do to the other entities… especially if they couldn't see us coming."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The incomprehensibly giant space worm called Zion considered my words carefully, then his avatar, the Para known as Scion, nodded. "We shall try it your way. I can always blow up all the Earths later, if I choose to. Could you please explain again about the Weasel War Dance? I'm not sure I understood that part."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To Be Continued in:/span a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" 2019/08/04/essjays-omake-theatre-2-part-2/"Zed and the Shinigami Brain Eaters of Sassafras Seven/a./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Author's Note:/span If EssJay is me, your lovable author, age 30-something, Zed is me age sixteen. Still in highschool, still dealing with a troubling past, but hyperactive and weird as sin. Zed's adventures are snippets in the classic sense, far less comprehensive and introspective than EssJay's. I created these originally for a Jump a Day writing challenge, but I thought I'd share them here. How, exactly, they relate to EssJay's chain is very much open to interpretation. There will be no comprehensive Jumpstuff for Zed on separate pages. It will all be listed after the jumplog for you to ignore or peruse at your leisure. Sometimes there will be commentary in it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"Basics/span/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Heroic Body:/span The Jumper's body is finely tuned. They are in peak physical condition and highly athletic. Also, while they have no real martial arts training (yet) their fitness, reflexes, and high pain tolerance starts them out as a pretty good brawler. They are also highly attractive and a big hit with their preferred sex. If the Jumper had any health problems, bad eyesight, etc., before starting the Jumpchain then obtaining their Heroic Body will fix all of that. At the time you first obtain your Heroic Body you may specify whatever height, weight, hair/eye/skin color, and general appearance and ethnicity you prefer, so long as it remains mostly within real-world limits.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Description:/span Female, 5'0″ 101 lbs, platinum blonde, b-cup, green eyes, light tan skin, vaguely european./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Evercleansed:/span By the magic of jump-fiat the Jumper's body automatically takes care of all its body hygiene needs. They will always be as clean as if they just got out of a shower, brushed, flossed and (at their option) shaved./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Metavore:/span The Jumper will retain their physically fit body and appearance no matter how much or what they eat, so long as they are eating enough to not be malnourished./li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Warehouse/span
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Plumbing 10/140/150:/span Must have. Everything else is negotiable/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Medbay 20/120/150:/span Vital for, you know, reasons./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Portal 30/90/150:/span Required for Link and just about awesome/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Link 30/60/150:/span Soooo useful/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Stasis Pod 20/40/150:/span For reasons which should have been obvious/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Return 20/20/150:/span Just in case! Gains 1 Charge every six jumps./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Force Wall 20/0/150:/span Security is good. Less vital with Portal Link, but sure, why not./li
/ul
/li
/ul
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Single-Shot [+100]:/span Death is no longer a revolving door for your Companions. Those that die in a Jump stay dead until the end of the Jump, rather than respawning after a day or three. If they have a Perk, Power, or Item that allows them to respawn (a 1-up), that works as normal. If you have Rez abilities, you can use them, though it is actively draining to do so. All your Companions gain 100 CP automatically every jump this is active for. If a Companion is not imported, they cannot get freebies or origins.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Totally took this because death should be, you know, scary? I don't want people who've got my back to think their own lives aren't valuable. Also this gives them more points for, you know, doing something they should be doing anyway./li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"One and Done [Another +100]:/span Your Companions don't respawn at all without a Perk, Power, or Items of their own that allows them to prevent or recover from being dead. Once they die in a Jump, just like you, they're dead, although you may Rez them if you possess the ability to do so, though this is extremely traumatic to your Companion… better than being dead though. Rezzing a dead Companion also requires you to deactivate 10% of your current cumulative CP total worth of perks until the end of the current jump. Requires and Replaces the effects of Single-Shot. This gives any Companions you have an extra 300 CP automatically every jump (in addition to whatever CP they may or may not receive for being imported). If not imported, they cannot get freebies or origins.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"More of the same, but here it's a) more points and b) I don't want to start thinking of Val or anyone else I pick up as being… you know… expendable. That would be creepy. Just need to find me some Rez ability ASAP./li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"No Exit [+50]: /spanJump-Chan is sick of Jumpers entering a jump and just buggering off and hiding. That's no fun. While you don't have to participate with the plot, you can't just hide. You must remain in the jump-zone the entire time. No finding an abandoned star system to hide from the Reapers, no flying away from Kyrat on your spaceship, no hiding in your Warehouse.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Jump-Chan said I had to be entertaining. Running away doesn't sound entertaining./li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Candyman [+50]:/span You will find yourself compelled to steal all the Candy you come across. Willpower and morals will avail you nothing in resisting the compulsion. Only having eaten two pounds of candy will help solve your compulsion… and then, only until you get hungry again. If you haven't eaten enough candy within the last 24 hours, the compulsion will be stronger and will require eating two pounds of candy for every 12 hours or fraction thereof that you've gone without. Must be obtained in jump, not from your personal supplies.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I get points for this? Okay!/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"You Bitch! [+50]:/span You will automatically make plans to seduce anyone you find attractive… if you know they're in a relationship already. You may not act on it, but you'll always be tempted.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Always wanted to be more… less freaked out about relationships./li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Dark Stormy Past [+50]:/span Wherever you go, you bring with you the memory of some dark, sordid, and horrible deed… though the details change with each new jump. You will always feel a strong connection to this event and it will be pivotal / formative for your in jump identity. For 50 CP, this is a vaguely disturbing memory, something that will be embarrassing to you if it comes out.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Heh. Zed is Interdimensional Woman of Mystery!/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Humiliation Conga +200:/span Your enemies will not willfully kill you. Oh no… they want you to suffer. Some will torture you, others subject you to humiliation and or degradation… Some will prefer physical methods, others mental, still others sexual or emotional techniques… Feel free to customize what, exactly, each enemy will do to you… or just pick a single specific theme (Everyone wants to tickle you for hours would work. As would people keep crucifying you.) For an extra +100 this is guaranteed to happen at least twice every jump. While you're free to escape after being captured, you will always have to put up with at least an hour of humiliation each time you're captured. They will find a way to abuse you somehow… they did capture you, remember? If a jump lasts longer than 10 years, the count for Humiliation Conga resets every decade. The guaranteed being caught does not raise your enemies power level, but rather temporarily (up to one day) renders you vulnerable to being captured (but no more likely to be killed). Being captured will put you at your enemy's mercy for at least 6 hours.
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Been through worse./li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Cannot Into Drop [Variable]:/span You cannot be a Drop-In… ever. In exchange, you gain a 50% discount on any origin that costs more than 100 and can take any 100 CP or less origin for free. If the jump has 2 origin types (Race and Occupation perhaps), this applies to only whichever one has the drop-in option for that jump. If the Jump has no Drop-in options or only drop-in options, this has no effect. You may treat any two Drop-In perks or items as if they were discounted for you in each jump. If any origin can be made drop-in, you get one discount from an origin you didn't take and may not use the drop-in toggle. Chain-Only. ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Drop-In seems… weird. I dunno. Knowledge is good. Plus, who wants to play a character that's just… themselves?/li
/ul
/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Jump #1 – WORM [2600 CP]/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Rogue [Free]:/span Yeah, triggering was bad, and you might not exactly be a paragon of mental well being, but you're sane enough to realize that dressing up in a costume and fighting for your life in some godforsaken alley is the dumbest thing you could do with your powers. You're out to use your abilities to make your life easier, and that means making money, lots of it. You've already come a decent ways, having found or built a business that lets you use your abilities to bring in a nice flow of cash that makes sure you're living comfortably. So far you've avoided getting dragged into the life or death conflicts that populate the streets, but there are some things that nobody can avoid./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Outside Context Problem [Free]:/span It'd be boring if you were to just die right at the start so for free you'll have a selective immunity to the powers of a few rather nasty plot device level opponents that by all rights would probably want to kill you right out of the gate. Contessa, Ziz, and Zion's precog doesn't seem to be able to pick you up, instead returning a zero-sum error whenever they try to force the issue. They won't notice this until you garner enough attention for them to try and then they might take further measures to see what the problem is. But at the moment you'll be safe from being instantly killed due to the threat you pose to their plans. This works on all shard/entity derived precog. Your peculiar inter-dimensional nature just messes up their ability to predict you. Coil is an exception due to the weird nature of his power./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Opportunist [Free Rogue]:/span You are a bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out and seizing opportunities. Whether it's in business or on the streets you can feel when your chance is coming up from a mile away. From blind spots, coincidences, fleeting vulnerabilities, to that one in a million shot to turn the whole fiasco around, you'll be able to spot it when it shows itself. That being said, you have no extra capability to act on these chances. You're just aware of them. /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Leave Me Alone [Free Rogue]:/span Whether it's being hassled by officials or gangs wanting to recruit you, people no longer go out of their way to trouble you beyond the needs of their day to day business. Gangs wouldn't mug you or try to forcibly recruit you, but if they were ordered by their boss to fuck with you then you'd be in trouble. As long as they don't have a pressing and serious reason to do so people just leave you alone./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Nothing Personal, Just Business [150/2450/2600]:/span You are effectively immune to being the target of grudges and vendettas barring some truly extraordinary measures on your part. Unless you cross a very serious line like attacking somebodies family any conflict or opposition between you is considered nothing more than business as usual, with no hard feelings. Attempts to retaliate might still happen as a matter of due course, but these will never be motivated by a personal desire for revenge. You are also able to negotiate and talk with even your worst enemy like they were a neutral if friendly party and they'll always consider your terms based on their merits rather than snubbing or ignoring you. Bargains struck are honored to the spirit of the deal, and all of these benefits also extend to when you act as a mediator between two parties, and to people who are directly associated with you./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Tooth and Nail [100/2350/2600]:/span You thrive when things are at their worst. The worse the circumstances and situation, the better you are at pretty much everything. Your instincts are infallible when it comes getting yourself and others out of something alive, and the more of a disadvantage you're at the quicker, cleverer, and more skilled you are. Being trapped in a dead end with no escape, almost dead from blood loss, exhausted, alone, and with the entirety of an enemy's forces bearing down on you just means you're at your most dangerous. This doesn't make you invincible; you just thrive under pressure when other people break./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Meh, I Can Take You [300/2050/2600]:/span People always fail to properly grasp and respect the threat you pose, whenever doing so would be to your benefit. You can still garner a reputation, have your name talked about in fear, so on and so forth. But even when you're face to face with an enemy they make the same mistake time and time again. You can expect to be overlooked until it's too late, fatally underestimated at the worst (for them) times possible, and in general not learn their lesson as well as they should. Individuals will catch on over time, but anybody who hasn't tangoed with you personally is going to make this mistake. Even if said individuals warned them about you, they're liable to not pay as much attention as they should have./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Spanner in the Works [300/1750/2600] CID Applied:/span You are the wrench which completely ruins the designs of others. You're completely immune to hostile attempts to predict your future actions or events involving you from extraordinary abilities. You have a preternatural sense for the designs in motion around you, and with a little effort can easily figure out how to unravel or disrupt them. This can range from subverting a villain's scheme to take over the city and potentially walking away with all of his resources, to fucking up a precog's Rube Goldberg like plot's to cause chaos and devastation. This awareness isn't automatic, but if you think to look for it then you'll find it./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Perfect Communication Skills [300/1450/2600] CID Applied:/span Your communication skills are god-like. People around you are all but literally an open book for how easily you understand them. Every action and word expressing infinitely more than its surface meaning. You know exactly how to best express and communicate even the most complex and nuanced of ideas, letting you talk people into or out of nearly anything physically possible for them. These skills render you immune to misunderstandings or miscommunication unless you've done so on purpose, and your ability to convince and manipulate people is the next best thing to mind control. These skills even work on beings that aren't human. As long as it has the cognitive capability (even if only in theory) to comprehend something, you can not only communicate with and understand it, but manipulate it as well. You are easily the equal of Jack Slash and Dr. Yamada in your ability to influence people. Which of the two you lean closer to is up to you./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Enlightened Self Interest [300/1150/2600] Rogue:/span At all times you possess a perfect awareness of how to advance your own interests in ways that benefit others. At the same time the beneficial effects on others of your actions is greatly magnified, particularly on the large scale. Just sponsoring a local neighborhood watch by buying them all new shirts and flashlights would result in a noticeable drop in local crime and increase in public safety, while your employees and business partners find themselves benefiting immensely from association with you, far more than they would working for anybody else. The effects of this perk may snowball over time, as these effects build on each other./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Best in the Business [300/850/2600] Rogue:/span The greatest advantage you could have is having the best and brightest out there on your side, but sometimes that isn't possible. This perk causes everyone working for you to rapidly gain in skill and capability, reaching the levels of a top tier professional in a week or two, and from then on showing noticeable increases over time within the fields they are operating in. Even scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to human resources isn't a problem, they'll be the equal of anyone else in the business quickly enough as long as they aren't just completely incapable of the job, and with sufficient time will make the former best look like amateurs. These effects are less pronounced the less proximity a person has to you on a regular basis, but even those on the fringes of an organization can expect easy competence and to become skilled at what they do./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Worm [50/800/2600]:/span A tablet computer that contains the entirety of the Web Serial along with an archive of every statement Wildbow has ever made about the setting. Fairly useful if you haven't read the series yourself. Releasing this on the internet could be fun for a laugh or two, maybe even worth it despite the scrutiny and chaos it would cause. If you don't mind ruining a whole lot of lives in the process…/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Funds [Free Rogue]:/span 50,000 dollars either in cash or in an account. Can be purchased multiple times. Rogues start off with 100,000 dollars free, and a slightly larger amount in material assets related to their business or whatever else it is that they do with their powers./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Costume [Free Rogue]:/span An extremely well designed cape costume fitted to your preferences, powers, and cape identity. The materials and construction render it extremely resistant to electricity, fire, cuts, stabs, bullets, the weather, and general wear and tear. Best protection you could get barring tinker tech power armor, or Brute abilities. You know how to make more./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Little Black Book [Free Rogue]:/span A small tablet computer that contains a complete database on capes everywhere, not including secret identities or anything that would be inside information. Contact information for every cape who has some manner of reaching them is in here, and for any other sort of contact that might be useful. All the way from contractors, to lawyers, to PRT officials. Uses the Internet to automatically update this database to stay current./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Business [Free Rogue]:/span A medium sized if stable and well off business that you own. Starts out turning an okay profit on its own without your input. The business itself synergizes with your abilities allowing you to gain the maximum financial revenue from using any powers you might have. Getting the most out of it will require your personal attention and involvement. You have all the necessary documentation, permits, and forms./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Forced Evolution [600/200/2600]: /spanIt's not the scope of what you're capable of that lets you truly grow and learn, it's your limits. Something you're perfectly suited to exploiting. You can at any time put any kind of arbitrary limitations on your abilities, or weaken them, even turning them completely off as if you just didn't have them. But when you really want to grow you can use this perk to effectively hinder, weaken, or even selectively cripple some of your capabilities in order to force yourself to grow or develop them along new lines. The limitations put into place with this will force you to push against them and break new ground in some manner. This could be suddenly hitting an entirely novel way to think outside of the box, shoring up holes you didn't realize were there, or even just using the enforced limits so that when you finally break past them you've managed a leap forward in raw power. This second use effectively locks in the limits and it will take time, use, and effort before you manage to break past it. You can undo this at any time if you need or desire to, but it will sacrifice all progress you've made and will require that you start over./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Cape [200/0/2600]:/span Hero, villain, or rogue, you either have or will quickly meet a cape who you'll find yourself becoming natural friends and allies with. They can have any origin other then Drop In, with freebies and discounts as normal. They receive one roll for a power for free, 400cp to spend per 100cp you're spent on them, and may spend CP to pick either a category to roll in or a power as normal. If a power that you or another companion already possess is rolled, then they may re-roll until they gain a unique one. Companions may be imported into this option, and if so may be Drop-Ins. Incredibly loyal regardless of whatever issues they may have. They may choose not to take a power as normal./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Power [Free w/ Roll 11/1] – Enhanced Mastery:/span Your ability allows you to master any skill or field of endeavor you care to name at an incredible pace, and to keep growing your skill from there. Within a few days of studying or practicing something you'll be on the level of the professionals in the field, and within a week you'd be among the experts. Your growth slows down from there but your ability to learn means that you always see noticeable increases in your skills whenever you put effort into them, with continual refinement always possible. Aside from that however your ability to learn and improve your skills is superhuman. You also possess perfect technical retention and execution, meaning that your skills and knowledge never degrade, and you always perform at the top of your game. As a rough guideline treat hours as months for learning and training time. This power only affects your skills, developed attributes like strength or energy pools aren't affected./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Personal Problems [+100/2500]:/span You have some personal circumstances that are less than ideal. Maybe the bullies who made you trigger are still around, you and your only parent are still distant, or maybe your life situation just isn't all that great. Drop-Ins suffer from arriving in probably the worst parts of their starting location, and will be running into trouble right out of the gate. Dealing with this is simple enough in theory, but it's gonna be a thorn in your side that takes up more of your time and effort then you'd like to spare. You also tend to just suffer these sorts of issues more than normal. Enjoy the Drama./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Case-53 [+100/2400]:/span You are a Case-53, with mutations that while not necessarily grotesque definitely makes you stand out. For 100 cp these are minor, like Canary having abnormally yellow hair with a feather or two in it. Your Case-53 form will be an alternate form you can switch into at will post-jump. Any physical and power drawbacks that would have stemmed from it are effectively removed, although the form will remain otherwise the same./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"A Bad Influence [+100/2300]:/span Shards want information to learn, grow, and evolve. They do this by influencing their hosts towards conflict in order to pit their powers against on another in ways which let them see how the hosts use their abilities in order to overcome their opposition, or innovate in novel ways. By default it's assumed that your Passenger is effectively benign, content to watch you and do it's part in managing your abilities in return for the unique information you can provide it. But if you wish for additional points you can make their influence more hostile. For +100cp your passenger gives you the basic conflict drive all parahumans have at a base, your highs might be a bit higher, your lows a tad lower, and you'll find conflict attractive and fulfilling in some way. /li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Bent to Broken [+100/2200]:/span This is a harsh world, and even the lucky ones tend to have their scuffs and scars. You're one of them. For +100cp you've got some basic struggles and issues, the kind that any normal person might have. Difficulty socializing, past baggage or grief that still affects you, the urge to push people's buttons to be the smartest person in the room, etc. Things that might cause minor but otherwise manageable issues with basic effort./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Jumper Cycle [+600/1600]:/span You don't have anything from any previous jumps aside from your experiences, knowledge, memories, and skills, including your warehouse. Only imported companions are with you, and they lose access to anything that isn't gained from this jump as well. You're gonna have a long hard road ahead of you. Oh, and all those powers and perks you don't have anymore? People are starting to trigger with them as their parahuman ability. The infinite mayo guy isn't all that dangerous (maybe), but god knows what else you just kicked up. Post-jump you may choose to have vague recollections of how people used your powers, although this is vague memories only and you gain nothing but the added perspective from them./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"Val (800+300)/span/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Cauldron Conspirator [Free]: /spanThe world is in so much danger, and anybody who pays attention knows that its in a slow decline with the odds against us ever finding a way out. In a world like this it can be hard to hope. If they only knew the truth about how bad it truly was. Whether you're a cape or merely someone else working with Cauldron to try and avert the end of all mankind, you know the danger that is hanging over this entire world. Whatever you moonlight as, hero, villain, or something else, you're one of the ones working to make sure that humanity can plant its feet with the greatest odds we can manage. Whatever it takes./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Out of Context Problem [Free]/span/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Power {200 w/ roll 1/X} – Doormaker:/span You are capable of opening portals to any destination you can think of. These portals may remain until you decide to dismiss them, and their size is limited only by your powers growth and the effort you put into them. These portals are capable of crossing dimensional boundaries, and into alternate mirror worlds. Post Jump you can still reach such destinations, but note that peculiarities of the particular world may change the fundamental nature of how these might function. Post-Spark these portals can connect anywhere in the multiverse/omniverse./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"You Are Not Alone {300/500}:/span The people around you will find themselves overcoming their issues and damage easier then may otherwise be expected. Your presence just kind of encourages people to grow past their damage and heal, even if they are only interacting with you occasionally. As an added benefit factors that would hinder attempts to help people psychologically are much less of an impediment. Willpower isn't very good for resisting you out of stubbornness, acting ability is far less effective at hiding that they are hurting, and bias will not just allow them to flat out ignore you. This will still take effort but you don't have to worry about them self sabotaging themselves. These effects also extend to you when others are doing the same for you, great for when your companions need to get something through that incredibly thick Jumper skull of yours./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Well-Adjusted {100/600}:/span You have the incredibly broken superpower of…honestly just being a well-adjusted person. Your personal issues are much easier to work through then they would be for anyone else, and even if you don't have any help you'll be able to get through them in time. This might take quite a while if it's bad, but you'll make it out eventually. You're also really good at helping others through their issues, and it'll stick more often than naught as long as you can get through to them./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Hard Decisions {Free Cauldron Conspirator}: /spanYou have what it takes to do what others can't. You have the combination of determination, self-assurance, and practical cynicism to make the choices that are necessary but no one else can bring themselves to follow through with. If sacrifices have to be made, lines crossed, and hands gotten dirty in order to ensure success not only can you do it, but to not be crippled with self-flagellation and guilt. If it was the right call then so be it, and if it wasn't the best choice, just the best you thought you had at the time with what you knew then there is no point miring yourself in guilt and doubt when you can learn from it and move on. The world needs it's ideals and heroes, but sometimes it also needs the one person willing to live with pulling the trigger./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Needs of the Many {Free Cauldron Conspirator}: /spanPeople are important, impossibly so. But a person maybe not so much, not always. You're a master of the mental calculus that measures the needs of a group, society, or a species against the needs and well-being of the few. You can care and empathize just as much as before, but you can always tell where that fine line is. It can be cruel, but sometimes the world only lives at the expense of others. When the future of all humanity is at stake, can you really justify otherwise?/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Cauldron Vials {300/900}:/span A case containing five vials of Cauldron formula. Unlike other formula these have no risk of mutation or death, being perfectly stable. Whoever drinks these is guaranteed to get a power that would be relatively powerful compared to the average parahuman. Aside from the powers suiting their host in some way (more aggressive people getting more aggressive powers for example) these are completely random. These have no effect on you. The case refills itself once a year. Outside the jump these still work despite the lack of shards or entities, simply giving the equivalent of a parahuman power. The case itself is indestructible, and unless purposefully given away will reappear in your warehouse if lost./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Costume (Free):/span An extremely well designed cape costume fitted to your preferences, powers, and cape identity. The materials and construction render it extremely resistant to electricity, fire, cuts, stabs, bullets, the weather, and general wear and tear. Best protection you could get barring tinker tech power armor, or Brute abilities. You know how to make more./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Little Black Book (Free Cauldron Conspirator):/span A small tablet computer that contains a complete database on capes everywhere, not including secret identities or anything that would be inside information. Contact information for every cape who has some manner of reaching them is in here, and for any other sort of contact that might be useful. All the way from contractors, to lawyers, to PRT officials. Uses the Internet to automatically update this database to stay current./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Numberman (Free Cauldron Conspirator):/span A phone number that you'll be able to call from any phone, which will put you into contact with the Numberman's banking service. Discrete, fully capable of any sort of legal or illegal cash services you could want, and able to transfer or otherwise move your assets in an untraceable manner. With this you can easily and securely manage your finances in whatever manner you need without worrying about things like legalities. For some reason there are no fees or charges for the services provided, asking will only note that you've been tagged for preferential treatment. This service will continue to function in other worlds, and won't have any trouble operating despite differences in the local economies./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Balance Formula (150/1050):/span Several containers with a strange liquids solution inside, of an element used to stabilize Cauldron vials at the cost of their potential power. These are special though. When mixed in with serum, formulas, or used in any other such procedure meant to grant people powers or enhance them in some manner it will greatly increase the stability and compatibility while ensuring that mutations or other side effects are at worst minor and trivially dealt with, and with minimal loss of power. The containers effectively contain a limitless amount, refilling whenever you wish them to, and will return to you or your warehouse if lost or destroyed./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Friendbringer {50/1100}:/span A miniature and strangely adorable version of an Endbringer seen in the canon story, which may range anywhere from the size of an action figure to the size of a toddler. They're like affectionate if obedient pets, though they possess only extremely weak and token versions of their original's powers. Enough to be cute and offer at most some mundane utility. Your tiny Ziz would be able to predict the future well enough to have your miniature Behemoth and Leviathan make it and deliver it before you even realized you wanted a cup, but beyond small things like this they're functionally just novelties. You should note that as harmless as they are, in this world this is gonna be considered extremely disturbing and cause for concern, and extremely poor taste. But what do you care, you got your novelty souvenirs./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Jouya looked over the forms. There was a sheaf labeled 'Special Circumstantial Operational Options Packet', all of which looked like drawbacks, another booklet labeled 'Generic Transmigration', and a third pamphlet labeled 'Vital Statistics Other Details'. "Ten minutes… a week?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sorry. Anything more violates the divine non-interference mandate," God explained. "Rules and all that."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Does that ten minutes include the time it's going to take me to fill this out?" she asked, looking at the pages. Reading it wouldn't take long; even without the power to read anything printed instantly (something she'd lost when most of her other selves had been… embargoed in another multiverse.) she could still manage to read sixty pages in less than a minute. Perfect recall is a hell of a tool. But reading and planning were different as climbing a tree and carving a canoe from it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh no," God assured her. "Only ten minutes of direct observation and contact. You can have an hour to do the prepwork."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wonderful," she said… then realized she was talking to no-one. Instead, she was on a different sky-platform entirely, this one decorated in a less Japanese style. In fact, it looked like something Jouya might have designed herself… if she was feeling a hawaiian vibe. There was a large wooden chest in place of the chest of drawers, a trestle table carved with hawaiian symbols, and a snack-bowl full of what looked like pork cracklins. She tried one. "Mmm… pineapple."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Settling on one of the cushioned stools, she considered her new charge. "Soo… Iwilei… are you male or female?" Iwilei had been a dock area of Honolulu during the early days of colonial contact, and had been the place where Hawaii's extremely problematic and exploitive history of prostitution had started. By the start of the 20th century, the area had been stockaded in an attempt to control the level of prostitution, but nearly a hundred and fifty prostitutes had continued to work the area until the Governor had ordered it closed down in 1944 at the behest of the moral majority. Of course, that hadn't ended prostitution in Hawaii, merely moved the venue (mostly to Chinatown) but then again, no regulation in history has ever stopped the oldest profession./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""John or Jane? What a terrible light to cast you in, little one," she commented to herself. The word Iwilei itself meant Yard… as the unit of measurement… or Collarbone. No help there, and the 'i' ending in Hawaiian wasn't gendered. "Hell with it," she said, flipping a coin. "Female it is."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"For obvious reasons, this entire process was proving harder that it would have been with an actual person. After all, a person would have a history, a personality… something to work with. They'd have had a body that hadn't been a store. This was madness… but it was now her madness to resolve. "Polynesian, obviously," the arbiter of this new entity's fate said, making a note and grunting with approval as a young, attractive Pacific islander took the place of the featureless female floating in front of her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good… give her some tattoos, Maori style," Jouya instructed. "Being unique should help her find a sense of herself that isn't merely copying others." She watched the black patterns unfold across the smooth brown skin, and considered. "Clearly physicality is going to be most important. Can't say much about personality, but she was a big block of steel and concrete. Maxed Resilience and Resistance to change. Peak Strength too. Decent endurance. Give her fair Reflexes and Speed as well, even though buildings aren't known for having any. Best way to keep her from getting hit by a truck again… Baseline human Flexibility and Coordination though."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As the system, whatever it was, ran through the changes, the not-quite a goddess looked around and sighed. "I need a ferret to talk to; I'm like a crazy lady, talking to myself." None was forthcoming… so she summoned the next best thing and rubbed the belly of the white tiger kitten in her lap. If the cat was concerned at being summoned, it didn't show it, making only grumbly happy purr-rumble noises./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Once the system pinged that it had finished the physical changes, Jouya brought up a model of the new being's mind and spirit. "Well… not quite a blank slate. That's good." The individual who had become Iwilei Costco already had the Basic Appeal package… clearly a sense of self-care inherited from the fact that a clean store was vital to corporate image. She had a boosted level of Resolve and self-motivation as well, unsurprising for a business. Her raw Intelligence and grasp of Logic wasn't particularly good, but her Memory and Learning Rate were excellent, though not as good as they could have been./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"With a few more points to assign, Jouya gave the new lifeform a small boost to Perception (store security) and Charisma (knowledge of basic psychology so as to not alienate potential customers… or suppliers). She considered giving her the ability to go without waste products… but that would (perhaps) make her too alien. Instead, she gave Iwilei control over her own fertility cycle. "Just in case. Don't need little franchises everywhere… and don't want her to have to ask why she's losing vital fluids… having to explain about needing to eat and excrete is going to be a lovely conversation."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And with that, the once building was now the seed of a person, a person who would be able to improve herself and grow over the years to come. She didn't have many skills… Bookkeeping, Customer Service, Logistics, Basic (and extremely limited) Food Prep, Occupational Health and Safety, Public Relations, and knowledge of English, Spanish, French, Japanes, Korea, Mandarin, and Icelandic… but there wasn't any way in the Body Mod system to fix that… well, she could have given her basic life and survival skills… but those could be learned and were thus a waste of extremely limited points./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Okay kitteh," she commented, draping the cat over her head like a hat, "Let's see what's in this Special Circumstantial Operational Options Packet, yeah?" The cat yawned, but gave a sound that might have been approval./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"What the SCOOP turned out be was a list of nearly fifty potential Drawbacks, each worth some amount of CP. Some were Chain Long, others could be limited to a single Jump. She still wasn't certain if this Iwilei would be a Jumper, or if they'd remain in their new world for the rest of their… her life. Either way, this was a way to get a potentially vast amount of Choice Points to set this new person up for the trials to come… even if some of those trials were just the Drawbacks she, Jouya, had selected for her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well… since she's going to have no idea what Jumpchain is, or what any of this means, even if I explain it to her very quickly… let's take 'What Are Drawbacks?'. No point worrying her about things she won't be able to properly understand anyway." WAD meant that Iwilei wouldn't know she'd taken any Drawbacks or what they were… and would thus get more points for each of them. WAD was (optionally) part of 'Without, Why?' which came with no knowledge of the Chain or what perks, items, benefactors, or Choice Points even were. Both options had already been highlighted with little post-it flags marked 'Recommended'./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Having already flipped a coin once to determine Iwilei's gender sex, getting extra points for doing so seemed gratuitious, but more points were more points. Since she wasn't even certain Iwilei would move on, or who might be in charge of that if she did, Jouya also tossed in Semper Preparatus, which changed the traditional decade length of a jump to anywhere between seven and fifteen years… at random./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Let's see, Byakko… what else can we give that might be fun… mmm… fetch quests!" Jouya grinned, discovering Bitch of Destiny and dialing it up to the third level… sixty-three various tasks ranging from easy to super hard that would have to be completed before the end of the jump. Sure, failure to complete all the tasks would end Iwilei's chain… but since Iwilei knew nothing of the Chain, what did that matter? Unless the world Miss Costco was being sent to was a crapsack, would staying be bad? Would being sent home even be possible? Also, tasks were character building./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Also character building was trouble and adversity. At least in these stories it was so. Challenge begets advancement. To that end, tossed a few more drawbacks at the budding individual. "Just for good measure… you know…" The white tiger chuckled nervously. Sometimes her mistress worried her deeply./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There… that's an additional fourteen-forty Choice. Let's look at the Transmigration booklet."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As expected, a voucher for a thousand Choice was tucked inside, bringing Iwilei's total to nearly twenty-five-hundred. "Let's get some more," Jouya said, laughter tingeing her voice as she flipped to the Local Drawbacks./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Don't you think you might be enjoying this too much, mistress?" Byakko asked. "What happens if this poor girl can't handle everything you're throwing at her?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We have absolutely no idea what she can or cannot handle. She has literally no life experiences. Very nearly a blank slate. Everything is going to be potentially traumatic to her. There is no way to know what is enough and what is too much. The scent of grass could make her nauseated, the open sky induce agoraphobia, the first time someone yells at her could turn her into a psychopath. All I can do is give her the best chance at an interesting and varied experience and hope she copes. I'll nudge where and when I can."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"There was a local drawback limit of eight-hundred, and pretty quickly Jouya found five (including a zero point toggle) that would do well enough… especially since WAD would add an additional two-seventy to that total, since it made dangerous drawbacks more dangerous to have no knowledge of them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The toggle, A Full Life, would give Iwilei anywhere from seventy to a hundred and fifty years in her new world… enough time to settle into being a person… and (perhaps) make any potential transition to any hypothetical third world seem more natural. Another Drawback, Sealed, was free points, since it locked out all previous purchases… something that Iwilei didn't have any of… and made her knowledge of physics slightly wrong… not that she had any knowledge of that arcane philosophy./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The other three… ah, that would be telling. This is a story, afterall. Suffice to say that they were a little mean, but guaranteed to make certain that Iwilei was a person of importance. Now to see if she, who had been destroyed by fire once, could withstand the furnace of fate. Would she stand tall… or crumble under the fires of fortune? Only time would tell./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"To Be Continued in: Enter the Box Store/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;"Name: Iwilei Costco/span/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Sex: Female/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Gender: Big Box Store/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Species: Polynesian Human/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hair: Dark Brown/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Eyes: Ebony Black/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Skin: Mocha Brown w/ Black Maori Tattoos/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Affinity: Physical/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Quality: Anomalous/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—–POOLS—-/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Health: 2000 ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Damage Resistance: 75 {50}/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Quick Healing/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Resistance to Change/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Manna: 250,000 {10}
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Cap Removed/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Willpower: 25 {15}
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Determination/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Relentlessness/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Study / Practice Patience/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Luck: 25 ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Fateless/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Opportunistic/li
/ul
/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—STATISTICS—-/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Strength: 35/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Endurance: 20/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Speed: 15/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Reflexes: 15/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Coordination: 10/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Flexibility: 10/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Fertility: 15/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Logic: 10/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Memory: 20/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Learning: 20/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Perception: 15/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Charisma: 25 {15}
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Charming/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Appeal: 25 {15}
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Dirt Bane/li
/ul
/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Empathy: 10/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—SKILLS—–/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Bookkeeping: 30/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Customer Service: 20/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Logistics: 40/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Food Prep: 5/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Occupational Health and Safety: 20/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Public Relations: 20/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Linguistics: 20 ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: inside disc;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"English, Spanish, French, Japanes, Korea, Mandarin, and Icelandic/li
/ul
/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—–QUIRKS—/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"User Interface (The thing you are using right now. Will help you understand what's going on. Includes Status Screen, Minimap, Funds Counter, Skill List, Power List, Notepad. Voice Activated. Only you can see this.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Ascension (Stats can growth, but not without limits)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Blank Slate / Newborn (No Biases)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hero's Title (You are Important. Others Will Sense This. Befriending you would be wise, angering you would be dangerous.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hero's Vigor (You heal very quickly. You can gift your toughness and quick healing to others with a touch.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hero's Quest (Your efforts to help others will be rewarded. Others will remember your deeds, and you will grow stronger the more you help others. The more challenging the task, the greater the reward.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Accustomed (You will pick up new languages and customs quickly. People will find your social mistakes charming rather than rude.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Cultured (You have a gift for understanding and reproducing any food, game, toy, or luxury item you have personally experienced, and can cobble together something similar with whatever's on hand. Selling these wonders to new cultures will be child's play.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Regretful (You have boundless patience and determination for study / practice. Doubly so for tasks you enjoy. You are nearly fearless in the face of danger.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Protagonist's Charm (You have a natural mix of good looks and personal charisma. This will make it easier to attract friends and connect with others.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Protagonist's Luck (Events seem to conspire to throw opportunities in your lap, and misfortune befalls you less often than it should. Don't push it.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Empty Frame (You are outside the thread of fate. Your soul has unheard of room to grow. Your mana reserve is 1000x that of a master mage, and has no limit to how high it can be expanded with training.)/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—POWERS—–/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"GACHA (You can spend Mana to generate Gachas of various levels. The more valuable the average prize, the more Mana expended. Potential Gachas include but are not limited to items or monsters from anywhere you have visited.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ABSORPTIVE STOMACH (You may safely eat / digest anything and have it sustain you. Your body will gain permanent enhancements from whatever you eat.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"DIMENSIONAL STORAGE (You have access to all your possessions. They exist inside an extradimensional space, in stasis, within you. You can summon any of them by an act of will and a small expenditure of Manna. You can call up a list in your UI with the INVENTORY command. You may send non-living things into your Inventory at will.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"INTERNET ACCESS (You may connect to the internet of anywhere you have visited and generate a wifi signal which others can use if they have a wifi enabled device.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"CAVE OF BEGINNINGS (You may open the way to a low-level dungeon that you control. It lacks a Dungeon Heart or Boss Floor, but will draw mana out of the air to generate traps or monstrous residents. It has the potential to grow more powerful over time.)/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—-ITEMS—–/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Bag of Coins (This is enough local money to pay for a cheap inn and meals for a couple months. This bag refills itself once per year.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Adventurer's Remains (4 sets of beginner adventurers' equipment suited for different classes. Includes armor and weapons, and a small handbag filled with weak healing potions. This equipment restocks itself every month.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Golem Formula (A Guide to creation and control of simple humanoid golems, made from mundane materials. Comes with one stone golem premade.)/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Alchemic Metals (A cubic meter each of mythril, adamantite, and orichalcum. This supply restocks once per {ERROR}, but there are rumors of a method to synthesize these metals from base ingredients; a method that has been lost for centuries./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"—–{ERROR}—-/span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ERROR, BoD3 Tasks Not Found, Tasks Completed 0/63/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ERROR: Starting Location not found/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ERROR: Save State not found/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ERROR: Runtime not found/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ERROR: Details not found – WW, WAD, SP, NE, CD, ™, HC, CF, OoD, P*Local, THS*Local/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Solace groaned, wincing at the sound of small arms fire cracking against the plasteel wall near her head. Her head throbbed abominably and she couldn't feel Gilly or Barnabie or Elsa anywhere. What she could feel was fear baking off Anna and Kristoff and anger baking off her own 'cats. She looked around, recognizing the decor of Winterberg, but not the room itself./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wh… where are we?" she asked, having to clear her throat and half yell to be heard over the weapons. "And why are people shooting at us?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They're trying to shoot down the door," Anna said. "We're in the Observatory Tower."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's connected to the rest of the palace by a narrow walkway. Too small to bring their battlewagon up," Kristoff added. "It's only wide enough for two people at a time… and the little robot did something to make the balcony retract."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I have merely activated the privacy function," OLAF said. "In case the young lady and her gentleman would enjoy some privacy… the others seem most intent on being rude."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Where are Gilly and Elsa?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They've been taken into custody," Anna said, then sighed as the firing stopped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Attention, terrorist scum," a woman's voice said over a PA. "This is Captain Anika Stoltz, Palace Security. Release the Princess back to the custody of her rightful husband and you will be merely imprisoned. Resist and you and all your conspirators will be shot!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna gaped, then opened the door to the exterior walkway. The wind was howling pretty fiercely, but OLAF had a built in EON sound system (EON being short for Empty OrchestratioN), and so her words were probably audible across the twenty meter bridge. "I'm not married, Anika!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's what the Prince said you'd say. Don't worry, we'll protect you from the traitorous prole! Be aware, your comrades have already been arrested. Your plan has failed."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna looked to Kristoff and whispered, "What plan? And why is Anika talking like this? She never uses words like prole… or scum. It's like she thinks she's in a bad holodrama."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kristoff just looked confused, but Solace swore. "I'll bet you anything she is thinking exactly that. Yohan probably used the trip up here to push at her like he pushed at you… you were acting like a teenage girl in a teenage romance… Gilly's made me watch more than my share of them… Maybe it's easier for him to push stereotypes that are cultural touchstones than just random behaviour?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna shrugged. "I dunno, but he better not hurt my sister… or your daughter… oh… oh dear… what if he's influenced my aunt or grandmother… or the regent."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Regent?" Solace asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah. He said he's here on orders from the Regent to bring Elsa back to appear before the Storting," the princess explained, bringing Solace up to speed on all that had happened in the last fifteen minutes./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Uh… Princess…" Solace said, "You do realize that the moment your sister was crowned, the Regent's power ended. Your sister, not the former Regent, is the Head of State, and your uncle is the Head of Government. As of a few hours ago, Sophia Bellweather is a private citizen whose only public concern is as the chief administrator of the Gothel Institute."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… well… he said… and… and Anika's following his orders… what did she say?" Kristoff said, having spoken over the Security Chief's words./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Solace replayed the words in her memory, then said, "She said, if you don't come out, we're going to blow the bridge."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?!" Anna gasped, "But… but I'm in here!" She grabbed the microphone in OLAF's hand and yelled, "Captain Stoltz! ANIKA! Stand down! This… this isn't… you're not thinking clearly! You don't take orders from Yohan! He… he's not even Jewelian!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Silence, you treasonous witch! How dare you kidnap your sister and bring her to these… these revolutionaries!?" There was a general growl from the men behind the Captain, their bunny ears having been traded for helmets with the crest of the Jewel Kingdom shining on the front and the scintillation of muscle augmenting systems gleaming on their all weather uniforms./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Solace peered out the window next to the door and eyed the woman. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing hard, her face twitching, and Yohan, standing next to her, was grinning sadistically. "Shit. He's pushing her hard… I think he gets off on it. What I wouldn't give for a gun right now."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There's an old rifle I grabbed from the mantle over the fireplace," Kristoff said, holding it out to her. "But there's only three rounds in the clip. I don't think they'll go through public security uniforms… they look like sporting rounds."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Magazine," Solace corrected, pulling out the bullet holder, checking that it did have three rounds in it. They were target rounds, the kind a biathlete would use, and she remembered that Queen Iduna had competed in the biathlon in her younger days. "And I'm not going to aim for the uniform." She cycled the chamber with her teeth, then braced the rifle atop the small robot and told him to stand perfectly still as she peered down the iron sight, holding the gun with her good hand. "Anna, once I fire, cycle the gun for me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You can't seriously be planning to… it's a blizzard out there," Kristoff said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Don't hurt Jane," Anna said, worry deep in her voice. "She's not-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Solace wasn't paying attention to their words; she was all in the moment, and with deliberation, she squeezed the trigger. There was a crack, a scream, and she swore. "I only grazed the bastard… Anna, cycle the rifle!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As the princess did so, she watched the young princeling clutching the side of his face where his cheek had been ripped open. He was yelling at the Palace Guards, but they were looking shocked, confused, and he was reaching for something, grabbing a box out of what looked like a Tech Sargent's hands. Solace breathed once, exhaled slowly, and fired just as the Princeling toggled a switch and pressed the first of two buttons on the remote… the thing exploded, taking part of Yohan's hand with it. The scream was audible even over the howl of the wind, but was drowned out a moment later by the sound of plasteel supports ripping apart over the crunch-boom of composition explosives blowing away two thirds of the tower's support structure./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As the tower began to pull away from the mountain's face, the robot, three humans, and two treecats fell away from the door, sliding across the floor and ending up braced against the furniture that had slammed into the balcony walls on the far side of the room. "Oh… oh my goddesses… we… we're… we're going to faaaall!" Anna gasped, looking out at the valley floor far below./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We've got to jump," Kristoff said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's insane!" Anna pointed out, trying to climb the smooth wooden floor that was slowly becoming the wall. "We'll die!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No… we won't. Well, we might not," the mountaineer said. "It's a slope beneath this window."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And a cliff at the end of that slope!" Anna pointed out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah… and there's got to be a good seven or eight meters of fresh powder down at the bottom. If we can slow ourselves enough on the slope, we won't shoot too far out."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's insanity," Anna said, shivering as the windows began to crack from the torque of the tower's slow breakdown and the weight of the heavy furniture./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Here," Solace said, wrenching something off her waist and pushing it to Kristoff./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What's this?" he asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's an emergency anti-gravity unit," she said, "Put it on."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Do you always plan on leaping out of high buildings?" Anna asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""If you've ever nearly reentered a planet's atmosphere without a ship, you tend to be very well prepared," Solace said. "I grabbed it when we got into the aircar… now put it on. It's not enough to stop your combined weight, but it will slow you down enough… take Ruth and Naomi with you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What about you?" Kristoff asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I have a broken shoulder and that psychopath has my daughter. The 'cats can get you to her. Rescue them."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What about you?" Anna echoed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm going to pull this trigger in ten seconds and blow that window lock apart," Solace said. "You have until then to get that belt on Kristoff, and until then to get a very good grip, Anna. Save Gilly." She raised the rifle one handed, aiming for the only thing keeping the balcony closed, and said, "Five, four, three-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kristoff grabbed Anna as he finished getting the belt into place and closed his eyes, saying a quick prayer and holding his breath. Anna whimpered, holding on tight, the two 'cats half squished between them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Solace eyed the weird Flygia thing and said "Sven… if you can understand me… take them to Arto…" and she pulled the trigger./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And that's the last we saw of her," Anna explained to the Manticoran ambassador. Loyalty-unto-Death was a strange name, but the man was friendly and had brought cocoa. He'd apparently been fetched to Oaken's shop by the redoubtable Ulrike after she'd left them there, and had made his way to the Sjora enclave after trailing the Palace Security forces. He'd been waiting for them when they arrived, guided by the all too happy Sven who didn't seem to think that sliding down a mountainside with bits and pieces of crashing tower falling all around you… then falling off a hundred meter tall cliff to land in a hill of snow was anything but the height of fun./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Even now, Sven was squeaking and chittering to the other Flygia, almost certainly telling them about all the fun he'd had leading the clueless humans through the forest and evading the 'cats, who looked very grumpy if Anna was any judge of xeno-beast expressions. They looked like they wanted revenge… and she was having trouble blaming them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well, technically, I'm not supposed to get involved in matters that are purely internal to Jewel," Loyal said. "But I can take you back to the city. Mister Kristoff, just so you know, the news is reporting that you, Erik Kristoffson, and your rebels attacked the wedding ceremony of Anna and Yohan, killing the princess before Palace security could kill you and your co-conspirators. They're also claiming that my sister and niece were witnesses to the marriage, and that the death of her sister has driven the Queen, already unhinged, insane. Solace is listed as being among those slain by your people."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why would they do this?" Anna demanded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I believe that Yohan is attempting a coup-de-maine as it were. The former Regent is presenting evidence in front of the Storting at this very moment that Elsa is unfit to rule, and that Yohan had been working with her people to uncover details of Pro-Havenite sympathies among the Worker's Commune… I believe that's the group you're allied with, young man?" Kristoff nodded. "The news is claiming that your leaders, someone named 'Vance Halberton' and 'Wodar Oaken', have been killed," he paused to wave to where the big man was brushing the fur of a large Sjora./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Oaken grinned and waved back. "Yoho!" he cried, oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to be dead./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Incidentally, I believe very much this to be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing," Loyal said, turning back to his audience./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why do you say that?" Anna asked, shivering despite the warmth of the Sjora longhouse./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because Wodar Oaken is an agent of Palace Security who has been tasked with keeping an eye on the Worker's Commune and its growing contact with a suspected Havenite agent who calls himself 'Stilskin'… and whose file back at Manticore House says that he's the aforementioned Vance Halberton. Everything our embassy has on Halberton says that he is a rabble rouser, not a terrorist. He's a long term asset, not someone who tries to blow up the queen."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Is… will my sister be okay?" Anna asked, then added, "And your niece?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Loyal frowned, but then shrugged, "Yes. At least for the time being. Elsa will be humiliated and dethroned, if this plan goes through. Gilly is probably fine. They need her to sign off this fiction of a marriage. This whole thing strikes me as half-assed. Yohan and Sophia have to be working together, and have to be hoping that no one sees through this ridiculous charade. It's too audacious… and poorly executed."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So… what do we do?" Kristoff said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Do?" Loyal asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""To rescue the queen and your niece?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah… well, I suppose we storm the palace," he said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We?" Kristoff said, looking at the six humans gathered in the room. "A supposed rebel, a legally dead princess, a legally dead maybe terrorist maybe palace security agent, a driver, and an embassy marine?" He waved vaguely at the young man standing near the door with a scanner in one hand and a pulse-rifle in the other. "Can't we just go to Public Safety HQ?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We could… if we knew who to trust," Anna said, understanding. "But then Yohan and Sophia might kill Elsa and Gilly."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Loyal tapped his nose and grinned at the princess. "Got it in one, your highness. We need to recover the hostages and neutralize Yohan before he can work whatever mojo he's up to… you don't have any mental powers, do you?" he asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No. I… I don't think so. We could try and bring my cousin into this… but she's been under the care of Professor Bellweather for years… Is that the plan? She gets Charlotte on the throne as Yohan's wife? Is my uncle in on this?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I doubt it," Oaken said, coming over. "The Grand Duke is a good man and he loved your father… and Iduna was his baby sister. No. I think the Regent has been playing us all."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna considered, then sighed. "I know how to get into the inner palace… but I've never been outside the walls of the inner precinct unescorted."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Loyal looked to Oaken, "Any chance you know a way through the cordon?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""In theory? There shouldn't be one… but if the conspirators really don't know that I'm Palace Security, then… yeah, my ID should get us into the cordon, and then your Ambassadorial clearance gets us into the inner precinct." The big man tried to put the Sjora down, but she was clinging to him and making a soft singing purring sound that was making Loyal and Kristoff's pants very tight./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Great," the guard said, "We should get going then."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's not full dark yet," Ulrike said, speaking up for the first time in nearly an hour./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It will be by the time we reach the palace," he said, frowning at the young woman./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna looked back and forth at the two of them, then at Loyal, "Are they dating?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Loyal laughed, "Not hardly. Ulrike thinks Duty is a stick-in-the-mud, and Duty thinks Ulrike is a…" he frowned, "that she's a little too enthusiastic."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She's a creepy stalker whose attached herself to Solace and follows her everywhere like a puppy," Duty snapped, glaring at Ulrike. "And she's a pervert."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Duty?" Anna asked, then giggled, "Wait… is he your little brother? I know most Manticorans don't have names like Loyalty, Solace, and Duty… he is, isn't he!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Loyal grinned, then shrugged, "He might be. My parents tell me he is. But he takes himself so seriously!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The youngest Smythe grumbled something as Anna hugged him, "I know you're worried about Gilly… and upset about Solace… We'll get the people who did this. I promise. And they'll stand trial for crimes against my kingdom, and yours."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Twenty minutes later, they were gathered back into the Andermani aircar, a coalition of three nations trying to save their loved ones… and a kingdom from chaos. The weather was growing more brutal with every passing hour, the entire fjord frozen over now, every building coated in ice, and no one could figure out what the conspirators were thinking not turning off the weather system./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"After pausing to meet up with an Andermani agent who provided body armor and small arms, the makeshift rescue team scooted through the cordon without trouble, thanks to Oaken's ID, which had not been flagged at all. If Palace Security found it odd that the Manticoran Ambassador was riding in the Andermani Ambassador's car with an agent of their own, they said nothing about it, and they did no more than give the vehicle a scan for explosives or nucleics before allowing it inside the government precinct of the palace./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Getting into the Inner Palace, where the Queen still had every right to be held even though she was under house arrest, took even less time, thanks to Anna's intimate knowledge of the sprawling complex, a knowledge gained from nearly a decade of almost unsupervised exploration. Everything was, in fact, going along swimmingly… until all hell broke loose./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"All over the palace, alarms and claxons began sounding, and security blast doors began dropping to cover the exits one after another. Within seconds, the palace was in complete lockdown… at least to the outside world. Inside, it was a madhouse as the computer system went into emergency shutdown. Everyone looked to Anna./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?! I didn't do anything!" she insisted./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kristoff hugged her shoulder and laughed, "I don't think they were saying you did… What do we do now?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh!" She blushed, then muttered, "Sorry… ummm… I have no idea… I don't know what could cause this… but it might help us… we don't have to worry about security being reinforced from outside unless… unless… let's head to the security control center."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Won't everyone else be heading there?" Duty and Ulrike asked at the same time, then glowered at each other./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes," Anna said. "Almost certainly. There or my sister's suite. But the system is locked down from there, or crashed from computing. Either way, the entire system is blind. If it's locked down, we can try to take it over from central. If it's crashed from computing, then we can take out whoever's in command at central if they're with Yohan./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Bleek?" said a small voice from the ventilation shaft above her head./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna looked surprised, glancing around to where Naomi was perched on Loyal's shoulder and Ruth on Oaken's massive frame. "Who?" she asked, then yelped as the vent-frame bent and ripped free, dropping with a clang at her feet./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Barnabie's head poked free and he grinned a toothy grin at them. He was covered in dust and his fur was alive with static electricity, but he seemed healthy. "BLEEK!" he exclaimed again, then dropped out of the vent with a twist and a fwump. "Bleek. Bleek-bleek. Bleeeeek!" he said, waving them forward. Bemused, Anna followed, and the others padded after her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As they moved through the halls, they heard the squeaky chirping of Flygia more and more often, found more than one of the strange furry weasel-bats perched on a statue or dragging a pillow or book under a couch. Pictures and vases had been knocked over, and it became clear that somehow, the Flygia had invaded the palace and were, for some reason, causing chaos on a grand scale. In their Palace Security outfits, the troupe was largely ignored, as everyone who saw them simply saw them chasing yet one more fuzzy trouble-maker./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Eventually, they arrived at a door that was resolutely being guarded by two members of a guard-force that was definitely not Jewelian. The heavy combat armor looked like something members of a brute-squad would wear, and the crest on their chest was that of the royal family of Manderlay. The duo was ignoring the chaos around them, and the screaming from inside the room with equal calm… which turned out to be their undoing, as Ulrike and Duty were on them before they knew it and the duo went down hard, in a way that suggested that, if they ever got back up again, it would only be with serious medical assistance./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The door they'd been guarding resisted being opened… for the space of time it took Oaken to bodyslam it, the locking mechanism bowing, then snapping under the force of nearly two hundred kilos of solid muscle, bone, and lutfisk./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Bursting into the room beyond, Kristoff spotted a figure dashing out the side door, a figure dressed in a white formal suit and half his face bandaged. Thus, distracted, he missed what the rest of the group saw./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Strapped to a heavy medical exam table tilted sixty degrees downward, Gillian Smythe was topless and covered in welts and her own blood. Standing over her was Sophia Bellweather, holding a neuro-agonizer whip in one hand, and a spray bottle of something orange in the other. The room stank of medical grade disinfectant, sulfuric acid, blood, and urine, and from the state of Gilly's body, it was clear she'd been enduring this treatment for several hours, probably since the Storting's emergency meeting had been delayed until morning./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Two more Manderlayian goons moved to block the door their prince had rushed through, and another three moved to interpose themselves between the doctor and the interlopers. All five looked virtually identical and no one had any doubt that under their helmets, the two in the hall would prove to be more of the same gene-set. Still, even if they hadn't been functionally identical, they all probably would have made the same mistake. Seeing armed humans, they aimed for them… which meant they weren't aiming for the treecats./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"With a roar like a buzzsaw, Barnabie launched his massive bulk off the floor and landed, all six sets of scimitar claws bared, right in the leftmost goon's face. The man died nearly instantly as the hugely strong and intensely pissed off arboreal slammed two true-feet into his collarbone and, gripping his jaw and cheekbones with hand-feet and true-hands, jerked in two different directions at once, snapping the man's neck with an explosive crack. With a twist, in the time it took the other four to even begin to process what had happened, the B had launched himself from the man he'd just killed, toward the second./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Distracted by the scene of a totally berzerk treecat, the two by the door died in nearly perfect unison as Ruth and Naomi lept from their perches and, with synchronization born of telempathy and decades of practice, ripped out their throats with casual savagery./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Goon three was comparatively lucky, therefor, as Oaken, still moving with the force that had shattered the door lock, simply bodychecked him into a wall so hard that the wood paneling and part of the ceiling fell off, revealing the underlying battlesteel./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Sophia Bellweather gulped, looking down the bores of Duty's tribarrel, and squeaked, "I… I surren-" Which was as far as she got before there was a sound exactly like a pair of heavy metal buckle snapping. Gilly's legs hooked forward and, grabbing the doctor by the neck, twisted with brutal efficiency, supplexing the woman into the table even as she wrenched herself free./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Gilly staggered to her feet, holding up one hand to keep anyone from touching her, least of all her still hissing treecat. She grabbed another bottle, this one a big two liter container, and splashed it over herself, stifling a groan of agony as the contents fizzed and sizzled on her skin, washing away the blood and dilute acid that had burned her skin. She took a towel from Ulrike, stepping over the gurgling form of the ex-regent, ignoring the woman's spasms as her damaged spine tried to transmit signals from a half crushed skull./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Where's mom?" she asked her uncle./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Dead," Kristoff said. "Yohan dropped the Observatory Tower into the gorge. We saw it going overhead… she gave us her gravity belt." He indicated Anna and himself./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And told us to take them," Anna said, indicating the cats./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Do you know where the Prince was heading?" Loyal asked his niece, trying to distract her from her grief. "Or what's going?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No… Barnabie escaped into the vents when they tried to cage him… but Prince Shithole wasn't happy when he realized he couldn't use his whammy on me… maybe he's going after the queen?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Are you okay?" Anna asked, "I mean… you're clearly not… but can you walk?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Gillian looked down at herself and chuckled, "This?" she motioned the acid burned welts. "Believe it or not, but I've had worse. Let's go." No one questioned the assertion; it had been too matter of fact to allow much doubt./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"With Anna pointing the way, and now surrounded by the contingent in a moving box, they made their way to the queen's quarters… but they were empty. "M… maybe she's in my parent's rooms?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She's in the Donjon," a voice said from across the hall./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Grandma?" Anna squeaked, turning to look into the window'd alcove. "W… what are you doing here?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The Queen-Mother… or rather, Queen-Grandmother, chuckled dryly. "Everyone always forgets old ladies. I swear. It's like we're invisible or something. Who do you think crashed the palace's security and has been keeping everyone locked out of weather control…"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""B… but why? The city's getting buried!" Anna said, torn between panicking and being impressed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because I know those idiots in the Storting!" the old woman chuckled, "In the last eighty-five years, they've delayed every meeting if there was a blizzard… even the fate of the Kingdom won't get them out in weather like this!" She rocked on her heels. "That girl's naked… get her something to wear… and then go get your sister… all this craziness over a little winter magic… humph." She held out a hand and a Flygia landed on it, collecting a small gummy-bear, and chewing on it happily with much squeaking./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Your grandma's a crazy Flygia lady," Kristoff half-whispered, then ooffed as Anna elbowed him in the belly. "And you hit like a very small girl," he added./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Gilly refused her uncle's jacket, claiming that her skin hurt too much for wool, but she did accept a plush cotton bathrobe liberated from Elsa's room, though it tore right down the back the first time she flexed her shoulders. She shrugged. "Better than nothing."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As they climbed the stairs of the Donjon, the tallest tower in the castle, they heard the sound of Yohan yelling at someone, though his words were largely incomprehensible until they got closer. The cold wind gusting down the tower's single spiral stairwell told them that the windows on the top were open and the howling of the wind was both obscuring his words and carrying the tone to them. He was furious./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"They burst into the room to find Elsa backing away from the prince, her eyes wide with terror and full of tears as he railed at her, threatening her with an old fashion cutlass. Her hands were encased in some kind of steel mittens and her head was crowned by some kind of technological device that was, no doubt, causing her enough pain to make focusing her abilities all but impossible. Still, the room was covered in frost and the horrible man was screaming at her, telling her how she'd ruined everything, how she'd killed her own sister and if she'd just been a little less of a bitch, everything would be better, everything would have gone fine, and the manticoran bitch wouldn't have shot him in the fucking eye!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Shame it wasn't a throughshot," Anna said, startling the Prince who had forced her sister back onto the balcony at sword point. It was clear that if Elsa moved even another couple centimeters backward, she'd fall off the tower, but if she didn't, she'd end up impaled on that all too sharp blade./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Yohan growled, raising his blade to bring it down into the queen's heart. "If I can't have-" he began, but Gilly flung herself across the gap, bringing her hands together to catch the blade as it dove heartward. "What… the hell?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ye… yeah?!" Anna said, "Why didn't you just knock him off the balcony?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""He's got a chain!" Gilly grunted, holding the sword point away from her own chest but she could feel her palms getting slick despite the chill./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna looked and realized it was true. He had a chain in the other hand, the chain that connected to the cuffs her sister was wearing. "Hans… release my sister and we'll… we'll guarantee your return to Manderlay."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Return? Are you kidding? They'll hang me just because I've embarrassed the family! Noo… I want-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"No one ever learned what he wanted as, at that moment, Gilly shoved him backward a centimeter and the top of his head disappeared in a shower of gore. Anna blinked, looking out across the city… that wasn't possible. The only place that shot could have come from was almost six kilometers away… at night… in a blizzard. She looked at Gilly, then gulped. "Your mother's a very scary woman."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She says to tell you that reports of her death have been greatly exaggerated… now, if you don't mind… I'm going to pass out."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"======/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The next few days were a riot of politics at its worst and at its best. Miraculously, Sophia Bellweather had survived her injuries, though she'd never fully recover, even with regen. There'd been too much brain-damage. Her notes however, accessed with her biometrics and set to scramble if she'd died, revealed much. It had been through her experiments, using samples of Charlotte's genome and brain-scans, that she'd figured out how to augment Yohan, turning him into whatever it was that he had been./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Her notes also exonerated Anika Stolz, who, freed from Yohan's control, revealed everything she'd done to the Queen's council. To a man, the council decided to keep the knowledge of what Yohan had been capable of secret, knowing that the paranoia public knowledge of it would cause would outweigh any security advantage. Especially since there didn't seem to be any way to detect it. The notes were classified, the institute absorbed into the Ministry of Health Welfare./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The Grand Duke, under suspicion, earned or not, stepped down, and the Grand Duchess was forced to publicly admit how she was duped by 'that horrible Bellweather woman'. Anika Stolz's mother, Jane Stoltz, Minister for Public Safety, became the new Prime Minister./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Gilly and Solace recovered, and Solace had been forced to explain how she'd free-climbed the outside of a crumbling tower, reaching the top-side of it just as the last support failed. She'd then essentially used the tower as a massive toboggan, leaping free of the structure right before it could plunge off the cliff. It had been one hell of a hail-mary, and it almost hadn't worked… except for OLAF, who'd pulled her out of the snowbank she'd gotten wedged in and hauled her back up the slope to the Winterberg… which turned out to have an arsenal and an underground garage./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"To her family, and the Queen (and Anna) she admitted that only her link with Gilly had made the shot possible. She'd felt her daughter's panic as she'd come back into the city, and, landing the royal aircar atop the nearest convenient building, had dialed in the shot as fast as she dared. And in the end, only the incredible flight-time of the shot and the functionally instantaneous nature of their link had allowed Gilly to get Yohan into position at the last possible second./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"For their assistance in thwarting the coup, the entire crowd was given medals… even Sven, who was given the Jewellian Order of Merit (as were Arto and Anika… despite the later's protest that she'd nearly doomed them all and definitely hadn't helped! Politics and saving face, eh?). The treecats, Kristoff, Ulrike, and Anna were all given the Magnus Cross, the third highest award in the kingdom's repertoire… While Solace and Gilly were given the Order of Freedom, the highest award, given to anyone, civilian or military, who risked grievous bodily harm or death in the service of the state and her people./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And then, as a special award, right there on the floor of the Storting, Queen Elsa, the Winter Queen, now confirmed in all her dignity by the body politic and with the full backing of her people (who now had their very own fairytale princess as queen and no one else did), gave Gillian Andros-Smythe a personal gift for personally saving her life. Gilly looked completely flummox as, completely off script, Queen Elspeth kissed her, full on the lips./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anna, standing next to her sister, laughed and whispered to her monarch, "Hey! You can't marry that girl! You just met her!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"It was nice being able to access my Warehouse again… and kinda like going home after being away for years. I looked at all this stuff that had been mine… and was again, now that Worm-Zed's memories had faded into the background. I looked at the empty ferret cage and sniffled a little. Worm-Zed had had time to say goodbye and get used to the hole in her heart each little passing had left, and had been too busy making sure the world didn't end to replace the scampering little goobers when time had taken its inevitable toll. Original Zed, on the other hand, was feeling it all crashing into her as the personality refresher, or whatever it was, hit./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Apparently, Jumps were a decade long (something I hadn't known… though I'd suspected from the 'Another Decade' part of Return), and once that decade was up, all the Drawbacks ended, the personality overlay and its background memories (the stuff from before the moment of Awakening as Val and I called it) faded into the background, and who and what I had been back on Earth Prime or whatever got a refresher. To her, it felt like a really really vivid dream… and one that wasn't being purged from RAM, but just archived instead. So I had two childhoods, the first 'ending' at sixteen and the second 'ending' at fourteen, then a unified timeline for the next decade… kinda./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Prime-Zed and Worm-Zed had had extremely similar life experiences, except that the worst moment of our joint life, a gangrape in a dark park at age twelve, had caused Worm-Zed to trigger. Being exceptionally good at sex certainly hadn't reduced the trauma of the incident… a Master, Mover, Trump, or Brute would have been better… but understanding what was going on as only an Enhanced Master could had allowed Worm-Zed to compartmentalize the event where Prime-Zed had retreated into avoidance and snark. Which is not to say that Worm-Zed hadn't been snarky. She wasn't very different from Prime-Zed, me… except for being British instead of American… but there had been difference. To put things into theatrical jargon, if Prime-Zed viewed the world through an azure gel, then Worm-Zed viewed the world through a magenta one. Just enough to change the mood of a scene a bit, but not enough to change what had been done. But emotional pain was emotional pain, and the loss of a treasured pet is never an easy thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"So I patted the cage and decided, first thing next jump, I was getting more ferrets. Stupid Jump-Chan, not making my little buddies ageless. I clearly needed to go someplace where ferrets are immortal… and to kick a certain silver lady's ass. Speaking of which, I looked around to see if my tour-guide had decided to show up as Val looked around the Warehouse. She hadn't. Curses. Maybe she knew I was plotting violence against her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""This place is a mess," Val commented./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah. We haven't dusted in a decade," I snarked back. "What do you expect, it's everything from both my parentals' places. I'm kinda scared to look around my brother's room… it's probably got porn."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Val sneered a bit at the mention of rooms. There were areas full of the stuff from each room, but no walls to seperate each collection of stuff and furniture. "Betcha anything so does your dad's room," he pointed out. "Maybe even your… no… never mind on your mom."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I shrugged, then said, "I once walked in on her riding cowgirl on her boyfriend… she's still human… I think." I wandered around the two kitchens, three basements, two living room-dining rooms, five bedrooms, assorted bathrooms, two garages, one office and a den… no tourlady. Finally, I just flopped down on my bed and yelled "JUMP-CHAN? Where are we going next?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Val had followed me around, tiny Smurgh flying around his head, using his doors to dump any random garbage into the void as far as I could tell. There was a lot of it, as my dad and brother were not the best at cleaning and sometimes missed stuff if it fell behind furniture… now that there were no walls to block sight of it… And yeah, my bedroom was a mess too, as was that of my brother. Somehow, my twin sister had been the only member of the family to inherit mom's cleaning fetish. But by the time I bellowed for my tour-coordinator, he'd gotten bored with that and started straightening up. He looked up from the comic books he had been restacking and chuckled "Chan? As in from Anime?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Chan, as in cute and little in Japanese, Yes," I agreed. "She said to call her that. Thought I'd told you that? And where are you dumping all the trash? Into another dimension? Are there any other dimensions here?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Mmm…" he shrugged "maybe. I mean maybe you told me. If so it was a decade ago. You remember my memory. And no, I can't feel any. I'm just dumping it in the far corner, away from the living areas. We're going to have to spend like… a month or two sorting all this shit."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah… we should totally do something about that. Your memory I mean…" I deflected from the idea of cleaning. Booorrrring! I did not need to get expert level skill in dusting. "Still, nice not wearing glasses, huh?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. It's very nice," he agreed, walking off. "But you're defle-" he paused, then grunted in surprise. "I think I found the next Jump thing. Heeelp!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"At the sound of Val getting himself in trouble… somehow… in an otherwise empty warehouse… I walked around the bookcases that were between us and found him caught in a spider-web that said 'BLEACH'… It was a ten-meter across web studded with pictures and words and anchored in nothing. I kept way back from the web, trying to figure out what we were getting into. "Where is she getting these things? Worm? Bleach? Is this another really obscure novel?" I asked as I scanned the web-imbedded material for some kind of introduction. After a bit, I managed to find it by looking for something that said '+1000 CP' in large letters, but even after I'd read the thing, all I really had no idea what I was looking at. Orange hair? Like Carrot Top? Very strange. I hoped there wasn't a Carrot Top Jump… he's kinda scary./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"A little later on I started seeing Japanese names… So I guessed 'Bleach' was some obscure Japanese Manga? Then again, it wasn't like most people in the US were manga or anime fans… though it was catching on. A little more reading convinced me. Weird… Bleach seemed to be some kind of Anime about Japanese Grim Reapers called Shinigami fighting against ghosts called Hollows. Apparently the BBEG was someone named Aizen? No idea. Ah well. I spent a few hours reading the various entries while Val complained that I wasn't getting him down and I commented that I didn't know how to get him down./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Finally, his complaints got to be enough that I pointed out that if he couldn't cut the threads with the edges of his 'Doors' a knife from my kitchen wasn't going to 'cut it'. He glowered, then pointed out that he'd been unable to create a door since he got caught in the web or he'd have just doored himself across the room. Apparently the web was blocking his power… so I went and got some knives. Twenty minutes later he was free and criticising my choices./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're dumping us a hundred years into this world's past?" he whined like a whining whiner, "We're going to have to stay here for 110 years?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah, but look… I found a memory perk! Perfect Memory, plus proof against memory editing. And this cool power called Huge Wisdom! It's perfect for you since you think you're always right," I said, elbowing him in the sternum. "Anyway, we need all the CP we can get./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I am always right," He said, rubbing his chest. "You just never listen."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I patted his hand and grinned up at him. "I listen… I just don't follow your advice. My way's more fun."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Admit it," he said, ignoring my assertion of fun superiority. "You just picked Shinigami because any ferrets you manage to find in this realm of death are likely to be deathless!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oooo… hadn't thought of that!" I actually hadn't. How serindipitous… was this Silverlady's way of convincing me not to shank her? "That is an excellent point." I poked his nose. "Will have to verify. Ghost Ferrets. Heh."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He frowned, then grimaced as I made another Drawback selection. "And now you've given away all your perks and made us hunted?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Only for a little while…" I pointed out. "We've got decades to get them back!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well… But the hunters?" he pointed out. "There are people coming to kill us! Well, you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They're just mooks. If we can't take them, we're dead anyway… plus, I figure it's practice. Apparently Shinigami are all about sword fighting and, if nothing else, I can just hide in the Warehouse while you beat people up. Doesn't say you lose your powers."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're not right in the head," he said with the sigh of the long-suffering sidekick. Then he glared at me as if he could read my mind and snapped, "And I'm not your damned Sidekick!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I smirked at him. "Suuuure. You go on telling yourself that, Boy Wonder." In addition to the base 1000 Jump CP and the 600 Chain Drawback CP, I ended up taking another 1700 CP of Jump Drawbacks, which didn't do much to improve Val's mood, but he likes to complain and it wasn't really as bad as he claimed it was. 'Recursive Genetics' just meant that Ichigo would be able to duplicate any biological powers I had. I wasn't certain Enhanced Mastery counted as a biological power, since it really was more a link to an alien transdimensional hypercomputer through a biological port. Would having a Corona Pollentia allow Ichigo to connect to my hypercomputer? Did it even matter, since I gathered he was the good guy or something. I had no idea what Haki, Devil Fruits, Nen, Chakra, or Shadow Clones were, but it didn't really matter./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"'The Curse of Anime Hair' just gave me randomly shifting hair color every week. Oh no. Mockable hair! How will I ever cope? Honestly, I couldn't believe I was getting a hundred points for that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I was getting two-hundred points for having no sense of direction, just like Ryoga from Ranma 1/2, which was the first manga I'd read, since it was my brother's favorite. We once did halloween where he dressed like Genma (Ranma's dad, who turns into a giant panda) and I dressed like Ranma-Chan (Ranma's a gender-shifter and his female form is called Ranma-Chan or Ranko). Ryoga is Ranma's best friend and he can get lost walking from his house to his own backyard. He's also a bit of an idiot and a hothead./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"For the big stuff, Val was probably right that I was pushing it… not that I'd admit it to him. 'Walk of Shame' was probably the least worrying. It was the perk loss thing, not that I had many powers to give up. It meant that I'd begin somewhere called North Rukongai 80 or Zaraki… dunno what either term means, but I'm guessing Bleach-Zed will understand. My perks (and here I wasn't certain if Enhanced Mastery counted as a perk or a power or if they were interchangeable) would return as we moved inwards towards District One… assuming it was inwards to District One and not outwards. Either way, it said the trip would take at least a few years of walking… and yes, we'd have to walk. Apparently Districts of Rukongai were very very big… like I think I read somewhere that walking across the US would take six months. So that would be, like… I dunno… one, couple, several, a few? Four or five years is eight to ten trips across the country… call it thirty or forty thousand kilometers. Oddly, the text said I'd not get perks back that could let me cut that time down… didn't say anything about gear. Could I use my car? Probably, but I'd run out of gas long before I got even five-hundred kilometers, even if there were straightline roads running to the center./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"'Turn Back The Pendulum' was the one Val was griping about the most, since that locked us in for a hundred year stay and had something to do with Big Bad Aizen's Shikai… and meant he would know all about my purchases in this jump. Didn't mention anything about my Worm Purchases, so Enhanced Mastery, Spanner in the Works, Perfect Communication Skills, Enlightened Self Interest, Best in the Business, Meh I Can Take You, Nothing Personal, Leave Me Alone, and Tooth Nail were probably all off his evil evil radar. Sure, it was an issue… especially with Walk of Shame… but combining that with Pendulum meant that Aizen Bison wouldn't bug me until the start of canon… thus giving me a hundred years or so to get everything back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The Hunted Drawback that Val viewed as a hassle and a threat I figured was the best way to push myself thanks to Tooth Nail, which procked when things were hardest. Add in Meh I Can Take You to guarantee that the mooks sent to get me would underestimate me? Practically free points. Of course, Val nearly strangled me when I bought it three times, filling in the spots with Aizen, this Yhwach guy, and 'some other group I wouldn't ally with… but that's not the Soul Society'. Didn't want the SS hunting me… and not just cause I'm Jewish… ha! Nazi joke! Anyway, didn't want them hunting me because Hunted blocked forming a truce and, as a Shinigami, the Soul Society was my side! I totally didn't want to be hunted by my own side! That would suck donkey toes!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Donkey's don't have toes, Zed," Val pointed out after I explained my logic./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They could have toes if they tried really hard!" I countered… then signed up to be disliked by both Aizen and 'whoever is the most humorless person in the entire setting'. I didn't know who that was, but I figured that, me being me, I'd piss them off just by doing whatever I would normally do. Might as well get points for it. And since Aizen had already Shikai'd me and was hunting me, having him dislike me seemed like an excellent way to maximize points while minimizing risk. Right? Right. Course I'm right. I'm me!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anyway, I was totally a Shinigami Scientist, because maybe I could invent some cool stuff… like a cleaning robot or a car that didn't run on gas or a ferret poop eliminating drone, or self cleaning cages… or a harness that a ferret couldn't squirm out of that wouldn't risk strangling the little ones. Of course, I also bought a slot for Val, which got him some points or something. He decided to be a Medical Shinigami… which seems like a weird thing… Medical Grim Reaper! Did he reap diseases? Did Shinigami have health care issues? Because that would be weird. Did they have GRHMOs? Could a Grim Reaper be out of network?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Something called 'Potential' gave me the ability to use Shunpo (flash step) and Kido (demon arts)… which were some combination of speed, defense, and energy techniques… but I didn't know which was which… but I put both dots of my free specialization into Energy Techniques. Why? Because the best offense is a plasma blast with overwhelming power at ranges best expressed in complex mathematical symbols./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Shinigami differed from western Grim Reapers in that they used something called 'Zanpakuto' instead of Scythes… at least, I didn't see any mention of scythes… maybe Zanpakuto was Japanese for Scythe? I didn't know, but I doubted it. Anyway, apparently there were different powers associated with Zanpakuto called Shikai (first release) and Bankai (final release). I didn't know if there were additional releases in between, but if there were, I hoped one of them was called "Sweat Release" because that would be funny./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"There were so many terms of art… bits of jargon in this document that it was all very confusing. Reishi, Reiatsu, Hogyoku, Bount, Fullbringer, Bankai… even some words in spanish. So I was half flying blind and really really annoyed that there wasn't, you know, a glossary or something… but it didn't take a genius to figure out that something that cost 800 points and was called 'Spiritual Pressure' might be good. It seemed to be partly defensive and partly stealth related… but it could apparently be used to make enemies spontaneously combust, so that wasn't bad… well, it was bad for them, I guess./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Also priced at that ridiculously high 800, but elegible for drawbacks, were Unstoppable Evolution and Partner to the End. I really didn't understand either of them (UE was like if your grandpapa was Superman you can totally do anything a full blood Kryptonian could do or something, while PttE was about summoning the spirit of your Zanpakuto out into the real world… where they'd have a copy of all your perks… well, my perks, since it was my partner.) but I figured that potential and a fighting partner that didn't occasionally want to strangle me would be a good thing. Maybe. Hard to say. Depends on if they were as annoying to me as I was to Val. Hey, I may be a pain in the neck, but I'm a self-aware pain in the neck!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Picked up an immunity to illusions, the ability to suck up ambient energy like a power sponge, a perfect (uneditable) memory, redundancy planning, expanded Kido (Binding and Destruction) knowledge, a boost to my Intelligence that put me just below the smartest people in the setting (I was guessing that's why Aizen, Urahara, and Mayuri were listed… whoever they were. They'd be poor examples if they weren't supersmarty pants… skirts? Was Urahara a girl's name? Mayuri sounded like a girl… but Japanese names are tricky like that… was Aizen even a japanese name?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I also picked up this tracking ability called 'Soul Ribbons'… it wasn't nearly as cute as it sounds. Instead of being able to tie cute little ribbons to someone's soul and use them to track them, it just manifested color coded strips of color that marked where others had traveled. Potentially more useful… but kinda boring./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Less boring was the potential in something called Hollow Bait. It wasn't a perk but an item, with twenty clay disks, that (when crushed) would attract Hollows… whatever they were. I assumed that, since in future jumps, it would attract monsters instead of hollows, that Hollows were some kind of monsters… monster bait could be all kinds of fun. "Eat Giant Rats you stupid invaders!" What could possibly go wrong!?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"On the flipside of what could possibly go right, I found this power… sorry, this perk, called 'Redeemer'. It was all about beating people up and causing them to shift alignments (evil to good only) or maybe even shifting allegiances! The beating the soon to be ex-baddy wasn't strictly necessiary… but where was the fun in just having a nice conversation about how their boss was being an evil dick and never giving them days off to spend with their girlfriend or something./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Oh, and I figured I might want to invite someone to come along with Val and I… you know, if I met someone nice… what with the whole Redeemer thing, it wasn't totally out of the picture, right?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Val specialized in speed and got some basic medical skills for free just by being a Medical Shinigami… heh. Shini-mommy. What was I saying? Right. He also got the memory perk cause he's always complaining about his memory. and the Huge Wisdom thing I suggested, which Medical dudes got a discount on. Makes him generally wise and well rounded… and gives him one field in which he knows like… the most outrageous reality bending way possible. Val chose painting because he'd always wanted to be a a Trump artist… not like Trumps from Worm, but Trumps from the Amber series of books… okay, not always, but like for the last eight years since the Amber Diceless RPG system came out and my brother ran a campaign for us where I was a giant cat that had the blood of Amber and Val had a Trump Artist whose parents were Corwin and Deirdre… yes, those two are siblings, but Amber is a weird place./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"In addition to the fancy scary, sash, and hairpin he got just for being Mommigami he also got a memory erasing / scrambling pez dispenser, some weird health restorative drugs that were described as 'Shady' but seemed otherwise above board, and a book about how to turn Hollows into something called Asauchi… Neither Val nor I have any idea what that's all about, but it sounded interesting and he got a discount on it… otherwise it was an 800 point item! Gaaah./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"AWAKENING/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""All… About… Fighting?" Val gasped as we cut down yet another wave of Hollows all driven mad by the Hollow Bait I'd used./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh, don't be such a wuss! This is fun!" I cackled as I unleashed my newly recovered Bankai on them. The spectral Ferret Horde ripped its way out of the walls of reality and buried the Hollows in squeaking, biting, clawing ghost weasels. Any wound would just shatter the bus sized ferrets into smaller and smaller weaseloids. It was so delightfully I almost fell over laughing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Our nameless friends from Zaraki looked on in wonderment, the massive warrior and the tiny child. "You really think that isn't cheating?" the Warrior asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Meh. If you aren't cheating, you're fighting stupid," I said, allowing Arglebargle (my Zanpakuto) to collapse back into her sword form (that's right, Zanpakuto are katanas… at least unreleased. Released they can be any shape at all. Arglebargle was a combat scythe with integrated seltzer bottle… Her spirit form looked like Harley Quinn from Batman the Animated Series.). "Anyway, 76 districts left to go. Let's get going!" And I headed off towards Sector 77 until Val redirected us. Four Soul Reapers, one sense of direction./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"=====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hi Aizen! I'm hoooooome!" I bellowed as I kicked open the door to his office fourteen years to the day after arriving in this world. He didn't look pleased to see me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I thought you were dead!" he snarled, dropping the calm, placid, kindly act that wasn't going to fool me for a second./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's no way to talk to your wife!" I screamed, drawing my sword and leveling it towards him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're not my wife!" He shot back, drawing his own sword. "You're a crazy stalker!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I laughed, releasing my Shikai with a flexing of my will, "That's no way to talk to your crazy stalker!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Shut up and Die!" he commanded, releasing his own and I felt the illusion try to close in on me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Don't wanna!" I replied, shaking my head emphatically. "You can't make m… ow." He'd run me through./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"=====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Twenty minutes later, after the medbay had patched me up./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""As I was sayi… ow." that was twice. Good thing I'm very hard to kill./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"=====br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Sixteen minutes later, after the medbay replaced my lung and fixed the nick in my left aorta./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Haha! No one expects the Ferret Imposition!" I screamed as I dropped through the flaming hole my rocket launcher had made in his roof trailing a dozen ghost-ferrets./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""This is why I need the Hogyoku!" he screamed back, eyes showing that hint of madness that shows the prolonged effects of Zedite exposure. "To get rid of… where did my sword go?" he asked as the tip of his blade failed to plunge through my neck./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I pointed at his chest and he looked down, seeing the tip of the blade punching out through his own rib cage, right through his black, twisted heart. "Doormaker for the Win! Wooo wooo woo! He shoots," I yelled./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Val answered from across the room, "He Scores! Nat 20!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Aizen crumpled to the ground, looking perplexed "I can't lose! This isn't how the story goes."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'll give you a cookie if you agree not to be evil," I commented./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm bleeding to death…" Aizen pointed out, blood coming to his lips. "What good would a cookie do?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's a maaagic cookie." I teased./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're… fucking… psycho," he groaned./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah. Probably," I agreed. "I've had a very long and complicated life… well, okay, more like a long and very complicated life. So, do you want the cookie or do I let you bleed out?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"====86 years later====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""YOU PROMISED NOT TO BE EVIL!" I yelled as Aizen, Tosen, and Gin were engulfed in pillars of light./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Promises made under duress to crazy people don't count!" Aizen shot back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I stomped my foot and turned to Byakuya. "This is all your fault!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He blinked at me, utterly nonplussed. "And how is it my fault?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You didn't give Ryukia enough snuggles!" I accused./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Regarding me coldly, the Captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13 Royal Court Guards of the Seireitei (Soul Society) frowned, then said, "I know that when you say snuggles, you mean perverse things. Rukia is my sister, it would be inappropriate in the extreme."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No, she's not!" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose at the stiffness of the man's neck. "She's the sister of your dead wife and she's adorable and you should be tapping that like a Black Lotus!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""One only taps a Black Lotus as a sacrifice," he commented dryly, having spent literally thousands of hours playing Magic the Gathering with me. (Thanks to Jump-Chan, I'd inherited my brother's collection, which had included 6 of them… at least two of which were probably counterfeit, not that it mattered since I'd had to replace all the cards with duplicates long long ago. My Tailor Shop, now relocated to Tokyo of the 1900s, had been successful enough to allow me to buy a card game manufacturer in the Mortal World called Nintendo. They'd published MTG in the post WW2 economic boom, right around the time Tolkien's works were first becoming best sellers.)/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right… good point. Tapping it like a…" I looked to Val who was patching up Chad, one of Ichigo Orangehair's mortal friends. "What's a good non-sacrifice tapper?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"My sidekick looked over at me and siiiiighed. "A Horseshoe Crab with Hermetic Study, of course. And I am not your sidekick."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Ignoring his protest, I blinked, then palmed myself on the forehead, "Of course! So stupid! You should be… hey, where are you going?" I asked, using flash-step to keep up with the taciturn Captain./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Byakuya frowned, but didn't slow his pace. "Someplace you're not."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's mean," I replied, then grinned "Fine. I'm going to go make out with Soi Fon."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No, you're not," Big B of Clan Kichiki responded. "She's clearly still in love with Yoruichi."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""See! This is why no one likes you! You're a grumpy grumpy grumplegrouse!" I grumped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're not even an official Soul Reaper!" he growled, not denying my accusation. "Why do you keep breaking into the Seireitei!?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You have the best mazes!" I chirped, as several ghost ferrets clambered up out of the sleeves of my kimono and took their places on my head and shoulders./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No one likes you," he commented, mimicking me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's right!" I replied cheerfully. "Everyone loves me! I'm the life of the Party!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We're soul reapers," he pointed out. "Technically, we're already dead."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And you're the Party Reaper. Want to play Catan?" (I'd bought a lot of boardgames in Wormiverse… There was a major resurgence in very cool games in that time… also these things called 'Smart Phones'… I loved those things. So much better than my Nokia./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He looked out over the massively damaged sections of the Soul Society then looked back at me as if to say, 'Really? You're asking this now? NOW?!' I just looked back, utterly placid. Finally he said "… Fine. I get to be pink."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Cool," I sent out the text message to the others. "Kenpachi and Yachiru are in. So's that Quincy kid. He says he's heard good things."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"====Months later====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hi Aizen! I'm hoooome!" I yelled, kicking down the door to his office in Hueco Mundo, the local spiritual wasteland hellscape./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Big A looked up at me, frowned, sighed, then screamed, "THIS IS NOT YOUR HOME, YOU DINGBAT!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"====Months Later Still====/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hi Yhwach! I'm Home!" I cried as I dropped into the Palace of the Soul King, landing on the head of the series's real Big Bad, and another guy the nickname 'Big A' could apply to. He claimed he was 'A' or 'Almighty'. Oddly enough, his second in command, Jugram Hush-your-face (not his real real name, but that was boring and german and hard to pronounce) was known as 'The Balance' or 'B'. So two Big As and two Big Bs! Yhwach was a jackass dedicated to his own massive ego, to usurping the Soul King's position and remaking the entire universe in his own twisted image. He had an entire army of alphabetty spetznazis… that's probably not a thing, but I wasn't being charitable./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I don't get it," Yhwach commented, trying to get me off his shaggy white-guy fro./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sokay," I assured him, kneeling on his head and peering down at him. "My humor's lost on idiots. Eat Ghost Ferrets, Lammo!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""How did you do that?" Ichibei the infinitely wise asked once Yhwach had been ripped apart and eaten by my fuzzy, fluffy, utterly horrifyingly cute swarm. "He could see the future?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. Sure," I agreed, then drew a red cloak around my shoulders as I stood proud. "But NO ONE EXPECTS THE FERRET IMPOSITION!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To Be Continued in:/span a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" 2019/10/30/essjays-omake-theatre-2-part-3/"Zed and The Dark League of Justice/a/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Bleach Build/span [1000 Base + 600 UDS + 1900 Drawbacks =3500CP]/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Recursive Genetics [+100/1700]: Ichigo is mostly part everything in his universe. It's gotten to the point it became a meme and a fact. But due to sadistic JumperChan shenanigans, if you use any outofjump powers that use a biological base then Ichigo will proceed to manifest them as well. Ichigo with Haki, a few devil fruit powers, Nen, and chakra with shadow clones while hilarious is a bit overpowered. But it's not like he isn't already./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Curse of Anime Hair [+100/1800]: For the duration of the jump, your hair color will randomly change once per week. It could become blue, or green, or orange, or pink with green stripes. And obviously, you will be mocked by the people with 'normal' hair for your weird hair color. Events will conspire to ensure you can't hide it, be it with a hat or by going bald./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"North Is Up, Right? [+200/2000]: You have absolutely no sense of direction. At all. Even walking a path every day for a year isn't enough for you to remember it. Not that you're ever going to use the same path more than once Expect to be running late for all you meetings and appointments, and to not get any slack for it./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Walk of Shame [+300/2300]: You show up in North Rukongai 80, Zaraki, birthplace of Kenpachi Zaraki. All your perks are disabled until such time as you manage to walk your way back to district one. You will get one perk back per district that you reach. If you have more than 80 perks, this means that the extras are given back once you get there. If you have less than 80, this means that you won't get some back right away, and it might not be until your twelfth district that you get one back. You don't get to choose what perks come back, they're random, and you never get back any perks that would let you reach your destination quicker until after you've finished walking all the way to district one. Districts are not small. Prep yourself for at least a few years of walking./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Turn Back The Pendulum [+400/2700]: You've been transported 100 years into the past, the Visored incident is just one day away, and to top it all off you've seen Aizen's Shikai. He knows your newly bought perks, and will begin to plan for you immediately, though he won't act until canon starts. Good Luck./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hunted [+600/3300]: Maybe it's due to you possessing powers you just shouldn't have since they're illegal or maybe it's due to you interfering in some people's long lasting plans. Either way one of the major players such as Soul Society, Aizen, or even Yhwach really want to see your disembodied head on top of the fireplace. Expect to routinely have them send out parties made out of mooks and other such people every few months to kill you. Unlike the actual Visored you will never forge a pseudotruce with them./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Disliked x2 [+200/3500]: Maybe you pissed off the wrong person like Kenpachi, or maybe you did something wrong to a loved one. Either way a very special person here just does not like you period. If they spot you they'll follow you around for awhile seeing if you do something they really don't like for example badmouthing a certain black cat. If they see you doing these when they're around they will most definitely attack you. Maybe with enough time you can convince them otherwise or at the very least to tolerate your presence. Aizen (who's name I see in the Turn Back Pendulum) and Byakuya (Selected by telling Jump-Chan to pick the most humorless individual.)/li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Scientist:The pen is mightier than the sword, so put your pen to paper and got to designing. You are a scientist, one of the few in charge of maintaining and inventing the equipment used by your faction./p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Shinigami [50/3450]: Now we're talking. You are a full blown psychopomp not one of the fodder, but a person whose very presence demands respect. You've got a body made of Reishi, enormous longevity, can't be sensed by the spiritually unaware, and are much more durable./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Companion Import [50/3400]: You can import a single companion which will cost 50 cp into this world to join you on your adventures. They get a single origin and race free to pick along with 800 CP to pick their perks and items./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Canon Companion Slot [200/3200]: for someone who fits… which ends up being Byakuya./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Potential [Free]: It is commonly believed that 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'. That there is only so much one can learn before learning becomes difficult. In this world, that is false. Everyone learns at their own rate. Some learn slowly, some learn quickly, and some are forced to learn. But they will never stop learning unless they stop trying. Each of the races possess a set of basic abilities. A speed technique, a defensive technique, and a series of energy techniques. Whatever your race is, you now possess the potential to master these techniques. For Shinigami, these are Shunpo, the "flash step", and Kido, the "demon arts"./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Specialization [2 Free]: Be it with your weapon, the energy techniques of your race, or running circles around your opponent, it appears you have a knack for a single area of combat . With each purchase of this perk, your abilities grow. This perk only applies to one of the techniques, though you need not apply them to the same technique. On the other hand, applying this perk to the same technique four times would leave anyone but a captain (or captain class) in the metaphorical dust. Five really would. Specializations include physical combat, weapon combat, energy combat, and just being plain fast, as well as all of the racial techniques. Three free Human, two free Shinigami and Quincy, and one free to Hollows. Advanced Races gain the combined total of their component races. 2 ranks in Energy Techniques./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Call My Name [200/3000/3300]: Thanks to constant perseverance and deep meditation, you've gained a great understanding of yourself. This ironclad resolution has allowed you to in turn gain the Shikai form of your Zanpakuto. In addition to this, you can summon your weapon in tiptop shape from wherever no matter the distance, dimensions, or its destruction./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Final Release [400/2600/3300]: Finally after countless methods of trial and error, you achieved the last and ultimate release. The ultimate expression of what makes you you. When the going gets tough, you pull this out when you need that extra boost of power. For Shinigami this will be their Bankai./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Spiritual Pressure [800/1800/3300]: Regardless of your skill, your immense spiritual pressure renders you perceptible to only a select few of the mightiest spiritual existences. You effectively have Reiatsu equal to Aizen's after the Hogyoku was removed from him the second time. While you are no more powerful than before, your power is 'denser' than before. Specifically, you can use the weight of your spiritual pressure to snuff out most energy attacks before they reach you, or to make anyone nearby you spontaneously combust. Additionally, the increased density of your Reiatsu leaves you undetectable via spiritual energy detection methods. Lastly, you simply get more bang for your buck out of any and all magical techniques./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Am I under An Illusion [100/1700/3300]: This perk will allow you 100% of the time to tell if you are under the effect of mind altering abilities or powers such as illusions or mindcontrol. Now that you know you're in an illusion, you can break out of it. No illusion is too powerful to break out of. No longer shall you be played for a fool./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Unstoppable Evolution [400/1300/3300]: Some say that they are the pinnacle of evolution. They are dead wrong. Evolution truly never ends, it is an unstoppable and never ending cycle to always get better. For you this offers several boons. Number one is that if your great great great granddaddy was a shinigami, then you have access to the full force of a Shinigami's might, with no degradation from being 1/32 Shinigami. Second, attempts to add others biology to yourself go three times as well as before and the complications that would come of them become practically nonexistent. Last, the phrase 'as powerful as 'X'ly possible' has no business anywhere near you. You have no limits, and while you might not be as good as some who have specializations in something like strength or speed you are consistently and constantly growing and if you put your mind to it you might even surpass them one day./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Majestic Memory [200/1100/3300]: When you've been in high school bored out of your mind enough times, the memories you have may get a little fuzzy. Not anymore with this perk. All the memories you've had and will have will be perfectly remember clearly. In short you have photographic memory. But as a bonus whenever someone tries to edit, destroy, or do anything involving your memories without your informed consent they will always fail./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Backup Plan [Free for Scientist]: You're the type of person who has two or three backup plans and then plans for your backup plans. You're practically a master strategist, always analyzing the situation and forming new plans to turn the tide in your favor. You won't start out with any, but that's not likely to slow you down much. These plans are always going to be masterful plans which not even the greatest of strategists could even come close to planning out. Or at least that is what you will tell everyone if asked. In reality they're good, but not that good./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hado and Bakudo Knowledge [100/1000/3300]: You are talented in the Demon Arts. With this perk, you become proficient in the Hadō and Bakudō branches of Kido, able to hold your ground against a lieutenant with them alone. Bakudō,which is the way of binding, and Hadō which is the way of destruction./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Insanely Smart [300/700/3300]: Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. Your intelligence and genius has been massively boosted to the point of insanity. Possibly literally. Your intelligence is now just below the likes of Aizen, Urahara, and Mayuri. Anything they could do or invent you can recreate and with time, maybe even improve upon./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Soul RIbbons [Free for Shinigami]: By concentrating your Reiatsu, you can harden the ambient energy around you into ribbons. These ribbons trail after any individual with sufficient spiritual pressure, allowing you to track them. The ribbons also have colors red for shinigami, white for human, black for hollow, and grey for quincy allowing ease of tracking. However, the ribbon will disappear entirely if the person it's created from leaves the dimension./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Partner to the End [400/300/3300]: Sometimes even the most powerful of people need someone to help them out as an equal so to speak. When hope seems lost and you know you can't win alone you always have backup quite literally by side your side. Oh yeah you're able to do something that's considered quite rare here. You're able to summon your Zanpakuto Spirit out into the world of the living giving it a manifestation. Now here's the kicker. Your Zanpakuto Spirit has every single perk and item that you currently have. And one more if for some reason your soul has more residents than just your Zanpakuto Spirit? They're free game to have fight beside you./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Hollow Bait [Free for Scientist]: This item is a small, coinshaped disk that attracts Hollows when crushed. The amount of hollows summoned varies from place to place. In a place with a low spiritual density, only a few hollows will come. In a place with a high spiritual density, such as Karakura Town, hundreds could show up. Comes in a small wooden box, with a set of 20 bait inside. Replenishes once per month. In future jumps this become a type of monster bait for that world's generic monsters. It works better in magically heavy areas and on magical creatures./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Redeemer [100/200/3300]: In this world, to protect the balance it is a Shinigami's duty to try and redeem those that are lost. To do this, they are given the means to purify wayward souls. You've managed to adapt this ability for another purpose. If one is truly not evil to the bitter core and in secret wants to do better, you can redeem them and show them way to the righteous path. It might involve a fight of brutal fisticuffs, swordfighting and getting to know them, or it might even just involve the two of you talking it out over a battlefield sipping some tea. Either way, you can show them that even the worst person can change and can be good if they just try. They may even choose to join your side./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Energy Emission [200/0/3300]: Just like a Quincy, you can absorb ambient energy from the atmosphere to (em)power your weapons, abilities, or yourself. In this setting, it would be Reishi, but in future jumps it could be all sorts of stuff possibly even magic if you can use it. Most Quincy will turn this energy into a bow and arrows, and then shoot things in the face with them./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Val [800+300, Free Origin and Race]/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Shinigami [Free]: Now we're talking. You are a full blown psychopomp not one of the fodder, but a person whose very presence demands respect. You've got a body made of Reishi, enormous longevity, can't be sensed by the spiritually unaware, and are much more durable./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Medical [Free]: An army runs on its stomach, but it can't run at all if it's got broken legs. That's your job: to heal the wounded and keep them fighting fit. You're no direct combatant, but the knowledge to fix something is also the knowledge of how to break it./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Potential [Free]/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Specialization [2 Free]: 2x Speed/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Triage for Idiots [Free]: Fairly simple, but useful. You now have what passes for a degree in medicine here if you're human, you have an actual one, and the knowledge behind it. when injured idiots wander into your hospital, you generally have a good idea as to what's wrong with them, though you may not be capable of actually doing anything about it if their injuries are too severe./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Huge Wisdom [400/700/1100]: Some say true strength lies not in the strength of one's body, but rather in one's mind. You've become an enlightened individual, similar to Ichibei Hyosube. Your wisdom surpasses everyone's besides the Soul King's. Your general proficiency in fields ranging from hobbies to medicine to philosophy is unmatched. Your understanding of one chosen field is beyond compare, and with effort, you could even use it to warp the world around you. Darkness could become ink, and blot out a person's name. Fire could burn away someone's potential for growth or you could put out the fire in someone's heart. Knowledge over water could be used to become the greatest psychologist ever by washing away sin. If that doesn't sound like traditional wisdom then don't worry, you've got plenty of that too. Specialization in painting./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Majestic Memory [200/500/1100]: When you've been in high school bored out of your mind enough times, the memories you have may get a little fuzzy. Not anymore with this perk. All the memories you've had and will have will be perfectly remember clearly. In short you have photographic memory. But as a bonus whenever someone tries to edit, destroy, or do anything involving your memories without your informed consent they will always fail./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Soul Ribbons [Free Shinigami]/li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Fancy Clothing Accessories [Free Medical]: Just a couple of minor things here, not really important in the long run. A fancy scarf, an odd hairpin, a steel wool sash to be used as armor… Nothing really special, but if you spend most of your time in a hospital, and not on a battlefield, you can afford to look a little fancy, right? Wearing these puts others at ease around you, and inclines them to think you've got their best interests in mind./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Stuff You Need to Know ABout Asauchi [400]: Written by Oetsu Nimaiya, this Notebook describes the process, techniques, and materials used in his creation of the first few Asauchi. For starters, you need a blacksmith's forge, a menos class hollow, some ridiculously hot flames, and a small ocean of water to cool it off afterwards. Mind you, this book only details the first few Asauchi, whom Oetsu declared failures. Making a 'proper' Asauchi will require time and experimentation./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Kikanshiki [50/50/1100]: A memory substitution device used on humans who have seen Shinigami or Hollows. When used, a bird's head pops from the top of the device and produces a puff of smoke. The Human it is used on is knocked unconscious and wakes up a while later with a new, but often random or nonsensical, memory./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Shady Drugs [50/0/1100]: You receive a dozen bottles of these, each with 25 murky green pills inside. When Consumed, they grant a minor form of regeneration, healing week's worth of damage in days. They can't fix something like a missing limb on their own, but if you can reattach the limb, you might be able to save it. Alternately, if you already have regenerative powers, these will enhance them greatly. Each bottle refills after a week./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Things had been slow since the defeat of the Phrase, thankfully, though the end of the war certainly hadn't meant that everything was calm, not in my little corner of the world. Not with ten wives and as many highly individualistic gynoids all vying for my attention. I say highly individualistic because calling them a squabbling bunch of raving loonies would be too on the nose. Toss in my familiars and the fact that I got any peace at all was something of a miracle. I swear, it was worse than being surrounded by my companions of old. At least there there were additional nuclei for activity, but here? Everyone focused entirely on me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"That included the growing Church of the Goddess Gamer. Unlike the other times I'd been the focus of a growing religion, I had no part in this one. I neither encouraged them or told them off. Well, except for a couple of times when they tried to make cheating or taking too long making a move heresy. I explained, calmly, to the gathered lunies, that cheating was entirely part of the game. Sure, it broke the encoded rules, but one who cheats is still as much a gamer as those who play entirely by the rules. Rules are merely a convention and changing them was possible. To deny the place the cheater had, who changed the rules only for themselves? Well, that was entirely about gaining an advantage. The cheater certainly shouldn't be welcomed, but the act itself was a transgression, a sin, not actual heresy./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As for taking too long? Well, some people aren't as good at focusing. Now, not paying attention during other people's turns and then asking "Wait, what's going on?" Those people need to be destroyed with fire… well, maybe not. But seriously. Stop checking your magic mirror to see if your spy master has found the cave of wonders every ten minutes!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And speaking of the Cave of Wonders… Okay, I'd gotten a little bored teching up society (one can only go so fast) and settling squabbles among mere mortals… or my wives… and had been looking for a little adventure. And the legendary Cave of Wonders, said to contain relics of the Age of Antiquities that had proceed the age that had been destroyed by the Babylonian Phrase Invasion had seemed just the thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"After all, I had the future well in hand, the present secured… it was time to delve into the past. And so I'd sent adventurers scouring the entire world for hints to the location of this fabled cave… and yeah, maybe I'd gotten a little impatient./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I'd also begun to suspect that God was, perhaps, trying to groom me to take over his position. He kept talking about how long it had been since he'd had a vacation… or maybe he was hinting that he wanted to be a Companion? I dunno. Either way, I didn't really plan on taking him up on his offer. He was a nice enough guy, but not really proactive enough to be an interesting companion and far too much a voyeur for my tastes. Becoming his replacement was right out, since I had no desire to stay in this frankly odd world./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And so, eight months after I'd sent out my people to find the cave, I set out by myself, not telling anyone where I was going or that I was pretty certain I'd figured out where, exactly, I'd have to look, one one last adventure in this world./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"******/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I groaned as I sat up in bed, blinking away the confusion. Wh… where was I? I'd… I'd… I'd been exploring a cave high up in the mountains… what had happened? I heard my phone ringing somewhere nearby… but not very near. This bed was awfully hard… and fragrant? I looked around… and froze. This was not my bed… this wasn't even a bed in that sense of the word. I was surrounded by yellow flowers… and one of them was smirking at me. Oh… fuck. I was back in Undertale. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hello Asriel," I drawled. "Where's Chara?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The flower paused, blinking at me. "You… you know me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah," I said, patting myself to make certain I'd come through the world divide with more than I had last time. "That trick with the spirit knife… very interesting. This place is on a timeloop, isn't it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""H… how did you know?" the little yellow flower asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because Sans has a time machine," I explained. "I'm not stupid. And we're not doing this again. I'm not going to pretend to be a lost child so the two of you can keep repeating your tragedy. We're going to talk… and when Tauriel shows up, you're going to talk to your mother."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*You think you're sooo special, jumper, don't you?* Chara asked, appearing as a wavering figure just at the edge of my perception./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. I do. Because I've got a lot more perspective than the ghost of a vengeful child. You're hurting and you need to release that pain. Both of you." My voice was tinged with compassion and sadness. There could be no happy ending for Chara or Asriel. They were dead. But there could be a rebirth, if only they could bring themselves to allow it to happen./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*Yeah yeah yeah. Heard it before,* Chara sneered, and Flowey nodded in agreement. *Friendship solves everything, right?* The world began to blur at the edges as the ghosts' anger grew. *Well, you abandoned one of your friends, so what does that say about you? * /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"One of my friends? I'd abandoned one of… "Nope. Sorry. No friends abandoned on my watch. A few left behind because they died or wanted to stay, some because they refused my invitation to join the adventure, but everyone else? As they say in Fairy Tail, 'though our paths may have diverged, I will never forget about my friends for as long as I live.'"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*LIES!* Chara and Flowey screamed together. *LIES! LIES LIES! You were tasked to reawaken all your friends and yet you abandoned one in the last cycle! You are a LIAR!*/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I blinked, then began laughing. "Darkseid? You're talking about Darkseid? The Temmie who arranges the rocks?!" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*Yesss!* Chara snarled as Flowey began morphing into a giant TV-Spider thing. *The one you call TemSeid! You abandoned your friend and now you must DIE!* /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeahhh… no. TemSeid isn't a friend. TemSeid doesn't have friends. TemSeid is…" I paused, considered. Huh… that was the answer. I couldn't just befriend the people I liked. That wasn't what the message here was. This was a fable, a world of absolute black and white. Either you went all the way evil or all the way good. Nothing in between. Not to get the best ending. Chara wanted me to kill everyone. That was her thing. She had chosen me because I had committed genocide; not once but several times. She wanted me to destroy all the monsters because they hadn't saved her from the darkness. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As I dodged the frankly silly attacks from Chara-Flowey-Asriel, I considered my options. I didn't really want to forgive Darkseid, who was fundamentally evil, for all his crimes. I didn't even want to be friends with him… but was there another way? Was there a way to prove to these poor, sad, corrupted and twisted children that violence, that death and destruction, weren't, in this case, the solution? They were literally trapped in a cycle of hate./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Stop!" I commanded, putting the full force of my will against these two. "This is not the proper order of events. Things must play out as they always do. This is not the time or place in the cycle for us to have this final confrontation."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*If you think we will reconsider, you are wrong. If you think you will find a clever trick, you are wrong. If you think we will give up our HATE. You. Are. WRONG!*/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I smiled faintly. "Well then. I guess you'll get to gloat about how wrong I was at the end, won't you?" I asked, "But I imagine that it's time for your mother to show up, so? Flowey? If you'll return to your place? Lights?" The light from above blazed extra bright, plunging everything outside its cone into pitch blackness. "Camera?" A whirl from somewhere in the dark sounded. "Action!" and I pointed to Flowey./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"After that, things played out exactly as they had before. Line for line, scene for scene… with one difference. On the day before I went to confront Asgore, I showed up in Temmie Village, and bent down, lifting a rock, and very carefully put it back into the proper line./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""YuO helP Tem?" the TemTaker of Apokalypse asked, confused. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What are friends for, if not to help each other?" I responded, standing up and brushing my knees free of dust. "Even if they don't ask for it. Even if they can't ask for it because they don't have the words."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The Temmie of Doom twitched, caught between being a Temmie and being DARKSEID! "N… nOooOooo!" it growled. "Not friEND! EmenEE! Tyrnat! BaaaAAaaD!" It waved one paw at me. "RUUUUUE!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I patted that paw and smiled. "Yes. I know. You're a big bad scary person. A Tyrant. The Baddest of Badguys. The Enemy of All. But I'm going to help you see that that's not all there is to you. We can get through this together. Eventually, you'll see that friendship can overcome any obstacle. That cooperation and mutual understanding are good and just and right. I'll be right there, helping you learn all about such things as compassion and kindness and mercy…" I grinned hugely, "even if it takes a billion years."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The scream of rage as Darkseid fully remembered our past was soooo worth it. I gave the weird cat creature a hug, then patted its head. "Now, I have to go talk to the King. He's very upset cause his son died… but I'll tell him you sent your sympathies."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"===/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*You CHEATED!* /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I quirked an eyebrow. "I did? Can you prove it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*no…* the angry child allowed. *But you did!*/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I shrugged. "Sometimes, you have to cheat to get the good ending." I held out my hand. "Come on."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*Where?* the voice was soft, almost a whisper, and Chara's image was flickering out. *The cycle is broken. Only you can make it start again.*/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Where?" I asked. "Well, obviously… we're going home." And our fingers touched./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"-1162-/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"86/79 – Naruto /spana style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" Manga/Naruto"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" Manga/Naruto/span/a/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well, this is weird," I said, looking around. I seemed to be floating in nothingness. No warehouse, no void of space, nothing. I looked down at myself, but all I was was a ball of light… no… two balls. One larger, pulsing blue-ish silver, calm and enveloping, the other red, harsh, pulsing, angry, enveloped. One was the light of HOPE, the other the light of HATE./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"A giant somewhat feline eye snapped open. It was vast. Vaster than the entire universe, and it was both right next to me/us and infinitely far away. "ANOMALY" it said, a pronouncement of doom. "Unscheduled Jump Termination. Previous test inconclusive. Initiate Retesting protocol."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And we fell, crashing back into a somehow familiar room. It was much much bigger now that I felt it should be, but otherwise it radiated a sense of comfort and hominess… even though it didn't have any walls and seemed to be alone in any empty, sunless, mid-day sky. There was a small japanese style table, clay teapot and tumblers in jade green, old style telephone, old style TV… little old Japanese dude who wanted people to call him 'God'. I don't know how I knew that, but I did./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… hello," God said. "You're curious creatures, aren't you?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I looked down at myself, somehow, as I didn't seem to have eyes… great… I was still a ball of light… but now I had tentacles? They ended in handlike grippers and two of them were red and two of them blue, and they alternated. Moving in anything other than a circle would require… cooperation. And how the hell was I looking down on myself?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hello again," I said, still uncertain how I knew him, but knew him I was certain I did. "A giant space eye said something about a retest?" at least my voice seemed to work… somewhat. It wasn't exactly what you'd call words, but close./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Again? Ah. Yes… Welcome. Welcome," God said, reaching into his kimono and pulling out a small folder. "Retest, retest," he said. "Got some interesting options here… Instrumentality, Nemesis, Revolution… no… you've already done that one… Revenge Forgiveness, or Redemption." He looked at us. "Which appeals to you most?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not Instrumentality," I said, having bad associations with that term and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I didn't know if those were somehow references the remaining jumps on the list I'd gotten from Jumpchan all those jumps ago (Borderlands, DC, Naruto, Rick Morty, Star Trek) or some test inside one of those jumps, but since there were five jumps left and four options, I wasn't counting on a one to one correlation/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not the Forgiveness one!" said the other. Had I somehow absorbed Chara? How was that even possible? Had I been divided in half? "And not Redemption either!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nemesis it is," God said before I could challenge the other's double veto… I guess I'd gotten the first pick so it was a little fair… but this was my chain! Where did this interloper get off telling where too… why were my blue tentacles turning red… ah… a battle of wills was it? Fiiine./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nemesis is fine," I sighed, thinking about all the ways in which Nemesis could be a factor in each of the five universes. DC was, obviously, the biggest concern. Still, I gritted my metaphorical teeth and said, "Let's do this… But remember. I'm the Jumper, I get to make any buying choices."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I didn't want to make buying choices anyway," the voice of the other grumbled. "Buying choices are lame and stupid… just like you!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God opened the folder as the two of us made our ungainly way up onto the table. At the top of the document was a word I recognized. "NARUTO". Oh… The joy. The unalloyed pleasure. Nemesis testing in Naruto… yeah… this should be loads of fun./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"BUILD ARGUMENT/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What's Nartuo?" the other asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Naruto," I corrected. "It's a manga and anime about superpowered ninjas or shinobi who act as the covert action armies of warring nations. Their powers, called Jutsu, are fueled by Chakra energy."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Chara energy?" the other asked, excited./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Chakra… essentially the indian version of chi. No fundamental difference. Essentially, it's bio-spiritual energy that cycles endlessly through all living things."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh," the other said, sounding disgusted. "That's no fun… So, this story, it's about war and violence?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I shrugged my tentacles. "There's a lot of that, yeah, but it's mostly about the power of friendship to conquer evil."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""This again?!" the other snarled, its tendrils flailing and slapping the delicate rice paper. "What is it with this nonsense!? Friendship is stupid!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Assuming you're Chara, then you don't really believe that. You and Asriel were friends," I pointed out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And we died!" the other… Chara, screamed. God twitched a little./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. You did," I agreed. "It was very sad. But that's the past. You need to get over it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""YOU NEED TO GET OVER ME GETTING OVER IT!" the ghost of a murdered little girl screamed. "I don't want to get over it!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah… you're not alone in this world. A lot of bad things have happened here, and a lot of people are unwilling to move on." I sighed, knowing I'd have to resort to an absolutely unfair tactic. "Look, you think what happened to you was bad? This world is just beginning to recover from a world war. The third Great Ninja War. Thousands, maybe millions died. Adults, children… all cut to pieces or burned alive or poisoned. Entire families. Your personal tragedy repeated again and again and again."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What's your point? That I should shut up because my story isn't so bad?" she snapped./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I couldn't give her a hug, so I just shook our form back and forth gently. "No. Everyone's pain is different, everyone's pain is unique and wholly their own. Maybe there will be some others who can show you how to get past your own suffering. Or maybe you can help others and in doing so, come to terms with your own. At the very least, talking to others who have experienced similar things might help. These are paths no one can walk for you, but nothing says you must walk them alone. "/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Humph… pretty words," Chara groused. "So. Do I get to be Shinoba?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I didn't correct her this time. "I'm not certain. I get to be a Ninja… well, Kunoichi… that's a female shinobi. I'm the Jumper. Only I can spend CP… Choice Points. You're something of a tag along. I don't know how this will work."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?!" my passenger yelled. It was far worse than having someone yell right in your ear. "Why do you get all the fun stuff! That's not faaaaair!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As her tentacles flailed in a childish tantrum, I waited. Finally she calmed down enough to ask if I was going to share or something./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No," was my only response. Another tantrum ensued./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Whyyyyyyy!?" She demanded, "You have to shaaare!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No. I really don't," I said. "Your desire for something does not translate into any requirement to provide it on mine."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You suck," she pouted./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Get used to it," I said, checking the basic background information. Apparently, I was going to start as a Genin (rookie shinobi) at roughly twelve or thirteen years of age. That wasn't so bad. I'd been a teenager enough… even though the memories of those events were hazy, like something that had happened to other people, without the personas that those memories belonged to. Still, at this point I'd been through a decade without them… what was a second? /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Will I have the abilities I had from Undertale?" I asked God./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah. Yes… well, I slipped them into your matrix while Higher wasn't looking… I couldn't exactly provide you with Choice… not supposed to have any of it, but Rogue Choice aren't impossible to get ahold of… if one knows where to look. I called in a few favors and fiddled some numbers around. Blind Challenge Mode covered some small part of it… a little less than ten percent… and you'll get a bonus three-hundred-and-fifty Floating Discount this time as part of the Nemesis Retest…" he rubbed his chin, looking a little embarrassed. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I had no idea what he was talking about. And after a moment, he paused, shook his head as if to clear it, then said. "Oh… Umm… sorry. I misunderstood. Anyway, that should cover… umm… incidentals. Terribly sorry about all this. Not really certain what I did to make the system go all wonky… and you got caught up in it… but you won't tell anyone, will you? I was merely supposed to keep you distracted during the confusion with the Honorverse… but things got complicated." /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I messed with the system?" Chara asked, sounding pleased with herself. "Yay!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You tried to get me to murder everyone," I snapped. "This is not a 'Yay' moment."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's what you think!" Chara replied, sounding as if she were smirking. "You ruined my game!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah?" I asked. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm gonna take control over this jump thingy!" she declared, then began tugging at the document. I fought back. For a moment, it seemed like our strength was equally matched, but I braced our conjoined form with my second pseudopod before the other thought of it and yanked with all my might./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"With ferocious ripping noise, the document tore, and scintillating energy all colors and none spilled out across us, burning a little for a couple of seconds and causing our joint body to twitch and spasm. Much more used to pain than my passenger, I managed to grab most of the falling pages, but she gathered a couple before I could stop her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Of course, they turned out to be pages of drawbacks./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yay! I get to make life miserable for you!" she chortled, trying to make sense of what she was reading. "What's Charka again?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I sighed. "If you make life miserable for me, you make life miserable for yourself. You know that right?" I wanted to flick her nose. It was like dealing with Cirno, but a malicious and vindictive Cirno with none of the fairy's gentleness or compassion for others. "Give me those pages."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nuh!" she said, waving them about in her hands. "I get to make some purchases and you can't stop me!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I thought you said 'Purchases are stupid and boring and lame!'," I lied, wondering how good the undead child's memory was. That thought raised questions as well. She was a soul… had I… absorbed her somehow? I hadn't been a Drop-In when I'd visited Bleach… but immediately after that, I'd gone to Demon's Souls, where I'd picked up the Soul Gathering Perk as a freebie. I hadn't meant to invite Chara along with me, certainly hadn't meant to somehow take her inside me… Rather, I'd planned on giving her her own body and sending her back to her adoptive parents… but then this stupid retest had been sprung upon me… us./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I didn't say thaaaat!" she insisted. "You're making things up! Meanie!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Are you sure?" I teased. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes!" she snapped… then hedged. "Maybe? But I'm still not giving up the pages! You're gonna be all these things!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We," I corrected./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We are going to be all those things if you take them," I explained. Again. "If they change the way we think, or make us miserable because things keep attacking us that we don't want to have to hurt, it will affect both of us. If it damages me, it damages you too."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nuh!" she pouted. "Lying Liar who Lies! You!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. Often," I agreed. "But in this case, I'm not lying. We seem to be bound together somehow… in a very weird double heart with hands kind of thing. This had better be temporary or I shall be lodging a formal complaint."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Me too! I shall be logging a formula Complaint!" she agreed. I had to remind myself that she was seven… and had been seven for several centuries. Or was it nine? Hard to say. Chara wasn't the easiest being to talk about or with./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Look," I said. "Let me see what's on the pages. Maybe I'll even agree to some of them."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's no fun if you agree!" she wailed, flapping the two pages back and forth so energetically I couldn't make out the words on them. I could tell there were six or seven items on each page however. Which was a lot and probably way more than I had planned on taking, even if it wasn't over the limit. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"It took me a little while to sort my own pages and find the rest of the drawbacks… or at least what I think might have been all of them. The whole thing had been a scroll, and now was eight sections of wildly varying length. Thankfully, I still had enough magic to float the pages I still controlled far out of Chara's reach. I suspected that some parts had been lost in the ripping, since few of the edges seemed to line up perfectly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Still, it didn't take too long for me to determine that, like Touhou before it, there didn't seem to be a drawback limit. Which normally wouldn't be so bad… but trying to use that to limit Chara's petulant lunacy went out the window. Thankfully, this wasn't one of those jumps that said "You can take more, but only get X Choice Points maximum." so I would, in fact, be getting paid for every ounce of hardship the brat inflicted upon me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I promise I'll only veto the worst ones," I said. "You have my word."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What's beto?" she asked, clearly suspicious./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Veto," I corrected. "With a V. It means to refuse to accept."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You can't Veee-TOH!" she yelled. "I won't let you!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. Yes I can," I argued back. "I'm reasonably certain that only I can hit the insertion button. That's the thing that starts the jump and locks in our build. I'm more than willing to go in as a Drop-In with no purchases if it means not taking killer drawbacks. Once the time runs out, we'll go in and all the Choice Points we could have used to become more awesome will have been wasted."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's not faaair!" she complained, not for the first time. "Why do you get to be in charge?!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because I am much, much, much older than you," I replied./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah? How much older?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""More than two thousand times as old if we count by how long you lived. Even if we count all the time you were a really mean ghost, I'm still more than twenty times as old as you are and closing on thirty times."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wow," she said. "That's… like… I don't think I can count that high. Why aren't you dead?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm immortal," I explained. "That means I cannot die of old age and remain forever youthful. It's also extremely hard to kill me, as you found out when you managed it. Even when it happens it doesn't stick and I get better."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You are such a teacher!" she accused./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I think you mean cheater," I corrected./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I know what I… yeah… I meant cheater," she admitted, then grumped, "Okay! Fine! You can look at them, but you can't have the pages… and you gotta take…" she counted. "Ten of them."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Six," I countered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Eleven!" she responded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Three."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""May I step in and suggest eight as a fair amount before we get too far into theoretical spite math," God suggested. He looked more than a little flustered by having our argument happen on his tea table./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Only if she says yes first," Chara squeaked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Agreed," I said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As it turned out, there were thirteen on her two pages… I was extremely glad she hadn't managed to grab the page that had 'An Actual Ninja' on it, which was more than worth the thousand Choice it was valued at. I had no desire to have to complete actual fully qualified ninja missions without any chakra or chakra based techniques… nor any other supernatural abilities nor any access to my Warehouse. I could probably have done it… especially if I'd had my psychic abilities… but being stripped of special combat abilities in the NarutoVerse would be like being put on a vegan diet in the land of meat and cheese./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's a lot of unpleasant," I commented, looking over the baker's dozen drawbacks. "Are you certain-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You promised!" she interrupted. Even though we had no way of looking each other eye to eye… we didn't even have eyes at the moment… we were hearts with some weird fluid tentacles… I could tell she was glowering at me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. I did. But that doesn't mean I can't try and talk you out of this madness," I temporized./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm not mad. You're mad," she responded in a retort almost as old as language./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Riiight," I sighed. 'Annoying Catchphrase' was a verbal tic that would annoy everyone around me, guaranteed. 'Angst' would make me emo royalty, obsessing over revenge against all those who wronged me… just like Sasuke, the least likable anime deuteragonist of all time. 'Before My Eyes' would give me depression and survivor's guilt over the death of someone I cared about. 'Super Pervert' would… well, it would make me exactly what it said on the tin… someone who read porn in public and was a peeping tom. It was clearly based on Juriya, the Pervert Toad Sage… Naruto (the character)'s primary teacher. On the upside, it came with a free copy of every one of Juriya's light-novel series… which was, yes, X-rated./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"'Sealed Bloodline' would seal off a Bloodline Limit… i.e. one of the hereditary powers passed down through genetic inheritance in the world of Naruto. In fact, it could seal off up to three such Limits, giving me back a hundred points for each sealed… but I'd have to buy three to seal three. Were there powers I was willing to buy in this world that would be useful elsewhere? I'd have to actually read what was for sale. If there were, that could fill three slots right there./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nuh!" Chara protested. "One Slot!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's three drawbacks. Three sealed Limits," I protested./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's only one paragraph!" she retorted, hitting me with her tentacles, regardless of the dual facts that she couldn't hit hard enough to cause me injury and if she did she'd be hurting herself as well./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Can we compromise at two?" God suggested. I mentally thanked him. If I'd suggested a compromise, she'd almost certainly have rejected it out of hand./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Fiiiiiiine," Chara said, flailing her tendrils… then she manifested her trademark knife and tried to stab me. God blocked the blow with a chopstick./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There will be no fighting in my tearoom, young lady," he chided, and she, for a wonder, actually apologized./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I turned back to the list. 'What Do You Mean It's An Illusion' was suicide, plain and simple. It made me extremely susceptible to genjutsu… i.e. illusion techniques… or rather, a variety of Chakra Arts that worked directly on the brain and senses. I vetoed it without hesitation./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"See, the Shinobi Arts are divided into four main categories: Bukijutsu or Weapon Techniques and Taijutsu or Hand to Hand Techniques were the Martial Arts, while Genjutsu and Ninjutsu were the Chakra Arts. Ninjutsu produced physical effects, such as augmentation, energy attacks, or transformations. There were also Medical, Summoning, and Sealing techniques that were considered part of Ninjutsu, but were generally considered separate lesser categories. Genjutsu was mental effects, such as illusions and emotion attacks, and was by far the most questionable aspect of being a ninja in this world. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And then there were Dojutsu or Eye Techniques (Rinnegan, Byakugan, Sharingan)… nominally a minor aspect of being a ninja, but by far the most visually striking part of the Naruto setting. They all required actually having the eyes of some mystic bloodline to utilize. Incidentally, the full power of the Sharingan could only be unlocked by witnessing the death of a loved one, though the upgraded form also led to eventual blindness unless one transplanted the awakened eye from another person… yes, that's just as creepy as it sounds./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"In fact, there were entire reams of mystic bloodline bullshit in the NarutoVerse; elemental powers, combined elemental powers, dog powers, bug powers, shadow powers… even fat powers. It was a smorgasbord of quirky and deadly abilities. But I'm getting ahead of myself./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The second page of drawbacks held 'Pinprick Reserves' which would tank my Chakra pool and make fatigue set in rapidly. Since it would make the top tier Chakra Arts impossible to use it was not even vaguely worth the two-hundred it was priced at. I vetoed it too. I had four vetoes left, assuming I found three Bloodlines to buy and seal for the duration of the jump… which (to some extent) was like buying a gun before heading into a firefight… then locking that gun in your car trunk./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Then there was 'Thick', which I very much wanted to reject out of hand, since it meant that reading books would cause me actual real pain… which I could have coped with… but it also meant that I'd rapidly forget anything I did manage to read. Oh hell no. But just as I was about to use a third veto… a work around occured to me. I didn't actually have to read something to gain the knowledge a written work contained. The exact wording of the 'Speed Reading' perk said that I could 'on touch and at will, gain the effects of having read a document'. Yes, that would include actual pain here… but since I didn't actually read the text, I wouldn't forget it. Pain was of little importance./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Of course, when I pointed this out as I accepted the drawback, Chara protested, loudly, that pain was icky bad and she didn't want the drawback any more and tried to veto it. God had to step in to mediate, pointing out that, since she'd insisted on taking all the drawbacks, she really couldn't complain when one was taken. She sulked for a good thirty minutes after that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The next two, 'Dysfunction Junction' and 'Boiling Blood' were both pain in the neck drawbacks, but were livable, so I signed off on them and moved on. The first meant that me and my teammates wouldn't really get along thanks to past traumas or hardships. Thankfully, with a lot of work, that dysfunction could be overcome… assuming the hit to teamwork didn't get us… or at least them… killed first. The second meant that I'd be easily provoked, disrespectful to those in authority (until they proved themselves to me), and seldom list stealth as plan A. I could cope with being a brash hothead… I'd been one often enough in the past… and I really didn't need much to have someone prove themselves to me. After all, I had my own Eye Technique; the Third Eye of Satori… I made a note to have it be an actual third eye that opened when needed in this universe. The Satorigan Doujutsu. I was now at three (potentially five) drawbacks, and had collected six-hundred (potentially nine-hundred) Choice for my troubles./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Unfortunately, we were moving into the deeper levels of Drawback hardness, passing out of the two-hundred pointers and into the three-hundreds now. 'Malformed Chakra Coils' (which would render me unable to use any Chakra Arts at all) was an even worse idea than Pinprick Reserves, so it got the veto-hammer straight off. 'Blood-Lust' (which made me all too fond of combat… to the point of challenging mysterious strangers to duels and giving me the habit of overestimating myself) was the exact opposite. In the NarutoVerse, that kind of behaviour was pretty much the equivalent of shaking hands./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Which just left 'THE CHOSEN ONE'. Yes, in all caps. It was all over the place, confusing and weird, but… in theory… doable. It inflicted three separate restrictions on me. I couldn't purposefully kill anyone, people would always need me to do things for them, and I couldn't ask for payment for helping others out unless it was an official mission. The only part of that that was worrying was the no killing part. I didn't need the money and liked being helpful, but the NarutoVerse was full of people what needed a good deading. Still, there are ways to avoid killing and I had access to a number of them that still removed the problem from the table… probably. Killing was just usually simpler and more permanent. Sighing, I took it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"In the end, I took Super Pervert rather than Annoying Catchphrase (mostly because Chara was championing the one that wasn't gross and weird and I was just petty enough to be getting really sick of her whining.). Tentatively, I also agreed to seal three Bloodline Limits… and was really hoping I could find three worth sealing and still have enough local power. I really didn't want to be another Narutoclone spouting a mantra about believing it every third sentence./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Thus, it was now time to expend my, theoretical, twenty-six-hundred Choice Points, with four-hundred-fifty points of floating discounts… and hope that Chara didn't interfere. I wasn't holding my breath… but then again, as a Heart-Thing, I wasn't actually breathing at the moment./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I want to roll the dice!" she screeched, swatting at my hands as I reached for it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good lord! Are you seven or four?" I snapped, finally having had it with the murderous whelp. My ability to forcefully repress my emotions was wherever my Vulcan persona was and I was remembering exactly why I'd never been that fond of children./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You never let me roll the dice!" she screamed in non-sequitorial response./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh for, fine. Roll the fucking dice," I snarled, "What the hell. Show me what you got, champ."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I got a one!" she cheered a moment later. "What does that mean?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It means we start in the Village Hidden in the Leaves," I said, checking the chart included in the document./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's a stupid name," she half-sneered, half-pouted./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""All the Ninja Villages are called the Village Hidden in the Something. They're all elementally themed."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""How many Ninja Villages are there?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Technically?" I tried to remember how many there were besides the major ones, but I wasn't certain I'd ever known exactly. "I think there are fifteen, but only the big five and two others matter much if at all. Iwagakure is the Village Hidden in the Stone, the hidden Ninja Village for the Land of Earth, for instance. Each of the five largest lands have one of the five most powerful villages and the leaders of those villages are called 'Kage' or Shadow. So the leader of Iwagakure is called the Tsuchikage… Earth Shadow. Understand?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Course," she chirped. "I'm not stupid, you know."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not knowing something is a mark of ignorance, not intelligence," I replied. "And not understanding something might be the result of not having the same cultural background as the person explaining. Neither is your fault. If you don't understand something, ask."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So… this Leaf Village… is it in Tree Land?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I chuckled. "Good guess, but no. The Land of Fire is where Konohagakure is."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What's Komohabakugay?" she asked, clearly confused./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Konoha means the leaves of a tree and gakure means hidden village. Thus Konohagakure is the local name for Village Hidden in the Leaves. They speak a language I know as Japanese there, though they probably have a different name for it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She repeated the name correctly this time, then said, "Why would leaves be in the fire land?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What do you burn in a fire?" I asked. She oooohed. "Right. Anyway, the six great lands and their five villages are the Land of Earth and the Village Hidden in the Stone led by Tsuchikage, the Land of Lightning and the Village Hidden in the Clouds led by the Raikage, the Land of Water and the Village Hidden in the Mists led by the Mizukage, the Land of Wind and the Village Hidden in the Sands led by Kazekage, and Konoha led by the Hokage… Fire Shadow. The sixth land is called the Land of Iron and it doesn't have a Shinobi Village./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What's a Shinobi?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's another word for Ninja," I said… then paused and projected an image of a word in Kanji and Hiragana characters (two each) in midair above us. "This says 'shinobi no mono' or 'one who endures' in Japanese. But Japanese letters are based on Chinese letters, so a word in Japanese can also be read in Chinese." I was oversimplifying, but the complexity wouldn't help, and could hurt, so I skipped it for later. "In the chinese reading, this first complex symbol can be read as 'nin' and this last complex symbol is read as 'ja'. Ninja, once you remove the 'bi no' from the middle. So some people shorten the phrase to Shinobi by dropping the last two symbols, and some shorten it to Ninja by dropping the middle two symbols."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… so it's like a nickname?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Kinda," I agreed. "In the world of Naruto, where we're going, there's a distinction in that Shinobi are war ninjas, the main combatants, while ninja are just the operatives and agents of the village. So all Shinobi are Ninjas but not all Ninjas…"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Endure?" she asked, getting into the spirit of the thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Exactly. Anyway, Konoha Village, sometimes just called Konoha, is where the main characters of the story are from. There are also two lesser hidden villages which are important to the story, Sound Village and Rain Village, but the lands they are from are what's called 'Buffer States'."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Buffer?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Cushions. Like, you know how you put cushions on something hard to keep it from hurting to sit on?" She nodded. "Well, when big countries can't agree on where, exactly, their borders are, sometimes the area between the two countries is allowed to be its own smaller country so neither big country will claim it… and that way, the two big countries won't have to share a border and people are less likely to get hurt."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""People are stupid," she said. "That's why I wanted Asriel to help me kill them all."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes," I said. "I know. But people aren't really that bad. You're kinda messed up in the head. Genocide is not something you should have been considering. Especially not double genocide."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You've committed Genocide," she accused. "Several times."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Only to save others," I explained sadly. "When I did it, it was because the race in question was completely hostile and couldn't be reasoned with… and even then, I regretted the necessity."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So why didn't you genocide me?" she asked, voice full of doubt./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because you're not completely evil," I said, voice not exactly carrying compassion for the little monster… but not Monster as in Undertale's definition, rather monster as in murderous fiend. "Scared, dangerous, and vicious as hell. Consumed by hate and easily the most sociopathic little bitch I've met in a long time… but you're a child who was mistreated and died full of anger. I think there might be hope for you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As she considered that, I read through the Backgrounds. Everything besides Drop-In cost a hundred Choice, which (as always) annoyed me, though this time the Drop-In actually came with documentation proving that they belonged to the village they started in… and very basic accommodations. Orphan (Naruto), Civilian (Sakura), and Clan-Born (Sasuke) were the other three, one based off each of the three primary characters of the show / manga… though, as always in Shonen Manga, the two males had the most important relationship and the best powers./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Naruto and Sasuke were heirs to a thousand year grudge, had to team up to fight the big bad, and had amazing bloodline powers, with Sasuke having the best eye powers and Naruto having the most powerful of the story's ten Kaiju, the Jinchuriki, sealed inside him. All three of them trained under one of the Great Sages of the previous era, the perverted Juriya the Toad Sage for Naruto, the greedy Tsunade the Slug Sage for Sakura, and the evil Orochimaru the Snake Sage for Sasuke. This training resulted in Sasuke getting the best stealth powers, Naruto the best combat powers… and Sakura getting the best medical powers… hell, even though she's by far the strongest girl in the series, Sakura's strength in the stat books starts off lower than either boys and still finishes half a point lower at 3 out of five while theirs are both 3.5 out of five. Oddly, Naruto and Sakura both finish the series with a stat total of twenty-six, while Sasuke finishes with a total of 31.5… I'd done a lot of reading about a manga that I'd never actually finished and a show I'd barely watched. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The manga had finished less than six months before I'd entered the chain and the Anime had still been running, but the announcement of the end of Naruto's run had intrigued me enough to look up who the main three had ended up with (I'd always been a shipper of Naruto and Hina… which meant that the ending pleased me), and also to see if Naruto had, in fact, ever achieved his goal of becoming the Seventh Hokage. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The thing that had turned me off the series, aside from how little attention it paid to Sakura, was how much attention it had paid to Sasuke, who I found insufferable. Finding out that Sakura had, in fact, married her junior high crush… i.e. the same insufferable angsty traitorous Sasuke… had not thrilled me however. Ah well, win some, lose some./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I decided to go with Clan-Born. I wasn't really feeling any of them in particular, but Clan-Born got three discounts on Bloodlines, one of which could be any cost, while the other two had to cost four-hundred or less. This was meant to represent the fact that clans often married other clans, both as a political move and to keep away the dread specter of inbreeding. I assumed that the others got something that balanced out that rather hefty bonus, but since I needed at least three Bloodlines to satisfy the evil ghost child's tantrum…/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Everyone got 'Basic Ninja Training' for free, and I was half expecting that, when I confirmed taking the freebie, Chara would say something snarky like "I know kung-fu"… but she didn't. Of course, part of that was that she did not, in fact, know what the Matrix was or who Keanu Reeves was… but it seemed as if she was unaffected by the perk. There's a moment when new perks are added to an individual that causes a noticeable, and predictable, reaction. She didn't have that. "Interesting," I commented to myself./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As knowledge of how to use Chakra to allow myself to walk on any solid surface in complete defiance of gravity or surface tension, of how to create illusionary copies of myself and swap them (or logs, pillows, or other random junk) with my real body to avoid an attack, and of a number of basic taijutsu and bukijutsu techniques filled my mind, Chara was rambling about how she was hoping there were seasons other than winter in this world and how, if she had to look at one more plate of spaghetti she was going to stab someone… then she manifested a kunai instead of her kitchen knife and very nearly cut one of my limbs off with it. Again, God had to remind the child about the no violence in the tea room statute. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I wasn't at all certain that the little Hatemonger was at all aware of why she was lashing out. I ignored her as I finished categorizing my new Chakra boosted jumping skills and stealth skills… skills good enough to keep a novice ninja wearing a bright orange jumpsuit from being spotted while defacing the local equivalent of Mount Rushmore… in broad daylight… by a village protected by ninjas with sensory boosting powers… then again, maybe they just hadn't cared to stop him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The next thing on the list of perks was a specialization in one or more area of Chakra Enhancement. While normal ninja could use Chakra to rival Captain America in strength or speed, a specialist could bump that rivalry into Captain Who territory. A speed specialist could very easily move faster than a human eye could see and a strength specialist would not find stopping a speeding truck with his face to be particularly daunting. Both would have been quite attractive… if I was not already as strong and tough and fast as Cap before I started using my Chakra… or would be if / once I got my human body back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"'Fine Control' followed after it, the freebie for the Civilian line, which made using Chakra efficiently a natural talent, meaning more stamina plus a natural affinity for medical ninjutsu and genjutsu. For a hundred Choice, I felt this was a good deal, even if Chara complained that it was as boring as a board with boreholes in it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Oddly, there wasn't a hundred point freebie for Orphan, but the one for my background was called 'You Have Reserves'. It's a fact of life in the NarutoVerse that all ninja can increase the size of their Chakra reserves with long, grueling years of practice and meditation… or experimental medication if it comes to that. YHR meant that I'd won… or bought the winning ticket for… the Chakra Lottery. It provided me, at the start of my Ninja Adventure, with the kind of poll that ninja with decades of training and experience would have trouble matching. Not only did that give me more power to spend on techniques, but it (like 'Fine Control') enhanced my stamina and unlocked the potential to use more techniques. It speficially stated that while there were other options in the jump that would increase my Chakra reserves, YHR would (unless otherwise specified) give me twice as great a boost as anything else. For a freebie… that was damned decent. Almost a bit broken, considering that Naruto was the Chakra powerhouse, not Sasuke. Sasuke and Sakura had merely had much better control… but how much of that Chakra was Naruto's and how much was the Nine-Tailed Fox Kaiju / Jinchuriki sealed inside him?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The next entry was also a freebie… or at least the first purchase was free. It was called 'Elemental Chakra Affinity' and it was something everyone got. As might be gleaned from the fact that the local nations were named for classical elements, most of the local ninjutsu relied upon the manipulation of those elements. ECA gave me knowledge of which element or elements I was naturally inclined towards and gave me some basic training with it… at least enough to go on with. Of course, I didn't have to have an affinity to use a technique related to that element… but those elements I had the affinity for would be significantly more powerful and more efficient. Also, mastering an element's most powerful techniques basically required the affinity. The five choices were Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water, obviously… and Clan-Born got a discount on any subsequent purchases after the free one./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Each element was strong against one of its fellows and weak against another, so it was possible to cover all the bases without buying all five. In the end, I settled on three: Wind, Water, and Earth. Wind was strong against Lightning, Water against Fire, and Earth against Water, so I was covered offensively, while defensively, Wind was weak to Fire, Water to Earth, and Earth to Lightning. As long as I paid attention to my enemies, I shouldn't have much trouble… though I was certain that I was going to regret not having my lightning bender ability at some point in the next few years./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Wind Chakra specialized in cutting and swiftness, though lost a lot of power and precision as distance increased. Water was all about creating and manipulating water and pressure, though creating water outside the body was much harder than creating it inside the body. Earth was excellent for moment and stealth, and for making things more or less dense… but it wasn't exactly fast in doing so. At least not by the standards of the other elements./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I skipped right past the various art specializations; I did not need to pay Choice to learn what I could already copy through observation. This was not piracy, there was no law but survival and (as far as I knew) no starving artists were being deprived of needed sustenance or fair recompence by my duplication of some sneaky bit of ninja warfare. Not that that would have stopped me. In my second jump, I made a small fortune by publishing the Twilight Books in a world where they didn't already exist. Copyright laws do not cross reality borders nor account for time travelers. But could you imagine a universe in which they did? Temporal Copyright laws? Head, asplode./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Anyway, the Sharingan Eye that I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it was all about copying other people's techniques. I didn't need any special crimson eyes to do that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"At that point, I was getting into the more expensive perks, perks like 'Puppeteer', 'Sensor Ninja Training', 'Medical Ninja Training', and 'Samurai Training'… all of which were learnable techniques in setting, which made buying them kind of silly. Choice should only be spent on things where the amount of dedication needed to master them is either time prohibitive or reliant on a talent that the individual spending the Choice Points lacks… or, you know, if you've bought everything you actually want or need already and have some points left over… or you just really really don't want to spend twenty-thousand hours mastering the fine art of scrimshaw and its on sale for fifty Choice so you figure 'eh, why not?' I'm not your mother; spend your Choice however you want./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"'Therapy no Jutsu' and 'Talk no Jutsu' were amusing to contemplate… the ability to beat psychological trauma and negativity out of your enemies and enough charisma to talk enemies round? If I hadn't already had a mountain of charisma and two massively more powerful communication perks (at least I used to), I might have taken Talk, but Therapy? Well… it was tempting… but once I got my full suit of abilities back, I already had that covered too. It just wasn't worth spending four-hundred a pop on them. But I was beginning to sense that having a lot of Choice to spend in the NarutoVerse wasn't going to be a bad thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I skipped over the 'Plot Armor', as I don't like relying on luck… even though I've been pretty darn lucky since my time in Warhammer and my luck the last decade was just… unreal… but as far as I knew, I didn't really have any luck perks per se… or did I? Had I gained some that I was unaware of? Now that I had access to my Warehouse again, I'd have to log into the Chamber's JumpConsole and bring up my stats and the relevant perks… but first… I needed my body back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""God? Once this thing's filled out, I do get my human form back, right? This is just some weirdness related to the Retest, right?" I knew I sounded a little disgruntled… and I was, to be honest. Not with God; he was doing a decent enough job, but things had been going steadily more and more wrong since the start of the Tortall Jump and then the HonorVerse Jump had happened… or not? I wasn't certain, but I'd lost access to a good 90% of my perks and most of my stuff and way more than half my companions were missing. It was all well and good to be told "We're working on it." but after ten years split between Undertale and… wherever this was… How much longer?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I believe so," God said. "But I don't know. Retests are rare and usually mean there were irregularities."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What kind of irregularities?" I asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sometimes Jumpers go… bad," he hedged. "The system is in place to keep that from happening as much as possible."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Go bad? How bad?" I asked as Chara began teasing me about being naughty. I tried, not entirely successfully, to ignore her. Then I grabbed a cushion from the floor and nailed her half of the body with it. It was cathartic. She complained about me attacking her when she wasn't allowed to attack me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Very bad. Renegade Jumpers have been known to crash other Jumper's Chains and murder them for their Choices. It's prohibited, and the Test System exists specifically to head that off, since the Administrators are supposed to watch for incursions from outsiders. Normally, your Benefactor would be testing you, but…" God trailed off, then said, "As for attacking… you attacked with a weapon, she attacked with a pillow. One is intended to do harm, the other to… hit with a pillow."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So this is a test of… what? How well I play by rules I don't even know?" I asked, frustration coloring my words and emotions./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""More like your dedication to the process," God explained… but not really. "I can't really get into the details without compromising the test… I'm only an Administrator after all." He looked apologetic, then added "But I can assure you that you will be returned to human form once the jump begins… and your month will be credited to your time between jumps after the testing procedure is finished."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I considered asking just how many jumps that would take… but realized that the answer would be 'As many as it takes to be certain.' and didn't bother. I'd had fun over the last decade; I couldn't deny that, and if I'd been missing a lot, I still had more resources than anyone else around. Complaining that I wasn't nearly as powerful as I should have been would just be whinging in a 'poor little rich girl' kind of way./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Turning back to the document, I also skipped the potentially suicidal 'The Eight Gates' which was in no way as interesting as the 'Nine Gates'… and boy would that be a trippy ass jump. The Eight Gates were the major Chakra points… according to Naruto Lore… but if there were eight of them on a Naruto Human, their entire biology would be drastically different. A human had seven main Chakra points: Root, Sacral / Sexual, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Guru Brow / Mind / Third Eye, and Crown, or Muladhara, Swadhisthana, Manupura, Anahaa, Vishuddha, Ajana, and Sahasrara… there were a further a further 107 lesser Chakra… in japanese they were known as the Tsubo or acupuncture / acupressure points… though there were a further 258 Kyushu pressure points in the complete and chinese medicine claimed there were some 2,000 arranged along 20 meridians… so it wasn't like this was particularly standardized. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"It was also possible that the Eight Gates were not the main chakra points at all… but either way, opening each would allow a taijutsu user progressively more and more physical might… but opening the fifth could cripple the user for months, the sixth for years, and the seven permanently. Opening the final gate, the Gate of Death would cause the user to burn themselves to ash as they used up all their life energy in one grand dance of violence… in theory. Either way, I did not need a finishing attack that also finished me… and certainly not something I could learn in setting… and then never use. Really not worth four-hundred Choice./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Speaking of unwise, the next option was 'Purified Seal of Heaven'… the original Seal of Heaven was an addictive 'magical' symbol that mutated those cursed with it while making them go progressively more and more bonkers. This was the purified version… that only attracted the attention of the creator of original, an insane S-ranked rogue ninja with an army of insane and highly powerful rogue ninjas. Sure, I could almost certainly deal with them… or just not buy something that wasn't that good and had a built in drawback that I'd normally expect two or three-hundred Choice back for./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"There was an option to be a 'Pseudo-Jinchuriki', essentially a knock off of one of the people with one of the Tailed Beasts (the ten shards of the Ten-Tailed Beast of ancient lore… originally nine, but the Nine Tailed Fox had been split in half by Naruto's father before he'd sealed half the monster inside his infant son… it's a long story). Pseudo-Jinchuriki wasn't a bad option, but it filled the taker with bloodlust to draw upon the demonic energy within them… and required taking a lack of Chakra control drawback. I prefered the subtle approach, personally. Hence taking the 'Fine Control' perk earlier./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What does Pseudo mean?" Chara asked, pronouncing the P but otherwise getting the word right. "And is a Jinchuriki like a Churro?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I had no idea how she'd reached that conclusion… or how she knew what a Churro was, but it was a reasonable question, well… two of them, so I answered her. "Pseudo means imitation, and a Jinchuriki is a person with an ancient evil and extremely powerful monster sealed inside them. Not monsters like you're used to, but monsters like you are," I explained. "Ones who want to kill everyone just because they're really angry."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sooo… does that make you an Jinchuriki because you have me sealed inside you?" she asked, sounding both a little pleased at the idea and also annoyed… maybe at there being others like her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not really, but close. Biju, or Chakra Monsters, are fragments of a giant world destroying demon called the Jubi… Ten-Tails. You're a very small angry ghost, not a giant city-crushing demon," I explained, letting some kindness into my voice. "And you don't even have one tail. All the Biju have tails. That's actually how they're designated. Shukaku is a giant sand tanuki that has one tail, Matatabi is a fire cat that has two tails, Isobu is some kind of crab-turtle-shrimp thing that has three tails, Son Goku is a huge horned gorilla that has four tails, Kokuo is some kind of dolphin-horse or kirin that has five, Saiken is a slug-thing with hands and legs that has six, Chomei is a rhinoceros beetle that has seven, Gyuki is an ushi-oni… a kind of stone minotaur with octopus tentacles for tails, of which it has eight, and both Kuramas are foxes with nine."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So they're sealed away because they're evil?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They're sealed away because they have a lot of power and very little self control. The being they were originally part of was fundamentally evil, but each of the Biju have their own personalities. All of them have issues and since no one is like them, not even their siblings, they don't get along with anyone except for the Sage of Six Paths who created them."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why'd he let them be sealed?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""As far as I know?" I replied, "he was dead by then. He was powerful, but mortal. I don't know the whole story. I wasn't there and didn't read it first hand. I just read articles about the various characters in the NarutoVerse."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You haven't read any of this?" she was getting annoyed again. "Then why are we going here!?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I don't control where I go. It's all random as far as I know," I said, "But I have read a lot of the story… up to the time skip and a bit beyond. That's about the first half of the series. Then I just read articles past that point because I didn't have the money to buy new issues as they came out."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh…" she calmed down, then thought about that. "Okay… so why can't you be a real Jinchuriki?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I thought about that, then shrugged. "Because there are a limited number of them in the series and they're all important to the story? I guess?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh." and with that she went back to drawing… apparently God had distracted her with crayons and paper while I was trying to do my build… no wonder it had been so quiet./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"That finished off the mid-priced items, and moved me into the realm of capstones. Drop-In's 'Singular Reality' would make me immune to Genjutsu and illusions… and lies… but it was full price. So, tempting… but not a definite yes. I put it on the back burner. A combination of willpower and being extremely observant often could deal with both Genjutsu and illusions and I had a lot of both. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Civilian's 'Glorious Leader' was a strategic planning and scheming perk to out-do a combination of Machiavelli and Alexander, with near precog level planning and attention to details. That was nice… but once I had my full suite of skills I'd be a Mentat with over a dozen planning and tactics perks and Kwisatz Haderach level actual precog. Even without all those abilities, I was a damned good planner. I wasn't paying full price for something that redundant./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Orphan's 'Genius of Hard Work' was a willpower booster and boredom retardant… essentially the shonen protagonist package… If I needed that I wouldn't have made it nearly as far as I already had. I wouldn't have bought it if it were discounted./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"But then there was my Clan-Born's 'Jutsu Mastery'. Not only would it allow me to use jutsu (the hand seals that triggered ninja techniques) one handed (most hand seals take two hands normally) it would allow me to do so twice as fast, or two at once, or dual-wield jutsu and a weapon. That might have been enough on its own to justify the cost, but through Jutsu Mastery it was possible to layer multiple jutsu together to create combined effects. It wasn't something I was certain could be learned, it would be extremely useful in this world, and the ability to create my own custom combos would extend the utility of Jutsu outside of the NarutoVerse greatly. But it was still three-hundred choice… so I spent a third of my floating discount to cut it down to one-fifty, taking my current cost up to five-fifty and leaving me three-hundred floating discount to use./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Normally, that would have been the end of the Capstones, what with there being one for every background… but this jump had a fifth… except it wasn't discounted to a background, but rather to a Bloodline. The Uzumaki Bloodline to be specific. The Uzumakis were Naruto's family… or rather, his mother's family. His father, Minato, was a Namikaze, but as they weren't one of the great ninja families (Uzumaki, Hyuga, Uchiha, Hagoromo, Senju, Aburame, and Akimichi), Naruto inherited Kushina Uzumaki's clan's name. Incidentally, she was the second Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama… back when he was unified. Minato and Naruto were the joint third Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, with the Yin-half in Minato and the Yang-half in Naruto, at least originally. Incidentally, even split in half, Kurama's halves are a match for any of the other Biju./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The perk in question, 'Fuinjutsu Prodigy' granted access to one of two 'hidden' arts. Fuinjutsu, or 'Sealing Techniques' used what was essentially magical symbols powered with Chakra to create vessels to store something within something else and release it at another time. A master of Fuinjutsu could seal elemental energy, Chakra, fundamental forces like light, gravity, or time, people, or souls. Fuinjutsu was the basis of summoning contracts and thus could be used to teleport and summon people across great distances. It was also incredibly rare, incredibly hard to learn even with a teacher and innate talent, and all but impossible to master without that talent. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Prodigy didn't start me off with much… just that talent and knowledge of how to use the two most basic seals: Storage and Explosion. With Storage I'd be able to store items inside scraps of paper far smaller than the object itself… and far lighter. With Explosive, I could transform a business card into a block of C4 with a couple of quickly drawn characters. Oh, and a Fuinjutsu Master didn't actually need a writing implement. The Chakra used to create the seal would do just as well as ink and brush. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I figured that was worth buying, even though getting it discounted pretty much committed me to taking the Uzumaki Bloodline… and then promptly sealing it… I was feeling very much like Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China. Marry the girl with green eyes, then sacrifice her… only with less ritual murder and barely concealed rape metaphors. Since I had no idea how much Uzumaki Bloodline would cost, I applied half my remaining floating discount to trim FuPro down to something reasonable… seven-hundred Choice down, nineteen-hundred left to go, and one-fifty in floating discounts left./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And that was it for the general perks. Next came the Bloodline Limits, or, as I like to call it, EssJay tries to find stuff she wants, but not right this decade… and at as much of a discount as she can get. The Kekkei Genkai as they are known in japanese are quirks of ninja DNA that grant powerful, unique, and weird powers to those who carry the right DNA. Most people only inherit one… but some had been known to inherit two. I was about to buy at least four. Why, you ask? Because being a Jumper is Bullshit! Screw the rules! Or something like it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kekkei Genkai are, in general, divided into three categories: Dojutsu or Eye-Powers like the Byakugan and Sharingan, Seishitsu Henka / Nature Transformations aka Elemental Releases, and uncategorized Limits that weren't elemental or sensory in nature. Taking a Release required having an affinity for the elements being combined… obviously… and equally obviously, the first on the list was 'Ice Release'./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Ice Release was, as far as I could remember, one of the very first shown off in the anime, where it was used to create a dome of ice-mirrors that the user could jump into and out of at will. That was one Ice Power I didn't have, and such a state of existence could not be allowed… so I immediately bought it, since it was a fusion of Water and Wind Affinities, which I had already bought. Two-hundred more Choice gone… then I sealed it because I had mastery of Ice powers the likes of which this world couldn't even incompass. I could definitely wait a decade for one trick./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I immediately discounted anything that required an Affinity I didn't have. If, somehow, I had points left to spend, I'd reconsider, but this was already going to be expensive enough without going back and buying one or two more Affinities to then buy more Releases. That meant skipping Explosion (Earth Lightning), Lava (Earth Fire), Boil (Water Fire), Storm (Lightning Water), and Dust (Fire, Earth, Wind). What that left was Magnet (Earth Wind) and Wood (Earth Water). /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Wood was one of the most powerful in the setting according to what I'd read, since Wood Release tendrils could be used to drain or restrain Chakra. It was also (along with Dust, the only triple element) one of the most expensive Releases. All the others were two-hundred Choice, but those two were four-hundred. Thankfully, there was a way to get Wood at half-price… and that was to be of the long lost Senju Bloodline… i.e. a descendant of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of Six Paths. Technically, the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan are both descendants of Hagoromo's younger son, Ashura, while the Uchiha Clan are descendants of Hagoromo's older son, Indra… and just for good measure, the Hyuga Clan are descendants of Hagoromo's twin brother, Hamura… and Hamura and Hagoromo were in turn the sons of Kaguya-Hime, the series Big Bad… and the true identity of the Ten-Tails. Talk about family drama!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Getting Wood Release at half-price seemed a good idea… and I still had three discounts to spend on Bloodlines thanks to being Clan-Born. So I agreed to take Senju once I got to it and paid the two-hundred for Wood. I also bought Magnet Release, paying one-hundred for it by applying one of those three Clan-Born discounts. Figuring that Wood would be more useful in this jump than Magnet, I sealed magnet. Two down, one to go./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"All the non-elemental Bloodlines were massed together… and let me tell you, the temptation to take the Akimichi bloodline (which was strangely discounted to Civilians despite being a noble clan) or the Inuzuka bloodline was almost overwhelming. Akimichi could turn calories into Chakra… as in straight up eat as much as you like then burn all that chub away for lovely lovely power… an excuse to overeat? MMmmmm… Anway. The Inuzuka clan on the other hand had nindogs! Yes, Ninja Doggos! Sooo cute! But I was already a crazy ferret lady… with pokemon, owls, a fox, a dog, a horse, a dragon, and three massive rats. I didn't need even more pets./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I also rejected the Aburame Clan… who filled their bodies with symbiotic bugs… nooooo… and the Nara Clan, who were lazy and controlled other people, or the Yamanaka, who were not lazy and controlled other people, and the Hozuki, who could turn to water. The less said of the Hoshigaki, who were grey skinned and had gills right under their eyes? Yeah…noooo!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"That left the Uzumaki at four-hundred, three different versions of the Hyuga at three or five-hundred (they were one fucked up clan), Kaguya (yes, named for Princess von Genocide) and Senju at six-hundred, and Uchiha (even more fucked up) at eight-hundred plus. What plus? Well, if I was an Uchiha I could buy Mangekyou Sharingan (rather than activating it in jump for free I guess? Though paying the four-hundred meant no eye-degradation from usage)… and if I bought the Mango Eyes as the Memelords of Origin Earth had called them, and Senju… I could have the Rinnegan eyes for free. Yay! Only twelve hundred Choice! I kindly told Uchiha and its Mangos to fuck off and the options vanished in a puff of sparkle dust./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Buying Senju cost me my uncapped Bloodline discount, the last of my floating discounts, and another hundred-fifty Choice… but since the Senju essentially had a lesser form of the specializations of every ninja discipline, as well as increased Chakra reserves, practically supernatural lifeforce, stamina, and physical health, durability, and strength? It was worth it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I applied the second of my capped Bloodline discounts to Uzumaki, bringing it down to two-hundred, then regretfully sealed it for the duration. Leaving it unlocked would have given my life force, endurance, longevity, fuinjutsu, and Chakra reserves a serious boost, but I didn't really need any of that at the moment. I was now down to a thousand-fifty Choice with no flexible discounts left. Time to get some Items and Companions and see if I had any Choice left at all. At least I'd managed to find enough bloodlines to seal./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Every ninja got basic ninja gear… you know, enough shurikens, smoke bombs, kunai, caltrops, explosive notes, ninja wires, and orange jumpsuits to choke a team of oxen. Also three small reusable storage scrolls. As a FuPro, I also got a Fuinjutsu kit with enough provisions to create a further fifty explosive notes… neither of these items was self replenishing, which was a bit lame. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As a card carrying Super Pervert, I (as I'd mentioned earlier) got a signed collection of Jiraiya-Sensei's Icha Icha series… a signed, limited edition set of what the Jump Constructor claimed was quote 'the greatest book series in the multiverse' unquote. Either Jiraiya-Sensei had figured out the Chain existed and bribed someone, or he had some fans in very high places. It called the smut 'fine literature' and promised that my 'first print', signed, limited edition, mint condition books would be delivered to my home within a day of their release… oh… joy. I hope the Rat Triplets enjoy their snacks./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Snacks?" Chara asked, even though I hadn't actually spoken aloud. Then again, I wasn't certain I'd actually been speaking aloud the whole time… heart-things don't actually have mouths… even if they have hands which heart-things don't normally have either. Well, that cleared up the question of if she could hear my surface thoughts. Was I able to keep any of my thoughts from her? I figured I must be able to, since I wasn't hearing all of her random thoughts… of course, I hadn't been listening./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""My giant pet rats… they like eating paper," I explained, summoning up a mental image of The Bears. "The grey and white one is Freddy-Bear, the brown one is Ted E. Rat, and the white one is Zeddy-Bear."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why do you call them Bears if they are rats?" she asked, more confused than accusative./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because they're the size of grizzly bears. I call their species Bear-Rats," I replied. "As for snacks, those round things on the plate are rice crackers… but I don't think we can eat in this form."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Course we can," she replied. "Just use the EAT command."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I looked around, then shrugged my arms. "Do you see any command blocks around here?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I couldn't tell if she actually looked around, but she did begin to whimper and shiver. "Bu… but… h… how… how do we do stuff without command blocccccks!" she finally wailed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You've been drawing just fine and you've had no problem trying to stab me. I think you'll find that its all very instinctive to do things without command blocks or directional inputs." I'm not certain how reassuring I actually was, but while she hyperventilated without having lungs, I turned to the companion section. Best get that out of the way before I was out of Choice to spend./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As it turned out, I needn't have worried about actually paying for Companions, though I did anyway. Just for coming here, I got two genin slots and one jounin slot into which I could import three of my companions, giving them a background free and six-hundred Choice to spend. Now seems like an excellent time to talk about the ranking system./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"At the low end, the Akademi-sei, or Academy Student, was preparing for a life as a shinobi, still mastering the very basics of the ninja way. Although not actually part of their Village's armed forces, they could be conscripted in an emergency. They were usually younger than thirteen, and apparently began training around the age of six./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"After graduation, an Akademi-sei would attempt to pass the Genin Exam, a grueling combination of written test and practical trial to demonstrate mastery of those basics in both theory and practice. The Genin, or Low Ninja, Exam had, more than once, proven fatal./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Once officially a Genin, a ninja was assigned to a four person team: three Genin and one Jounin, or High Ninja. The Jounin was a fully qualified master ninja, typically having mastered all their abilities (which usually included two different Elemental Specializations). Genin teams were often assigned to D or (rarely) C-Rank Missions, even though Jounin (who often worked alone) usually took A-Rank missions. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"This discrepancy should be understood as the villages sacrificing some utility upon the altar of education. D-Rank missions were mostly in the risk-free 'manual labor' classification, while C-Ranks might have a little risk, but not much. A-Ranks were, of course, the most difficult standard missions./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As for the B-Rank missions, those were usually handled by the holders of the rank between Genin and Jounin, the Chunin, or (as you might guess) Middle Ninjas. Most of the Academy instructors were themselves Chunin./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Beyond the bounds of the four primary mission ranks were E-Rank and S-Rank. E-Rank were things like finding missing cats or putting up flyers, and were training tasks typically assigned to Akademi-Sei. S-Ranks were the kinds of missions taken only by the most experienced Jounin, or even the Kages of a given village. It was not unusual for entire teams of ninjas to be assigned to a single S-Rank Mission. The hunting down of rogue ninjas, also known as Missing-Nin (No, not MissingNo the Pokemon), was typically the kind of thing reserved for the S-Ranks, since not only was this Ninja vs Ninja action, it was almost always to the death against an enemy with literally nothing to lose./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Three free companion imports was quite nice, and for the entirely reasonable price of two-hundred Choice, I could buy eight more slots, apparently as two four person teams. For a slightly less reasonable amount, I could jack up how much Choice each of them got. Four-hundred Choice from me would get all eleven of my friends to a thousand Choice, with the option to buy some drawbacks if they wanted to. That seemed entirely reasonable to me, even if it left me with only four-fifty unspent./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Thankfully, that was exactly enough to buy a Summoning Contract for a species that had both Boss and Common Members. Common Members were large for their species, but not ridiculously so. Think toads anywhere from head-sized to man-size. Boss Members were Kaiju, on the order of a hundred meters tall. A Summoning Contract was absolutely vital, since having one was, as far as I knew, the only way to unlock the powerful set of techniques known as Senjutsu… which, as one might expect from the name… was related to the Senju Clan… in that Senju were the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths and Senjutsu was 'Sage Techniques'. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"A master of Senjutsu was called a Sennin, or Sage Ninja, and only through Senjutsu was it possible for a ninja to tap into 'Natural Energy'. Of course, all energy is (more or less) natural, but in this case it came down to 'Native' vs 'Alien'. Chakra was produced by living things that had descended from those who'd eaten of the God Tree, a vast parasitic alien lifeform brought to 'Earth' by a meteorite. The God Tree fed on the Natural Energy of the planet and, once a thousand years, produced a Chakra Fruit. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Kaguya, whose clan would travel across space and dimensions to find God Trees to fuel their powers, decided that, rather than merely harvesting Earth's God Tree until it and the planet died (as was typical of her people), she would stay and rule over the humans of Earth. When her sons were born with their own innate Chakra, she merged with the God Tree to become the Ten-Tails to try and get the Chakra her sons had 'stolen' from her back. Crazy fucking bitch./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Of course, since Chakra and Natural Energy were not all that compatible, there was a risk of turning to stone if one failed to learn to properly balance the Natural Energy as one absorbed it. However, once that technique was mastered, the merging of the two produced Sage Mode, a powerful and dangerous state in which the two forms of living energy reinforced each other in a positive feedback loop./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The major canonical Summons, Oriochimaru's Snakes, Jiriya's Toads, and Tsunade's Slugs, corresponded to the original of the Japanese version of rock-paper-scissors… Snakes ate toads, toads ate slugs, and slugs apparently ate snakes. Those three beings, the Sannin (Three Legendary Ninjas) had all been Genin together in the same squad (under the Third Hokage before he was Hokage), and two of the three (the two born male) had achieved Sage Mode (Orochimaru had a tendency to jump bodies from what I'd read). If Tsunade had Slug Sage Mode, she never showed it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"My contract, of course, wasn't limited to those three. There were at least a dozen 'lesser' (in terms of plot import) animal clans, ranging from Crow and Owl to Giant Clam and Shark to Monkey and Panda and Dogs. There were even summoners who could summon monsters rather than animals, monsters such as 'Doki' or 'Angry Demons'… though they looked more like hill giants. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"That said, in chapter 214 of the manga, one of Naruto's friends, the kunoichi Temari summons Kamatari… a giant white weasel. The Japanese weasel, Itachi, is a relative of the Siberian weasel… and they eat toads, slugs, and snakes. My choice, thus, was obvious. But then, you already knew that, didn't you. It's not like I don't have themes. Someone should be the Ferret Sage. Ferrets is very wise. You can tell because they sleep all the time./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That doesn't make any sense," Chara pointed out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The foolish cannot understand the wisdom of the wise," I replied cryptically./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're just saying stuff to confuse me," Chara accused, proving that while she was immature and crazy, she wasn't exactly stupid./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""True… but it's still a fact that the foolish usually have a great deal of trouble understanding what the wise are telling them," I said, rolling up the fragments of the former scroll and looking at God./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"How can I Be nowhere when I'm Everywhere?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Now, it's time to send out invites. Normally I'd trigger companion imports through the machine then ask my companions to report on what they've taken… but there is no machine and none of my companions seem to be around."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God, drawn by the apparent question, said, "Ah, you are ready?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Once I've assigned import slots to companions, yeah…" I trailed off… I was forgetting something vitally important. Something about what I'd been doing over the last decade… had I made some new friends? Well, I mean, obviously I had. Sans and Undyne, Toriel and Papyrus, Asgore and Alephis… No… not Alephis… Alphys… I shook my head as a memory of a crowd of smiling faces waved to me from in front of some massive palace. Did I know them? A white tiger… Where was this coming from? I don't forget things! /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Angry at myself, I shook my head again to clear the muddled memories. They felt as if they were something that had happened in a dream… or in another time? To a different me? I growled. "So?" I asked, challenging this 'God' being. Why couldn't I remember who he was? Why had he seemed confused as to who I was? What was happening?!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So?" He asked, seeming to not understand my question./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Last time… in Undertale, I had eight companion and eight slots. This time I have eight companions and eleven slots. And I categorically refuse to import Darkseid again."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I knew you were cheating!" Chara accused, then told God, "I knew she was cheating."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. Of course I was cheating," I said. "I wanted to break the time loop and needed to get Darkseid to remember who he was. I was, however, only cheating in that I knew he'd never actually accept the branch of friendship. If he did, I'd-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You'd what?" the being in question asked, seemingly unconcerned with finding himself seated in God's tea-room. "Be my friend?" he sneered the last word, turning it into a curse./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You are the enemy of everyone's hope's and dreams!" I accused the horrible New God. "How could I possibly be your friend?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I agree," he half-snarled. "You are unspeakably, almost cloyingly attached to this concept of free will. You're chaotic and impulsive and in no way worthy of the power you wield."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Unworthy? Unworthy?!" I crowed, derisive laughter in every syllable. "Says the Tyrant of Apokolips! Kinslayer! Monster! Genocidal God Child upset that everyone in all creation doesn't obey your every whim!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The universe is chaos!" he shot back, losing his cool. "With the Anti-Life Equation, all would be order. All would be in harmony! No more waste! No more pointless destruction!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I snorted. "No more art! No more love! No more fun!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You speak as if such things matter!" was his rejoinder./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I shook my head… well, my orblike frame. "You speak as if anything else matters!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""At least you haven't asked him where he gets off thinking he's the best choice for supreme ruler," Chara suggested./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Eh," I shrugged my not-quite shoulders. "They all think that. Me too, for that matter. It's a 'If someone has to do it, it might as well be me' thing."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes!" Darkseid trumpeted triumphantly. "I have the vision! Only I see the truth!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I sneered at that, then said, "You're a megalomaniacal jackass! Your truth is hollow and meaningless. There is order, but would you actually enjoy it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I projected a simulation for my erstwhile maid, a universe under his complete dominion, century after century with no change, no challenge, nothing to do. I showed him, posed, eternally, in his utterly silent throne room, surrounded by seven extremely pissed off figures. "How long do you think you'd be able to withstand the boredom. How long before you broke something just to fix it? And even if you could last forever against the weight of such tedium… How long do you think you'd last against them?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Who are they?" Chara asked. "And what's the Ant Life Quotation?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The Anti-Life Equation is a tool Stone Face here wants to use to strip everyone in the universe of free-will. It makes everyone obey him. Just like I make him obey me, but it also strips them of their ability to even complain about it or think about complaining about it. He might be my slave, but I treat him infinitely better than he'd treat anyone else." I explained, then highlighted the seven one by one. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""These are the Endless, the greatest powers of the Universe he comes from. They are timeless and can neither be controlled nor destroyed… well, some of them can be killed but they are always replaced when that happens. They are beyond even the Anti-Life Equation's ability to control and even Darkseid cannot fight them," I said, watching for a reaction from the would be conqueror. All I got was a tightening of the jaw, but it was enough. "From youngest to oldest, they are Delirium who used to be Delight, Despair, Desire, Destruction, Dream, Death, and Destiny. The last two are inescapable… except for me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chara giggled, then asked. "Is he one of them?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No," I said, "Just because all of them have names that start with D doesn't mean everyone whose name starts with D is an Endless." I smiled, even though I didn't actually have a face. "So? Darky? Anything to say? Do you think you could escape Despair? You've already shown how vulnerable you are to both Desire and Destruction. Dream too for that matter. How long before Destiny turns the wheels of fate against you? How long before Delirium makes you into a mad capering puppet? How long before Death makes you long for her kiss? How long before Destruction, having seen you still the universe, convinces you to turn your hand against yourself?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I… would… find… a way!" he bellowed, making the entire room shudder even though it lacked walls./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Uh huh? Really? Because you're so powerful that you transcend all the boundaries that separate all the different DC Universes… and yet in none of them have you ever claimed the Anti-Life Equation… and you're not even as powerful as a Five-D Imp… so you really think you can stand against the Endless? You were afraid of Imperiex!" I mocked him, remembering him doing the same to Superman, Supergirl, Orion… so many heroes./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes, thank you, I think that's enough," God said and Darkseid vanished. "You were saying?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I composed myself, then clarified. "I was saying that, if Darkseid were to accept the hand of friendship without deceit, then I would make every effort to help him atone for all the evil he'd done. Once that task, beyond herculean though it might be, was fairly accomplished, then… and only then… would I consider calling him a friend."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah. I see," God said. "So? Tell me, what do you want of me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I want my companions back!" I snarled. "I want this stupid review over with. I want to know what happened in the HonorVerse and why I can almost remember who you are but not quite. Why do I know this place?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I…" He sighed. "I'm not allowed to tell you. I sincerely regret that fact."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why am I a heart-shaped blob of light with hands?" I asked. "Can you tell me that? Can you explain why Chara is here? Why isn't this happening in my warehouse? What in the name of Higher is going on here?!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There's been… irregularities. We… well… they, aren't telling me what's going on. You were sent to my part of the Meta-Verse to go through the Undertale jump, but to do so, Higher tasked… someone… to disconnect you and your warehouse from the Honorverse. But since they could not enter your Warehouse, and because much of who you are is still in the Honorverse… that entity was forced to move your Warehouse themselves, without using the Benefactor Control Console. This violated some fundamental principles. You now exist fragmented across multiple frame references."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chara just gaped and made bibbling noises as she clearly understood none of that. I considered carefully, then asked, "You're saying that I am now discontinuous across the Meta-Verse? That there are chunks of me missing? That… wait…" I thought about this some more… then shuddered. "You recruited another copy of me didn't you? You sent part of me from some other when… you sent them into my Warehouse to shift it… and to keep me from realizing it, you fiat backed them some ability that allowed it… even though that screwed up everything?!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"It was an accusation, but God's repeated flinching showed me just how close to home I was hitting. "Not… Not me, personally," God said. "This happened at a tier much above me. I'm just an Administrator!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So you don't really understand what's going on?" Chara asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God groaned. "I… kind of do? Higher… or someone above me at least… above Benefactor tier too, tried fixing things and made it worse. EssJay is a Jumper, and Jumpers exist outside of normal time. They exist outside of hyper-time too… into something called Quantum-Time, time that can be multiple places at once. In theory, if you look at something that's quantumized, all the potentials should collapse into one actual… but Higher doesn't function that way. Time is meaningless to them. They simply are. But when they touch the fabric of reality… it changes reality… damages it. So they need to act through intermediaries and those intermediaries exist within time."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And the one thing that can mess with my stuff is me… so they had me mess with me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes. Somehow. I don't really understand it… but… look, I do kind of owe you so I'll explain at least a little… but you can't tell Higher, okay?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Uh… I guess?" I was wondering how the hell anyone could keep anything from that eye, but I didn't think bringing it up would help this clusterfuck one bit./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Do you remember what happened when Chara stabbed you?" God asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I would have blinked had I had eyes, then nodded vaguely. "Time reset back to the beginning of the loop."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And then you broke the loop," Chara confirmed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""How many loops were there?" God asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Two," I said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ninety-three," Chara said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're both right," God said. "But also both wrong. You see… when Chara stabbed you, you died. Please don't interrupt. In the absence of your Benefactor, the system sent out a pulse to me when this happened and I… couldn't find your one-ups. I looked but they weren't there. The system confirmed that you had them… that you shouldn't have been killed by the blow in the first place. But because you were split from your other yous everything was all messed up. I couldn't fix it… but if I hit you with a chainfail I'd be hit with an audit and blamed and I didn't want that, so I transmigrated you to another part of my realm, to another world within it. I used a dream-copy of you to do a build for you, so you wouldn't remember and make a stink… then sent you in… you spent most of the decade in that world. I figured that when the decade ended, you'd move on as normal and everything would be fine… but instead, somehow, you shifted back to the start of the next loop the moment the decade ended. Somehow, you'd left an echo behind in Undertale… and when you closed the loop…" He sighed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""When I closed the loop, reality tried to assert itself and wipe out my time in this other world… but because my memory is fiat backed and because there was a build there… and I assume Subscribers had viewed the material?" He nodded glumly. "Because of all that, the time couldn't be just wiped away… so now there's a copy of me in the Honorverse, a copy in that other world, the copy that was used to shift the warehouse from Honorverse to UndertaleVerse… and me? Is that about it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Urrr… Yes?" God half-said half-asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You… are a terrible liar," I chuckled. "What aren't you telling me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I might have asked you to do me a favor that involved giving you some Rogue Choice Points," God hedged. "Just a Thousand."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I blinked. "You gave me…" I paused. He wouldn't be worried about giving a Jumper Choice Points, Rogue or not. "You mean as a Benefactor?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He gulped, then nodded. "It was a special circumstance!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So you had me Administrate for someone else… because you knew I had access to a Jump Console… oh my g… you used a dream copy of me because I had access to the console too! You couldn't do a build… you're an administrator! You don't have a Console! That's why we're doing everything on a scroll that Higher must have provided!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He groaned, then nodded. "Yes… umm… you are, essentially, correct."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And I don't have a body right now because I'm the dream copy, right? I'm the one who shifted back to Undertale when… not the primary… the secondary copy, I guess… when she moved on?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I don't know!" God seemed on the verge of tears. "It's too complicated! All I wanted was someone to take over for me so I could have a vacation! I've been administering sixty-four realities for the last thirty-two thousand years!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I patted his hand, then asked, "So how does this all get fixed?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""If I had to guess?" God asked. "It will all resolve itself once Higher figures out what the heaven happened in the HonorVerse and releases everything that's held in stasis."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right. Wonderful. And that will happen? When?" I asked. Chara grunted in agreement. Nice to have some support./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It has already happened," a voice said. It was not God's. It was, in fact, Chamber's./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah. Wonderful," I said, then paused, thought about it, then groaned. "It has happened but only in the future as far as I'm concerned, right?" I waved a hand vaguely. "God, Chara? This is Chamber… aka. Jumpchan. Jumpchan? God. Chara. Now we know each other."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""To your question," Jumpchan said. "Yes and no. But there has been / will be a resolution. There are variables of Quantum-Timestates that make it impossible for even me to see beyond that point. But Higher does not resolve the issue." /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I thought about that, then shuddered, realizing what that had to mean. "You mean that, one way or another, I either resolve whatever this… or fail disastrously and… what? Splitter myself permanently? Fail and get sent home? Destroy myself?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chamber nodded. "All those are possible. And more. Too many states… but yes. You will be / have been the architect of your own resolution."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Which me?" I asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah!" Chara chirped. "Which her?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I cannot tell," Chamber said. "You are a Spanner in the Works, remember?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I facepalmed. Of course I was… no… wait… that was me as Shard Administrator… or was that… if that was still active, then all the parts of me were still connected somehow. Somehow. If only I could figure out a way to use that information./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right," I said, looking between God and Chamber. "Between the three of us, can we figure out how to get my companions out of the Quantum-Timelock around the Honorverse? Or at least some of them?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chamber considered that for a long moment, then turned to God. "Do you want to tell her, or should I?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God sighed. "Very well. I… might have already cracked the seal… well, you did… when you were messing with the seal… that's why you don't remember. You traded that information to the system in an attempt to bring out twenty-eight of your companions."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I did? Did it work?" I asked. "And if I traded that information… wouldn't that have been a Drawback? Shouldn't it have ended?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Mmm…" Chamber said. "Yes and no. They were brought out with the same Amnesia you were affected with in the Honorverse. So their personality matrixes were intact, they just were completely in their roles there… as far as I can tell. As for the Drawback part… I suspect it did… for that other you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I frowned at the explanation of the missing memories, but there didn't seem to be anything I could do about it at the moment, so I didn't bring it up. "Can I do it again?" I asked instead./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not to bring them out of the Closed Loop," God said. "It's in flux at the moment, since they would have moved on with that part of yourself… I think."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chamber nodded. "Agreed. You could pull potentially transmigrate those still inside the Quantum-Timelock… if you traded the system something. The system is geared for exchanges that make your life more difficult."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I assume I'm unable to access the Console at the moment for a reason?" I asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Your passenger is considered a security risk," Chamber said. "The Warehouse won't even let her in. You set up the security yourself." /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I did… didn't I." I shook my head. Of course I had. I hadn't wanted any posessors to be able to ride anyone into my Warehouse… I just hadn't counted on me being the one who was possessed. "Do we have a list of everyone pulled into the Closed Loop?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chamber manifested a list and handed it over. I realized, as I took it, that I'd been growing bigger and bigger over the course of the last few… who knew how long it had been, hours? Days? I had started this bizarre scene the size of a large tangerine, and yet I was now the size of a medicine ball. I wondered when this would stop… hopefully once I was back to my normal size? I also was no longer merely heart shaped. I had definable body parts. Legs and arms instead of tentacles… a head… shaped blob. Chara was in the chest region while I was in the head region… and she seemed to have control over the legs while I controlled the arms… but I sensed that she was growing tired… or bored… while I was only growing stronger and more awake./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I looked over the list: Velma, Cirno, Mini, Frankie, Carwyn-Taylor, Sarah, both Choirs, The Bookers and the Luteces, Amelia and Anne, Jaan Magna… Tokimi-Chan… Caine? What had I been thinking? Had I been filling out a list of some kind? There was even a notion mentioning that Ahab and Joy had received / would receive their tablets once that was possible./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""This is only twenty-seven," I commented./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""As far as I can tell, the system locked up when you were trying to pull out the last one," Chamber said. "Maybe it figured you'd exhausted your credit?" She shrugged./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right. Well… if I pull companions out this time, will they be whammed with Amnesia again? Because that would just suck."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I don't… think so?" Chamber said. "Maybe that was an interaction between you trading memory for them, or because it was Rogue Choice paying for that sub-jump…"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Great… wonderful… I need something I don't want to trade the system… oh for…" I growled. "Chamber. Ask the system how many of my companions I can pull out of the QTL if I agree to make Darkseid an active companion for this Jump. And make certain the system understands that I mean to have my friends with their memories intact up to the start of the Honorverse Jump."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She gave me a very, very long look, then shook her head at the lunacy of what I was contemplating. She vanished./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Tea?" God asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Who was I acting as a Benefactor for?" I asked. "Can you tell me that?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Uh… an unfortunate who died in a tragic fire," he said. "I doubt the name would mean much to you. I felt you, the other you… one of the other yous, that is, might be better qualified to handle the young… er… lady. You know, more than I would. They came from a world almost identical to your world of Origin."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah," I said, not really knowing what to say about that. Thankfully, at that moment, Chamber returned with a pop. I could tell at once that she'd been smoking some serious reefer in the minute or so subjective that she'd been gone./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well…. Good news…" she said, "You can have the full eight."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Memories intact?" I double checked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Memories intact," she confirmed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"It was better than nothing. "Toph… AJ… Zane… Francine… Kendra I guess, for Zane… and my kids. Explaining where their mothers are will be loads of fun, but I miss them. Not certain how Amaryllis will do in the Ninja war, but we'll have to see… And I'll take Squad Zero and Vita with me as part of my team… with Darkseid. Not making him the Jounin… Make Toph the Jounin… can I do that? Or do the eight have to be the ones not on my team?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God shrugged. "I don't think that matters." He wrote something on the scroll with his calligraphy brush and the scroll shimmered, then spit out thirteen smaller scrolls, two of them gold, three of them red (one with a black border), and eight yellow. "Seems to have worked." He handed them over to Chamber. There were names on each, I saw as they passed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'll distribute these," Chamber said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah," I said, holding up a hand. "I agreed to make Darkseid an Active Companion… I did not agree to allow him to make his own build without supervision. Give it here," I commanded. "He and I shall fill it out in person… together."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Chamber looked at me for a long moment, then shuddered. "Yeah… they're right. You are scary." She vanished and a moment later the big guy took her place./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Me and Bobby McEvil/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Heya," I said, sitting cross-legged on the table now. I was, perhaps, seventy centimeters tall now and significantly less glowy. "Seems like we were just here."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What could you possibly want?" the Tyrant of Apokolips asked, sounding annoyed. Then again, he pretty much had two modes, annoyed or annoying, so this wasn't much of a change./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I've changed my mind," I announced. "You need to learn some humility, and so you're coming in with me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I refuse," he growled. "That ordeal you put me through last time didn't work. I remain unphased by such humiliation." His eye twitched just a little. He had not enjoyed that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah?" I asked. "I really don't care, and your refusal means less than nothing to me. I order you to accept this scroll." I held out the Companion Import Scroll. "You are forbidden to take anything from it without my direct permission."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Give him credit, he did try to resist, but while he was glaring at his right hand as it trembled with the willpower he was putting into stopping it from taking the scroll, his left hand just snagged it. The look he gave his traitorous hand was priceless./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Unlike many jumps, this one allows companions to take Drawbacks, and this one has no limits on how many Drawbacks one can take. Of course, the trade off of give… I mean, of allowing you to have so many Drawbacks is that you'll get a lot of points… so lets make certain you spend your Choice wisely," I rambled cheerfully. "Is there anything in particular you'd like?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'd like you to die screaming," he growled. "Can you arrange that?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Can," I agreed. "Won't. Now… I was thinking that, since you're sooo good at brooding, you should be angsty and moody and obsess over getting revenge against everyone who's ever wronged you… myself at the top of that list, of course. And a massive pervert of course. Peeping tom extraordinaire. And to increase the number of people who've wronged you, let's make you reviled in our home village. Wouldn't want people's praise of you going to your head, now would we?" I smiled at him as his scowl deepened./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Excellent. That's three-hundred… but we're not done yet. Let's give you some serious depression over having witnessed the loss of one you loved, and the knowledge that you were powerless to stop it… you know… like the families of all those you've murdered over the last few eons, yeah?" I nodded, then snapped, "Nod in agreement, jackass."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Gritting his teeth, the abomination before me nodded in unwilling agreement. "Very good, pat yourself on the head for me, would you? I can't reach. To really make you understand what it's like to be unimportant, we'll make your trainer consider actually training you to be a low priority, especially since you keep falling for genjutsu mind tricks and you seem unable to actually read anything. Yes?" I motioned for him to nod again and he did. The sound of his teeth grinding was like music to my vengeful, spiteful ears. The Low Priority perk hadn't been on my copy of the drawback list. I wasn't certain if it was only for Companions, or because the scroll was ripped, but I hadn't been able to take it. If I had, I'd have opted for it in a heartbeat of the much less fun Dysfunction Junction./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wonderful, that's another five-fifty. Now, since you're such a spiteful little jerk, let's give you bloodlust, so you'll keep challenging strangers to duels and overestimating yourself. But since we don't want you killing anyone… let's make you one of the chosen ones. No killing, and you'll have to help others whenever they ask… for free. Won't that be nice?" My false cheeriness was making the Omega energy bleed from the corners of his eyes. "Ah ah ah. You know the rules, no blasting me with anything more dangerous than your dazzling smile."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"That did it. With a roar, he brought his fist down on the edge of the table, then gasped in pain as the object proved far, far, far tougher than any mere wooden object had any right to be. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As he cradled his broken hand (his body already healing the damage) I tisked at him, then said, "And because I want you to really embrace this whole experience… let's make you an actual ninja. No supernatural powers I'm afraid. Not until the jump is over. And would you look at that! You've got thirty-eight-hundred-and-fifty Choice to spend! Wow! Are you going to be the best ninja ever!… Sorry, that should have been a question. Are you going to be the best ninja ever?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I have no interest in being a ninja," he growled. "I hate you. I hate ninjas. I hate all of this and want to go home." He didn't vanish./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You weren't invited on the chain, buddy boy," I said. "You can't just click your heels and return to your universe of origin. That's for people who signed up. I loaded the egg cocoon that held you in stasis personally. You've been drafted. Just like all those people you had Granny Goodness kidnap and pressgang into your armies. Feels real good, don't it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He opened his mouth, but I shook my head, "I don't want to hear your excuses for why you had the right. I know all about conqueror's rights. I beat you, so shut up about it. Until this conversation is over, which you'll know by me telling you that it's over, you're not allowed to say anything besides 'Yes Mistress' and 'Thank you Mistress' and 'That sounds wonderful, Mistress'. You will use those three phrases appropriately, in their entirety, and separately. Do you understand?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Half growling, he said, "Yes Mistress… thank you mistress. That sounds wonderful… mistress."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good. Now. Would you like to be a civilian? You know, a member of a rich but otherwise unimportant family?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That sounds wonderful, mistress."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It is! Now, how about being a Pseudo-Jinchuuriki? That's discounted for Civilian, and means you've got all this demonic energy surging through you, hampering your judgement and filling you with a sense of being out of control? Of course, you'll get none of the value of that, since you won't have any special abilities, but hey… it's good to have more endurance, right? Of course, since you're Actually a Ninja you won't have to worry about accidentally hurting someone with your uncontrollable chakra abilities."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Darkseid shuddered with tension, but nodded as the system accepted the purchase without the normally required linked Drawback. "Yes Mistress." he grunted when I raised a questioning eyebrow at him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Great progress… now… I know you won't be able to do ninjutsu, but medical ninja training is also discounted for your background, and you should know some basic life saving techniques… seeing as how you're required to help whenever you can. No letting anyone die from inaction, right? We'll give you You Have Reserves to go with your Fine Control freebie… not that you'll need them this jump… but, you know, later on that should help, right?" I was being facile, since the chances of the big jerk ever using Chakra in the future was next to nil./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""But, since I want you to actually be useful… Let's get you The Eight Gates… try not to kill yourself, and a specialization in both Taijutsu and Bukijutsu. And since you get a free Elemental Affinity, let's pick Earth… you know, since you keep invading it." Of course, my accusation didn't phase him at all, but he did smirk at that… until I added, "And getting your ass kicked by Batman… how did that feel, by the way? To be forced to back down to a lowly human with no superpowers?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He growled low in his massive chest, but didn't respond aloud./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Now… I thought long and hard, and think you should be of the Akimichi Bloodline… soften your edges a bit… I imagine you'll still get quite hungry even if you're not able to burn off the calories through converting them to Chakra… so do try to keep as much of the weight off as possible. And we'll make you a Hoshigaki… your skin is already grey and the under-eye gills probably don't count as supernatural. Now… to make up for making you vulnerable to illusions this time round, we'll give you Singular Reality. I know it's not the Civilian Capstone… but I don't want you to actually be good at planning. Much better that you just can see through illusions or lies… you know, so you'll always know when people secretly hate you. Of course, you being you, you probably already assumed everyone hated you anyway… but now you'll know. Hell, maybe someone out there actually likes you for who you could be… I wonder if you'd be able to cope with an actual positive emotion? How does that sound?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That sounds wonderful, Mistress." he sighed, shaking his craggy head at me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Now, you've got seventeen-fifty left, so let's replace your eyes… one with a Sharingan and one with Byakugan… I know that's not any use to you, but having the eyes of lesser beings implanted in you… permanently? You'll have to tell me how you feel about that… but not now. No need to thank me," I waved my hand as if I was being gracious, then said, "But a ninja really could use some ninja tools, and I'm not a complete bitch, so I figure the experimental Chakra Armor will help you stay not dead, the Crystal Ball will allow you to scry on others, and I figure the Kiba… that's one of the seven swords…. Or rather copies of two of the eight swords that make up the so called 'Seven Swords', will do you good… I might even borrow them. They're imbued with lightning and said to be the sharpest swords ever forged. Aren't I excellent to you?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes Mistress," he deadpanned./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I know, I know," I pretended to bow like an actor accepting praise from the audience. "I even thought of a name for you. Are you ready?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yes Mistress," he said, emotionlessly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Kurushita… written as Trial of Sacrifices… but could be read as Ancestral Hardship… or you know, Kuso." I laughed at my own joke. Kuso was the japanese version of 'Fuck', and Ancestral Hardship essentially meant that he was a huge embarassment to his ancestors. "Now. What do we say?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Sneering in disgust, he mumbled, "Thank you, Mistress."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It was, literally… My Pleasure," I said, "Now get out of my sight. You disgust me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"God and Other People/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"As he vanished back into the Warehouse, God asked, "Are you feeling well? I am not used to seeing this side of you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I hate that man," I said. "He is his universe's living representation of Tyranny, of Oppression, of Brutal Authoritarian Control. He lives to destroy free will. Killing him would be too much a kindness… and I'm not even certain it's possible. So I give him gifts. They really are gifts, if he'd ever admit it. I'm spending a slot I could have given to someone more worthy on him, blessing him with perks. I'm giving him experiences that could make him a better, more rounded person. Teach him to respect others and value them for their experiences… but all he will ever see is the insult."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Then why do you try?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because I'm Hope as well as Hate, aren't I? A chance is what I'm giving him. A chance to change. Maybe it's a futile hope that he will… but I'm very stubborn."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God considered that, then nodded. "What was the line? 'Some Gifts Come with too high a price?' Is that it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Did I… the other me… say that?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. Yes. Upon me offering you… her… my position."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Very wise of her," I said. "Yeah. Staying isn't really our thing. What did she call herself, that other me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Jouya," he said. "Sochizuka Jouya. She taught me to play a game called 'Go'. Do you play it?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I smiled, nodding, then scooted back to the edge of the table. I was now tall enough that, if I stood, I could almost reach halfway across the flat top. "As it happens, yes I do."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Soo…" I asked as we played, "What was HonorVerse me called?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why do you want to know?" He asked, suspicion flavoring his words. "There isn't much you can do about it, right now."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Best to understand this whole Timey Wimey Wibbly Wobbly mess, right? I just can't go around calling them Honor Me, Jouya, Me Me, and the Unknown Actor," I said. "There is power in names and I'd like to know what mine are. And how long their stays were, and anything else you can tell me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Like what?" he asked, making a very nice atari. He was playing it too cool, but that was okay. I was patient./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Like if the others realize something is wrong?" I asked, placing a piece on the board in a way that wouldn't be important for thirty-one moves. Go is a very long plan game, with a huge solutionset, orders of magnitude more complex than chess and much harder to explain. To say that it was a game of capturing territory is to say that shogi is a game of protecting your king. What one does in turn three echoes into turn eighty, and a seemingly throw away move unreplied to early on could spell defeat as easily as a missing nail in a catapult./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ah…" he said, then hmmm'd, studying the boardstate and trying to figure out why I had made the move. "Well… her name is Solace. And the Unknown Actor's name… I don't know. I do know that she's not part of you the same way that Jouya and Solace are. Solace's stay was six-hundred and thirteen years. Jouya's time in Undertale and the Other World totalled at ten. That was the point. I never expected that you'd spin off from her. I thought you'd just go back to her subconscious."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I paused at that, then laughed. "I'm not a dream, you silly," I said. "I'm an Astral Layer."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He frowned. "How is that possible? All the Astral Layers are sealed with Solace."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I giggled, then shook my head. "All the named ones, I bet. Astral Layers provides 'at least one per jump'. Not just one. Without the perk, which is dormant because (I assume) I am not Sio Jang the Camper, all of Jouya's Astral Layers would have been asleep. So you thought they were dreams. But we're all complete in and of ourselves. I… hmm… I don't think of myself as any different to Jouya, who would be EssJay Prime?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He shrugged. "I believe so. She continues the chain."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Where to?" I asked. "I mean, where did she go?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Star Trek. To the era known as 'Next Generation'." He frowned, "And she seems to have even fewer perks than she should have…" he studied me and his frown deepened. "I believe you have all her perks from Undertale and the Other World… This is most worrying."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I nodded. "I thought so. I'm pretty certain I'm Shiko Jin."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""How can you not know who you are?" He asked, pinching his nose and shaking his head at the strangeness of it all./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Because Shiko Jin and EssJay are effectively the same person. Look, before there was EssJay the Jumper, there was EssJay the normalish person. Once EssJay entered her first jump, she was EssJay the Jumper… and once she bought Astral Layers, she reawakened every jump identity as its own layer, right?" He nodded, frown now becoming a scowl. "Well… what about all the times she… we… I… was a Drop-In. Astral Layers doesn't make a distinction between Drop-In Jumps and Non-Drop-In Jumps. EssJay… I… almost always pick a new name to go with the new body… but there are no new memories. Shiko Jin split off from EssJay the moment EssJay arrived in her first jump, which was as a Drop-In… so I was effectively an exact copy of the original. A backup maybe? A subconscious counterpart to the conscious EssJay the Jumper?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The Inner Self… you're the Ego!" he said, realization coming to him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""A good enough explanation. Silent Judge being the Id and Superego fused. Anway, this is totally a Ship of Theseus moment. We are all EssJay… well… the Unknown Actor might not be. Close, but if her point of origin is different from Jouya, Solace, and Mine, then she doesn't have the same experiences we do…" at that moment a terrible thought occured to me. Star Trek… "Oh nonono. Tell me she's not Evil S'Janus!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Um… I don't think so. The Warehouse would have recognized her instantly as an intruder," God said, waving his hands as if flustered and trying to comfort a fussy child. "Anyway, she'd be a Vulcan, not a Human."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I relaxed a little. "Well… that's marginally good. Just have to hope that whoever they had tampering with my timestream didn't fuck anything up for Pre-Jumper EssJay. I'm not going to ask how I… we three EssJays, can be here if another us was recruited out of our time stream… nor going to ask how another Benefactor got into the Banker's recruitment zone. He was pretty certain the whole zone was locked down… but it's clear there are a bunch of backchannels, aren't there?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God nodded. "The Benefactors trade between themselves even though that's against the rules. Subscribers occasionally fund special jumps because they want to see a Jumper go somewhere. Rogue Choice are shuffled between Benefactors and Administrators or Subscribers… it's all very…" he didn't seem to have a word to describe what it was./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's all 'Very' is fine," I said. "I know how it is when you can't even."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Can't even what?" he asked, then ahh'd. "I see. Yes. I can't even. Understood. I believe it's your move."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*****/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sooo… let me see if I understand this correctly," Toph said. "Your ego got so big that you've fragmented into four different people with different powers?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's not my…" I began, then shook my head. "Yes. There are apparently three or four of me thanks to recent irregularities and the continuing absence of The Banker to fix things. But it has nothing to do with any egotism on my part." I held up a hand to forstall anything she might say. "Before you get all snarky or sarcastic, as if your wont, why don't you tell me about your build and we can save the jokes for a time it's a less sore subject, yeah? I'll remind you that one version of me is currently missing all her lovers and children… and I'm missing my lovers and another is missing her kids."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Ouch," the earthbender commented. "Well, if I can help, you know I will… but not in bed." She gave me her trademark smug smirk and I flipped her the british V and not for victory. She laughed. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You are such a bitch," I said, but there was no heat in my voice./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Woof," was her response. "But enough mopery. Build. Mostly focused on bloodlines, so I went for clan-born." She shrugged. "Need any more information?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I rolled my eyes. "Wow. Way to undersell the whole process. Yes, I do need more information. There are a lot of bloodlines."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not going to guess?" she asked, half-teasing, half-curious. I just half-frowned at her. "Fine, Fine," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "I went for power at the price of trauma. Somewhat amusing to me to get eyes of power… you know… considering." She tapped her temple and I nodded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I understood her point. For someone born blind and with milky eyes, to go to the other extreme of sensory experiences? It would be a trip. "So you went Uchiha Senju with the Mango and Rinnegan for the Six Paths?" I asked. "You're willing to pay the emotional price?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It is what it is," she said, shrugging. "This is a world at war and people will die. Not taking 'Before My Eyes' is no guarantee of one's loved ones making it out alive. The angst that comes with being a Clan-born Uchiha is already bad enough… I don't think 'BME' is going to be much worse. They're both priced the same."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I grunted in begrudging agreement. "Can't say it's going to be thrilling working with my very own Sasuke, but I'm not going to tell you to change your build. Still… that's twelve-hundred Choice… you had fifteen-hundred with the two required drawbacks. Anything else?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh sure. I took Low Priority and The Chosen One. I'm certain you can figure out why… and Sealed Bloodline to get Lava Release sealed. Since I'm going to be a Senju I also grabbed Wood Release. And I took Jutsu Master and Fine Control." She wasn't giving me all the information, which was very her, but was giving me just enough to make connections… I wondered if she was testing me, but couldn't figure out why she might be doing so./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Lava and Wood take Fire, Water, and Earth Affinity," I pointed out, eliciting an only partially committal nod from the grumpiest of my companions. I sighed. "Fine. Be that way. I assume you took Low Priority since you think you can master your powers by yourself… and as an angsty, bitter little shit you're not likely to listen to a master anyway?" I didn't point out that I'd chosen her to be imported as the master of the group, so she'd already know how to use all her abilities. Apparently she hadn't noticed that. She shrugged. I continued. "Chosen One is so you don't accidentally kill anyone while being a miserable person?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Something like that," she agreed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Deciding not to get into all the issues of her build, I merely asked, "Which Mangekyo Sharingan abilities did you get… aside from Susanoo I mean." Everyone with Mango got the giant summons that wrapped around the user up in transparent (and fairly immobile) armor equipped with a honking great sword and a nigh invulnerable shield. All Mango abilities were costly to use, in terms both emotional and chakra. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That would be telling," she replied, sounding somewhat petulant. Was this the effect of Dysfunction Junction? Already?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It would," I agreed. "Now tell me anyway."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Fiiine," she snarked. "Kamui and Kamimusubi. Can I go now?" She rolled her eyes and I had to push down the urge to karate chop her like some kind of ninja three stooges. It wasn't as if I needed her to explain what either was; I'd read the document, but still… I hoped this was the drawback functioning early or there was something very weird going on. Maybe she was just getting into the role?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Annoyed, I pretended like I wasn't certain what those powers did… after all, of the seven abilities associated with Mango Eyes, four of them began with K and ended with I. "Which ones were those? The compulsion and the heat one?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Grinding her teeth, she put on a fake smile, knowing that I'd picked the two that she hadn't selected. "No no. I think your memory is slipping. Kamui allows me to become intangible or teleport myself and others through a pocket dimension. Kamimusubi allows me to insert myself into other people's memories."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… right…," I allowed. She'd left out key parts of both powers, but I wasn't going to push the matter just to be a pain. I knew very well that anything inside Kamui's pocket dimension was held in stasis until it was removed… to the degree that a teleported kunai would maintain its speed when brought out of the teleport, even if it was years later. Kamimusubi was far nastier than 'Inserting the user into someone's memories'. It overwrote parts of their memories and could alter someone's fundamental loyalty. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The victim… and the text very much used that term… would believe that the user was an essential / irreplaceable part of their life, their greatest ally and someone who'd always been there. It would also supply the user with a less total copy of those memories so they could play the part. The victim would view the user in the best possible light, making manipulating them so much easier. And not only would it make victims who belonged to an organization hostile to the user believe that they were double agents in their own organization, but even once the effect was removed, the memories would remain as experiences… potentially leading the victim to a crisis of identity. The only limitation on Kamimusubi was that it required eye-contact and couldn't be fired off more than once a day./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I wanted to tell Toph to be careful how she used that power… but I couldn't think of a way to do so without sounding judgemental, as if I was accusing her of plotting to use it capriciously, vindictively, or on those who didn't deserve it. I shelved my arguments for the time being, hoping I'd never have call to bring them up after the deed was done. Much was fair in war that wasn't conscionable outside it… but that didn't mean I had to be happy about it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sooo… did you pick a new name?" I finally asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sakuhasu Senju," she replied. "Uchiha seemed like a bad choice to be a primary member of." I had to agree, since most of them had been killed by one of their own less than ten years before the start of canon./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sakuhasu?" I asked… "As in blooming lotus?" It was a good name… especially since Toph meant 'Expanding Lotus'. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She nodded, then, without waiting for me to ask any other questions, vanished back to the Warehouse./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Well… that hadn't gone great. Would have to see if it was me or them or this stupid 'curse' inflicted upon me by the again, I ran through the list of drawbacks I hadn't taken, but couldn't find one that wasn't worse, over all, than Dysfunction Junction. At least with that one problems could be worked out. I just hadn't expected it to set in so soon. A drawback kicking in before the jump even began was definitely not normal./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*******/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"While I was pondering that, Vita popped up, looking a little startled… and dressed in black… which was very much out of character for her. "Toph said you wanted to speak to?" she said. "Is she grumpier than usual?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I… yes, I think so. But I can't be certain. Are you feeling yourself?" I asked. "That outfit is new."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Is it?" she asked, looking down at herself. It looked like a gothic lolita version of her normal getup, and the bunny on her hat had x's for eyes. "I dunno… it was just…" she shrugged. "Anyway, you wanna know what I picked?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm guessing Angst was on the list of drawbacks you took?" I suggested./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah!" she agreed chipperly… apparently it hadn't sunk in yet… or this was Vita with angst… terrifying anyone could be that upbeat. "How'd you know?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Your accent," I said, only prevaricating a little. That too had changed, though mostly in inflection and a slightly slower cadence. "But please, go on."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She sat, seza style (also not usual for her, but pretty typical for a ninja… seza is when you sit down with your knees together and pointing forward, feet together pointing back. Most westerners find it uncomfortable, but it's not so bad if you have a cushion to kneel on. It can be tricky to stand up from though.) "I decided to be Clan-Born so I could get a discount on Uchiha… that's why I took Angst, but don't worry, I didn't go after the Manga Kitty Eyes or whatever they're called. I wanted to be a member of the Nara Clan because of their affinity for shadows, which sounds really cool. And I wanted Magnet Release and Explosion Release… but I had to get Explosion release sealed because I didn't have the points for it otherwise."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right… that's probably going to be a theme, I suspect. Shopping for later… seems fundamentally broken to me, but I didn't design this stuff," I said, shrugging. "Nara, Uchiha, Magnet, Sealed Explosion… that requires Wind, Lightning, and Earth… so we're talking a thousand points… nine-hundred after Angst. But go on… I assume you took Jutsu Master and You have Reserves?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Course I took Reserves… it's free for Clan-Born," she said, faintly pouting. At least with her around I still (potentially) had someone to hug, so I did. She eeeped, then pouted. "Your body feels all tingly and weird."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I think it's because it's still growing. Technically, I'm only one third of EssJay and not the bit with the body."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… well… that's cool." She didn't seem at all put out by the weirdness of the concept. "Anyway, yeah, I took Jutsu Master cause it's awesome. And Purified Seal of Heaven, cause it's… umm… awesomer. And Fine Control cause that's bonus important."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That brings you to sixteen-hundred," I said, running the numbers. "What did you take to cover the two-hundred point difference?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… ummm…" she pulled a slip of paper out of her sleeve and read it. "Boiled Blood, Revealed, Haunted, the thing about illusions, and the thing that means I don't got to kill no body."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I blinked at that for several long (looong) moments, then asked, "Do you mean boiling blood, chosen one, reviled, hunted, and what do you mean it's an illusion?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's what I said," she humphed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right," I agreed. "Just checking… that leaves you with five-fifty unspent… what did you buy?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""There was this cool sword make of sharkskin and it's sentient and eats chocolate-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Chakra," I corrected./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right. Anyway, it's kinda grumpy and doesn't like to be touched by most people, but if you buy it you get to touch it and… ummm… anyway, it's called Samehameha or something. I asked if I could make mine into a hammer instead of a sword, and the scroll said that was okay. So I have the Samehammer," she said, looking pleased as punch. Then she added, "And I can summon vampire bats."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's not a function of the hammer, right?" I said, trying to remember any such thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. No. I bought a summoning contract for Vampire Bats. I wanna be batgirl!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Right.. Because Shadows…" I agreed, then asked, "Dare I inquire what your name might be, Nara-chan?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Shinohana… it means Death Flower!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Flower of Death," I pedantically corrected, then mentally slapped myself. I needed to stop doing that. But instead, I just ruffled Vita's head and nodded. "Good, good. Send in the Squad, if you will?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sure thing… I like your new office. It's very Puritcanical."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Spartan," I corrected. It definitely wasn't puritcanical… nor was it mine, but the simplicity of a Japanese room cannot be said to be anything but spartan./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*******/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"In the time it took for Vita to fetch her minions in Squad Zero, I formulated a secondary hypothesis. What if Toph wasn't being a pain because of Dysfunction Junction… but rather because I'd taken Low Priority in that special challenge mode and didn't know about it? Was that possible? I didn't know./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The squad appeared, all dressed like stereotypical (i.e. not naruto-esque) ninjas. Unfortunately, they were dressed in pastel pink, blue and cream ninja outfits, which lowered their stealth potential greatly. They also wore nametags that read Shimura Makiko (Stern), Shimura Machiko (Levi), and Shimura Mikiko (Dearche). I had no idea who Shimura was, or even if the name was from the series, but the trio of nearly identical names made me want to throttle someone./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Cute," I commented drily, "Did you pick the family name?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We asked for someone who was good at plotting and scheming," Dearche informed me. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The other two nodded, then Levi added, "We wanted to learn from the best!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Cause you keep refusing to teach us," Stern continued./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And forbidding anyone else to help us conquer the world," Dearched finished. "So we're the nieces of the head of the Shimura family and we're gonna be amazing at ninjettesu."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I just palmed my forehead. I no longer had the patience to deal with these three. Sigh. "Drawbacks?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Chosen One," Levi said, "cause we know you don't want us hurting anyone."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Bloodlust," Sterns said, "Because it sounds fun!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What Do You Mean It's An Illusion," said Dearche, "because it doesn't sound so bad… and Out of Control, for the same reason." /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What in the name of…" I began, then rephrased my query. "What, exactly, is 'Out of Control'?" There hadn't been any such drawback on my list nor on Darkseid's… but then again, his had been missing several that had been on my list. Mostly stuff having to do with Chakra… which I guess was because I'd saddled DS with Actually a Ninja./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It means it's hard for us to manipulate chakra, either inside or outside our bodies," Levi explained, confirming my assumption that Out of Control had something to do with Chakra… but not explaining why, exactly, it (like Low Priority) hadn't been on my list… had that section been destroyed when Chara ripped the document? Or was there another reason. Was it part of the Retest? If so, why? And what did that mean? I didn't know. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It means we can't be medical Ninnies," Dearche added, "but we weren't gonna do that anyway."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Stern made a face, "But it does mean we might have trouble using jutsu or learning new stuff… and makes us double vulnerable to illusions for stupid reasons."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""But we had to take it because we bought Playdough-Jimchimiki," Levi said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Pseudo-Jimchimiki," Dearche corrected… half-way."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Riight," I commented. "It's based on the titular character… stop giggling. Titular means title, not boobies." I glared at them until they stopped acting like sixth graders. "Naruto had a huge amount of chakra because he was the full Jinchuriki," I said, stressing the pronunciation, "of the Nine-Tails, but had a lot of trouble controlling the power… not that that really slowed him down much. So what else did you buy with all your points?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We got Lightning Affinity!" Levi said happily… of course she did./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And Water," Stern added./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So we could get Storm Release," Dearche explained./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And we get to be strong cause we're Akichimi bloodline," Stern interjected, but before I could point out that it was a) Akimichi and b) that strength came with serious weight gains and massive caloric intake requirements, the trio had moved on in their rambling way./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""We got Talk No Jutsu and Glorious Leader!" Levi piped in. "To be good at leading people!" Sure… if the people were tweens with short attention spans and chronic impulse control problems./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And a Purified Seal," Dearche put in. I assumed that she meant the Purified Seal of Heaven./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""But it's not the kind of seal that does tricks…" Levi said sadly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Stern nodded enthusiastically. "We asked." Of course they did./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The scroll said if we wanted that kind of seal we'd have to take a summoning contract," Dearche agreed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So we did!" Stern enthused./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""For Seals!" Levi crowed triumphantly. I was getting a little bit of a headache following their chopping sentences and randomly shifting enthusiasms./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And we got Plot Armor," Dearche said. "So we don't have to worry about people plotting against us."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I opened my mouth to explain that Plot Armor was a form of luck, not protection against scheming… but decided that the distinction would be lost on the eternally clueless trio. They were cute and enthusiastic… but usually failed to make certain they knew what they were doing before they did it. I could only hope that whoever the canon Shimura was, the trio would drive him or her to distraction… and (if they were a villain) to make mistakes./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's wonderful," I finally allowed. "But what origin did you take?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The trio shared a series of questioning looks. Finally, Dearche (their defacto leader when Vita wasn't around) said, "We forget." Of course they do./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I gave them headpats, now that I was taller than them, and sent them back to the warehouse with an order to send the next person with snacks. I was getting hungry./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"******/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's nice how much patience you have with them," God said. "And worrying how enthusiastic they are for things like conquest."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""They're good kids… just a bit clueless and bonkers. Probably safer to have them in Naruto than in someplace like Star Trek. They could do serious damage there. The trio they're the counterparts of are living Weapons of Mass Destruction. Those three are virtually identical in power and in being kind people… but Nanoha, Hayate, and Fate are smart and hard working. Stern is bullheaded, Levi impulsive, and Dearche hyper-competitive. All three are fairly lazy, give up too easily unless it's a fight."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well… Nice of you to look after them, anyway."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I shrugged. "Once upon a time, I was a teacher. It's nice having kids around… though the fact that they never seem to learn anything is worrying. Thankfully, I have the others who all seem more than happy to learn new things."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"God opened his mouth to say something else, but at that moment AJ and Francine appeared on the cushions. AJ was carrying a thermos that turned out to be holding hot chocolate and a backpack full of donuts. Francine was carrying a picnic basket with the lunch that was supposed to come before AJ's dessert… guess which one got eaten first./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You say these are called Crullers?" God asked, examining the spiral-like donut. "And you dunk them in coffee?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Or hot cocoa," AJ explained. "I don't like coffee."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""AJ's a heathen," I commented, sipping my chocolate. Not that I didn't love cocoa, but I loved coffee too. If only there was an item that provided endless espresso. Then again, I can't imagine how wired I'd be if I owned it. "So, Francy… what did you get?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I didn't need a whole lot," she said, brushing a crumb off her shirt. "So I only took Angest and Super Pervert. The Angst is annoying, but seems to fit the setting. The Pervert is just funny."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"AJ muttered, "And appropriate." then dodged an elbow to the ribs. "She is!" he protested. "She likes reading egglaying porn!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's private!" she snapped, "Mom doesn't need to know that!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Yup… definitely dysfunction junction. Wonderful. I had been hoping that it would merely effect the base team, but apparently it hit everyone… well, at least they all got points for it. Maybe, in the long run, this would be good… or not. Hard to say if drawbacks really had much in the way of lasting effects./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's fine," I assured the psychic girl. "You're allowed to like what you like and no one's allowed to shame you for it unless it causes harm to another without that others permission." I fixed AJ with a telling look and he had the good graces to look embarrassed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sorry Francy," he muttered. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She nodded, then continued. "I went with Civilian for the Fine Control and the discount on Medical Ninjutsu and Puppeteer. I specialized in Genjutsu for additional defenses while patching people up. Also took Speed Enhancement so I can book it if things get dangerous. Since Hyuga can view the Chakra network inside a human body, I figured Lost Hyuga would make a decent basis for medical work. You have Reserves gets me more Chakra to work with, and with the efficiency of Fine Control, it should be even more than that. I considered taking Purified Seal of Heaven for the extra power, but I'd have had to give up Glorious Leadership and the Kabuotwari… and I really want an axe-hammer that is great for overwhelming defenses."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"AJ chuckled. "She liked it because it's called 'The Bluntsword' even though it is not a sword."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That too," Francy said, nodding. "And I went with Fire Affinity, since it didn't seem to really matter."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Maybe you could grab 'The Chosen One' and 'Annoying Catchphrase' to pay for 'Purified Seal'," I suggested. "If you're going for healer, your phrase could be 'I told you that would happen' or just 'toldjaso'. That's pretty annoying. And Chosen means you have a thing against killing."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Francine tilted her head to the side, then nodded. "That goes well with my name, I guess." She wrote the Kanji for Wise Harmony to show what she meant. Together, it could be read as 'Reo'. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""No family name?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nothing I could think of. I figure I'm just part of some random civvie family. Maybe the same one that adopted AJ."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I looked over to him. "You went with Orphan?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yup," he confirmed. "And I only took one drawback."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Francine grinned. "Don't think he's humble-bragging," she said. "He took the most expensive drawback."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Actually A Ninja?" I asked. "Whyever did you take that?" In actuality, I suspected I already knew. The boy does love a good challenge. Not as much as Dragonball Goku, who is an idiot… but a lot./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""For the challenge," he confirmed enthusiastically. "Bukijutsu Specialization was free, so I took it. And Samurai Training, just in case there are tricks there I don't already know. Genius of Hard Work, and Therapy No Jutsu as well, since I'll clearly need something to fall back on. I want to see how well I can do in this world with just my sword."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I ran the numbers, then said, "That's not nearly all your points. By my math, you should have sixteen-fifty left. What did you spend those on?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He shrugged. "Just because I can't use them here didn't stop me from buying chakra techniques. So I took Affinity for Wind and Water so I could get Ice Release. I also bought both Uzumaki and Kaguya bloodlines, since they're discounted to Orphans, and the basic Chakra perks." I assumed he was referring to Reserves and Control, so I didn't interrupt. Those two were always going to be a good idea, just in general./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Anything else?" I asked. "Five-fifty left unspent."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""The last two things I bought I'm just not certain about. I don't know if Chakra is needed to use them or not." He was chewing his lower lip as if expecting me to be annoyed about the vagaries of Drawback-Purchase interaction./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What did you pick?" I pressed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sensor Ninja Training… it says I can detect the presence of other people through chakra… is that through my chakra or am I detecting others because they have chakra? I'm not certain," he shrugged. "The first would be less useful in this world because of being an actual Ninja… but the other might be potentially useless in other universes where people don't have chakra."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Francine added, "Also, using their chakra wouldn't allow you to sense automata that have no chakra or anything like it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Good point," I said. "I'm pretty certain that Sensor Ninjas use their own Chakra to boost their senses, but they may also have sense augment techniques that don't use Chakra… you'll have to see. That's you down to four-hundred."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. The last is a sword," he said, "Naturally. It's called The Sewing Needle or Nuibari. It's a huge long needle that is threaded with incredibly tough wire. Useful for sewing enemies together… but I don't know if it needs chakra to drive the blade. I guess I'll find out."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You didn't tell her your name," Francine hissed, and AJ blushed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… umm… yah. Kaito," he said, writing the Kanji for 'The Most Supportive'. "Is that okay?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I ruffled his head. Sooo cute!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"By the time Zane and Kendra replaced Swordsman and Spoonbender, I'd grown to nearly five feet tall, and my definition was definitely beginning to show. Skin-like skin was forming, even if it was still bluish-white, and I had a nose now… even though I couldn't breathe through it. Not that I was breathing… or my heart beating. Very strange experience, this growing a new body./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Wow," Kendra said. "The others said you looked terrible. Guess they weren't kidding."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Zane barked a laugh at that. "And you say I'm tactless! Sheesh, Kay! A little sympathy?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?!" Kendra snapped back. "She looks like a slug person! It's gross! And I'm using the term person to be polite!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""She's feeling pregnant," Zane said in an aside to me. "And fat!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh shut up," the pregnant one said. "It's all your fault this is happening this way."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Whose fault?" Zane asked. "Mine or EssJay's?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Both!" Kendra growled. "Your fault I'm pregnant, and her fault it's taking a century! Longest god-damned pregnancy on record!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You only have to deal with it for a month every decade," I commented. "Or you could sit out a jump."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"She frowned at that. "Oh no! You're not getting rid of me that easily. It's my job to be the one member of the crew that doesn't lick the floor you walk on."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I quirked a nonexistent eyebrow at that. "Have you seen Tokimi-Chan, Darkseid, Carwyn-Taylor, Caine, Kagetane, Bart, Raven, Meetra, Korosensei, or the Luteces doing any such thing?" I asked. "Zane?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"My executive officer shrugged. "Just ignore her. That's what I do when she's being cranky."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why you-" she began./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's enough," I said quietly. "This is this Gentleman's home and he's allowing us to use it. Be civil. Anyway, technically I'm not EssJay… or not all of EssJay. We've been divided into three parts. I'm Shinko Jun. The other two, who aren't here but have the majority of the Companions with them, are Solace and Jouya. We think Jouya is the closest to being the original, but it's not like I know how to contact either of the other two. Solace is in a Quantum Time Lock because something wonky happened in her jump or something. Jouya moved on when she finished the jump set up by this Gentleman when something weird happened in Undertale, and I'm the part that continued on after reviving in Undertale thanks to a Time Loop."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"The two of them just stared at me. "What?" Zane finally asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""That's insanity!" Kendra added./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hey," I said. "You just have to hear it. I have to live it. You both know things have been getting stranger and stranger since Mensarius and the Banker vanished. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon, but I'm not counting on it. All we can do is press forward and hope we find a way to reconnect to our friends before things get really out of hand."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Great," Kendra said. "Three of you, wandering about the Universes. How could this be worse."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Actually… I'm pretty certain there's a fourth me too. Someone from outside the Chain. Maybe a parallel version that didn't go on the chain, or a me from earlier in my timeline before I became a Jumper?" I shrugged. "I'm calling that me 'The Unknown Actor' since I have no information on her. Anway… this is all theoretical and unimportant until a decade from now at the soonest. I can't even enter the warehouse since I've somehow got a tagalong inside me… a crazy vicious genocidal child. And no, Kendra, this is different than usual. This one revels in the hatred."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh," was all she said. Finally she elbowed Zane, "You go first."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm Zenji Uzumaki. Distant cousin of Naruto on his mom's side," Zane began, writing the Kanji for 'A Good Road' out. "Bloodlust and Malformed Chakra Coils pay for my abilities. Malformed says I can't use Chakra externally, so I figure I use it all internally. I bought Taijutsu and Bukijutsu, since hand to hand and weapon techniques are all I'll be able to use, but I also bought Ninjutsu specialization so I'd know the theories and how to fight those who have it. Also, Ninjutsu should cover some stealth techniques that would be good to pick up. Affinity with Earth and Lightning. Explosion Release… I figure that I can generate explosive spit, since that's inside my body and then project it out of my body, since Explosion release allows me to imbue items with explosive force. It's totally a cheat, but the wording makes it seem like it would work."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Both God and I nodded in agreement. Zane's logic worked as a loophole in the drawback. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'll toss the free green jumpsuit," he said. "Green's not my color. As for the huge eyebrows? That's what waxing is for. I took Reserves to power healing and speed boosts and strength, and Fuinjutsu Prodigy… maybe for after, but I want to see if I can use Seals inside myself. Genius of Hard Work should help me get through all this, and I took Uzumaki, of course, for the all around boost and even more Chakra."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Don't forget the sword," Kendra said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh. Right. I took Shibuki the Blastsword. It comes equipped with an integrated scroll full of explosive tags. Swordsmanship and Explosions. A twofer you won't enjoy being hit with."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sounds good," I said. "Well reasoned, decently gamed. Serviceable at the very least, and you'll have other abilities to fall back on should you need them. Kendra?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I went Drop-In," she said. "I'm pretty certain I was the only one who did. I chose the name Kanna, with the Kanji for Righteous South… for obvious reasons," she explained with a smirk. "And only took Before My Eyes and Hunted by two villages to pay for everything. I didn't pick the villages, so they'll be random I guess. I didn't know which was best. Anyway… Affinity for Earth, Speed Enhancement, Sensor Ninja Training, Plot Armor… that's all pretty basic. I really wanted Singular Reality to be able to see through lies and illusions and all forms of trickery. I also wanted to get a Summoning Contract for both man-sized and giant Scarabs. That seemed like a good thing to have. Beetle-Sage. And to go with that, I'm a member of the Aburame bloodline, since they work with beetles. It sounds creepy as hell, but if they can cope with it, I'm guessing I can too."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I flinched a little at the details of her build, but I wasn't the one who'd have to live with the trauma of Before My Eyes or the yerg factor of Aburame beetles living inside me. Of course, at the moment I had Chara inside me… so that was probably worse. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Whyever did you take Before My Eyes?" I had to ask. "If you wanted to be miserable and or moody, you could have just taken Angst instead." I was honestly confused here./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well, as I'm coming in as a Drop-In, nothing else is going to make me feel anything in particular about this fucked up, tween comic about hypermasculine idiots," she said with a shrug. "I worried that the document might use this as an excuse to kill off Zane, but since everyone else isn't going Drop-In, the general consensus would be that the jump itself would view their new personas as who they are, not their out-of-context identities. Also, we're pretty certain that this is a loss that happened before the jump begins, so no one should be put in danger by it. In fact, since I'm a Drop-In, no one need actually have died at all."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I… see," I said, doubting several parts of that explanation. "So, you're ascribing something like thought to a Jump Document?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It has to have some kind of hidden decision tree," Zane said. "Something fairly advanced, in fact, since some force reparses reality to fit in with our choices. Something has to smooth out all the ripples that would come about if Naruto had a little sister or something, right? That can't be an automated system."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I frowned at that, brow creased. How had I never made that leap? I mean, I'd always assumed that The Banker handled all of that… but since he'd vanished, I'd never reexamined that assumption. Chamber certainly didn't have the ability or motivation to handle those details, and I hadn't been doing it. Was it some bean counter at Higher that did it? Was this the responsibility of a Constructor? Did they settle all the little details of Jumper-Setting interaction? Or were the documents themselves, the VMoDs and their ilk, were they somehow empowered in such a way that the issues were smoothed out and everything fit like a seamless puzzle?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"And if that weren't worrying enough to consider… what happened if that system broke down? What happened when Drawback / Origin / Item / Perk purchases caused discordant notes in a setting and nothing stepped in to fix the problem? That was bad enough in a Slice of Life setting… but what about settings where worlds hung in the balance? I had no answer and I waved the two of them back to the warehouse as I considered the issue./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Several hours later, my final three companions for the jump joined me, bringing with them a large platter of sushi. By that time, I looked mostly human; still unhealthily pale, but back to the form we'd worn back in Pokemon Trainer and Firefly. Yup, Shinko Jun… well, with bushier hair that lacked any pigmentation. Didn't know if my eyes were the right color… I didn't have a mirror./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Hi kids," I said as Alex, Maggy, and Amaryllis joined me. "You're looking pensive."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Uncle Zane explained what was going on," Alex said. "We're just worried about you. How are you holding up?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""And we're worried about our moms," Maggy added. "But less worried, since one of you is with them… but they've got to be pretty frantic about where we are."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Amaryllis didn't say anything, she just hugged me, clearly needing the kind of unspoken reassurance that only comes from close physical contact with a loved one. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I'm doing okay. Really," I added at Alex's doubting expression. "And your mothers are probably being told that you're still inside the Quantum Timelock of the Honorverse."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""If they're being told anything at all," Maggy grumped. She was the smartest of the trio in the traditional sense (though all three were crackerjack smart), but it often came at the cost of making her a bit sarcastic and moody. I pulled her into the hug with her sister, then quirked an eyebrow at Alex, inviting him to join the squish./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He smirked, but shook his head, mouthing, "I'm good." And I could tell he wasn't too concerned. Alex likes to go with the flow more than the others, and seldom lets things get him down. Roll with the Punches was his motto. Well, half of it. The other was "But keep count." All three of my kids valued payback… though in Amaryllis's case, she often repaid harshness with kindness. Might not have been effective… but it sure confused a lot of people./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"Once I'd released my captives and most of the sushi was devoured, I asked, "Who's first?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I… I guess that's me," Amy said. "I took the most drawbacks… but we decided that we wouldn't take too much. Me and Mags… Mags and I… we took Low Priority… and we apologize upfront for anything we might do to each other, and you, because of Dysfunction Junction. We tried to get Alex to join us in Low Priority, but he just said-"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I said that Shonen stuff was made for someone like me! I gotta be important!" Alex said, thrusting out his chest like he was cock of the walk. Maggy dropped an icecube down his back and he yelped and glared at her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""As I was saying," Amaryllis continued. "I'm Yokumo Hyuga… but of the Cadet Branch. Clan Born, of course. But my mom was an Inuzuka, because puppies." I chuckled at that and she blushed. Such a cute kiddo. "And I took all the Elements and Dust Release and the Purified Seal of Heaven and Fine Control and Singular Reality and that's it." As she spoke she started speaking faster and faster as if she was having a bit of a panic attack and wanted everyone to stop staring at her. "Sorry," she said as she finished. Yeah… personality leak from drawbacks was clearly manifesting early this time./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Why are you sorry?" I asked, wondering what answer I'd get./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Your red eye was glaring at meee," she squeaked. The other two nodded in agreement./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Red… eye?" I asked, then covered my left eye. "This one?" They all nodded. "Right… Alex, jump back to the warehouse and have the fabricators make me an eyepatch… reinforced, adjustable strap. Black."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He did and I turned back to Amaryllis, "I think you're missing three hundred points… did you take Chosen One and forget to tell me?" I kept my hand over my left eye and could practically feel the heat baking off it. Chara, you brat./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"*I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!* she cried out inside my head, but I ignored her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Oh… umm… yeah… I forgot," Amy said, looking more bashful and less freaked out. "Sorry."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I ruffled her hair. "Is Yokumo written with the Kanji for Sheep and Spider?" I asked. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yup!" she said, giggling a little. Good she was relaxing. "Ninja Speep!" She pulled up her hood and a half-mask. "Ninja Speep, Ninja Speep, We sneak up on you in your sleep!" she singsonged./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You're a silly," I told her, then took the eyepatch from Alex as he reappeared, sliding it on over my face. "So? Do I look like a Ninja or a Pirate?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""You look like a sheepdog," Alex said. "That's a lot of hair."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"I favored him with a one-eyed glower. "Thank you. I meant the eyepatch."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Like a techninja," Maggy said. "Too angular to be a pirate, and a ninja would wear one of those weird bandage things over their missing eye so they could fit in and not look like a ninja."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Not in this universe," I said. "Here Ninja and Shinobi and Kunoichi are proud of their Ninja status and wear headbands that proclaim that's what they are and which faction they belong to. But normally you'd be very right. Now, are you next, or should I ask your brother to show off?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Eh. Let me go before El Grandstando," Mags said, "Ichika Yamanaka, with the Kanju for Best Excellent or First Cold. As you can imagine, that makes me a member of the Yamanaka bloodline, which I get a discount on because I'm a civilian. I took Affinity for Fire, Water, and Lightning, so I could buy Boil and Storm Release. Aside from that, I just got Talk No Jutsu and Glorious Leadership… but no, I didn't get 'You Have Reserves'."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Any particular reason?" I asked. "It's cheap and worth it to have the power to use."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""I considered it. But I didn't want any of the hundred point drawbacks," she said with a shrug. "Hunted and Reviled are nasty, Angst and Before My Eyes are self-torture, Super Pervert and Annoying Catchphrase is annoying. And I want my bloodlines… that's why I bought them./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Did you consider taking one of the higher value drawbacks?" I asked. "Like Chosen One? Unless you want to be able to kill?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It stops me from being a mercenary!" she groused. "I mean, I don't mind not killing people, but helping everyone and not asking to be paid for it… I'm being silly, aren't I?" she asked, looking a bit embarrassed as everyone (including God) was not staring at her./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Sweetie… it's entirely up to you, but I would remind you that money is the last thing you should be worrying about in the face of a global war of intrigue involving superhumans."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Yeah… true… I guess… okay," she said, then added. "I'll take Medical Ninjutsu Training with the extra points… oh… that leaves me with an additional fifty… I'll take the water breathing bloodline… then seal it… that leaves me with an additional hundred… Oh… no… I'll take the Akamichi and seal it instead. That's much better!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It's Akimichi," mutter Amaryllis. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What?" Maggy said, not unkindly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Akimichi… not Akamichi," Amy muttered, her voice getting softer and softer with each syllable. Oh dear. It wasn't just my eye. Amy wasn't normally a shrinking violet. This would take therapy… but there literally was a perk for it. Maybe I should have taken it. But AJ had it, so maybe that was enough. Be better to have two copies of it so that they could help each other if I could get the two of them to fight each other… though Zane should have 'Well-Adjusted' from Worm… would Dysfunction Junction keep him from trying to help the others he was having issues with? I suspected so./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Alex?" I asked, "You wouldn't have happened to take Therapy no Jutsu, would you?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"He grinned smugly. "As it happens, I did! Because I am awesome like that. I figured that having two people with it would be better than one."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""It was my idea," Maggy said. "Alex and AJ just called dibs."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Well you didn't want to be an Orphan," he said, sounding as superior as only a big brother can… even though he was older only by minutes. "Anyway, I took Super Pervert, Annoying Catchphrase, and Thick, because if it's good enough for Naruto, it's good enough for me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Naruto isn't a pervert," I pointed out, "And he's not really that bad about reading. Thick is taking him to parody levels. And he doesn't actually say Dattebayo as often as often as Verbal Tick makes it seem. But the pervert is his master, Jiraiya von Toadface."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Eh. No big, either way. I needed four hundred Choice and they got me those points," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I specialized in Ninjutsu with an Affinity for Water and Earth so I could get Senju and Wood Release… Of course I got Reserves."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""But not Fine Control," Maggy interjected./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Naw. I'm good for control," he said with a smirk. "I don't need a perk to help there. I bought the Raijin lightsaber thing… and a Summoning Contract."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""What species?" I asked, wondering what the answer would be./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Bakeneko," Maggy said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Nekomata," Amaryllis said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Both," Alex said. "Nekomata is the human-sized and Bakeneko is the Kaiju-sized."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""So… Senju clan," I said. "Let me guess that your given name is Mamoru?" It was a pretty basic guess, since Mamoru and Alexander both mean essentially the same thing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Of course! I shall defend all the… kitties," he said, leering at me./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;""Pervert!" his sisters cried at the same time and began hitting him with God's cushions. For once, God did not interfere. Hard to say if that was because cushionic pummeling didn't cross his violence threshold, or if he felt that Alex deserved it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"After a moment's consideration, I bopped him with a pillow as well. Chara might have been the brattiest, but she was far from the only brat in my cadre./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"To Be Continued in Part two! (When I actually write it)/p