Jack and Mac walked in silence for a few minutes, Mac smiled as Jack gave a smaller version. "So," Mac broke the silence, "Watcha doin' out here? Are you camping or on a spirit quest or something?" Jack sighed, breaking his smile before staring ahead seriously. "I had a quest, now it is finished. Alas, I know not my place in this strange new world." Mac looked up at him, "Oh. Well, where are you from."

"I believe in your language, you would call it 'Japan'." Mac's eyes grew bigger, "Wow, seriously?" his voice rising in excitement, "Are you like a ninja or something?" Jack chuckled, "No, Mac, while I am trained in ninjutsu, I do not usually engage in such combat. I am a, what would you say...?"

"A samurai?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Cool! So that sword is real?"

"Indeed. Handed down by my father, a great warrior in his own right." Jack sighed again, "Yet what has happened to him, I know not." Mac's enthusiasm dissipated, "Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe my friends can help." Jack's eyebrow raised, "And your 'friends', are they scientists, magicians?" Mac giggled, "No, they're imaginary."

"Imaginary?"

"Yeah, you know imaginary, thought up and brought to life."

"But how can something imaginary have substance? It-"

"Señor Mac!" A gravely deep voice with a Latin accent came from behind them. The two turned around to see a six-foot tall creature with two large horns, sharp teeth, baggy pants held by a skull belt and purple hair across its body. It then outstretched its arms and barreled toward the boy. "Demon!" Jack cried before drawing his sword and brandishing it in front of him. The beast stopped dead in its tracks, "Be gone foul demon," Jack declared with narrowed eyes, "Set one more foot towards us, and I will cut you down." The monster then screamed and cried, running behind a tree with his back turned, weeping violently. Jack raised his eyebrow and slightly lowered his sword. Mac then dashed past him to the monster and hugged its arm. The beast's wailing turned into sniffling as Mac let go. "There, feel better?"

"Si, gracias Mac."

"Anytime pal." Jack stepped forward, "Excuse me-" the hairy monster screamed and hid behind his hands. "Eduardo, Eduardo," Mac patted Eduardo's arm, "It's okay, he won't hurt you, right?" Jack held up his hands and smiled awkwardly. "Yes, yes, do not fear creature, I will not harm you." Eduardo looked up, "Promise?"

"Yes, you have my word." Eduardo jumped up and cheered before quickly grabbing Jack and hugged him, violently shaking side-to-side. "Yayyy! Es un Nuevo amigo!" He put the samurai back on solid ground before he was crushed. "It is nice to meet you. I am Eduardo. Y tu eres...?"

"His name's Jack," Mac spoke up, "I found him in the woods."

"Oooohhh, are you like that bearded man who protects kids and the forest and turns into animals? I love that movie."

"No, he's a samurai. He's kinda lost, so I thought I'd bring him along."

"Muy bueno! Let's go!" Jack simply smiled as the trio set off.

They walked for five minutes in silence before reaching a dusty clearing. By the end was a bright red tent with a black pit circled by stones and large logs for sitting. "Mac!" From another group of trees came a twelve foot being. It was near completely red with two eyes on stalks, the right stalk bent several times and the eye lazy. Its left arm was long and its digits had circular ends; the other arm was a stub, evidence that it had been lost. Its torso was the smallest part of its body with a blue number one on it. On the bottom of its long legs were a pair of tennis shoes and socks on a pair of long feet. Its face was furry and had a large grin on it. "I'm sorry, but are you okay?" his voice was vaguely soft but male. "It's okay Wilt, I'm fine."

"Whew, thank goodness. When Coco came back without Eduardo or you, I was worried. Was that okay?"

"Where is Coco anyway?" Eduardo asked before being met with a shrill, "Coco!" From behind the tent a bizarre bird walked into view. It had two orange feet, a zig zagged beak, a palm tree as a head with an eye on each side and a blue and white bird-like body with jet wings and a jet tail. Mac waived, "There you are Coco. Where have you been?"

"Coco coco coco coco coco." Coco said the same word but with different inflections, implying some language was being used. "Yeah," Mac laughed, "That just happens, doesn't it?"

"Wait," Eduardo interjected, "Where is señor Bloo?" On cue, what could be described as a blue blob with a mouth and squinted eyes approximately the same height as Mac popped its head out and shrieked in a grating, high-pitched male voice, "Will ya keep it down?! I'm trying to sleep here!"

"Hey, Bloo," Mac greeted the friend with a smile, met with an unenthusiastic response, "Oh, hey Mac. You bring breakfast? I'm starved."

"We had breakfast two hours ago."

"Then where's brunch?" Bloo opened his eyes wider and looked at Jack, "And who the heck is that?" Jack did a slight bow, "Greetings, uh, blue one. I am Jack and..."

"Yeah, yeah, cool." The blob's eyes drifted to Jack's sword. "Hey, is that a ninja sword? I had one once. Beat a hundred, no, two hundred guys like this." Bloo made Kung-Fu noises while flailing stubs on each side of his body which seemed to be hands. After a ridiculous display, he put his arms on his non-existent waist and made a cocky grin, "Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal. Anyway," He turned to the tent and shuffled back, "Call me when breakfast is ready." He then jumped into the tent and zipped it up. Mac face palmed before looking back at Jack with a nervous smile, "I'm sorry about Bloo, he can get a little... self-absorbed." Jack raised a hand, "It is alright, I once met a man like him on my travels and if I learned anything, it is that such people can learn from their errors." Coco spoke in her way while rolling her eyes, prompting a laugh from all but Jack, "Good one Coco," Mac commented. "Regardless," Jack began before bowing, "It is very nice to meet you all."

"Oh I'm sorry," Wilt said, "Am I supposed to do that to? Sorry, sorry." He imitated Jack's greeting, prompting a smile from the warrior. "Thank you for trying to honor me my friend." Coco then joined before Eduardo and Mac mirrored them. The group raised at the same time, all of their faces adorned with smiles before Wilt broke the silence. "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? Sit down, sit down, I mean, if that's okay." Jack obliged, planting himself on a log that was next to the ashen pit, the other friends joining soon after. "Señor Jack, can you tell us where you are from?"

"Yeah," Mac added. "And what you're doing out here in Prickly Pines." Jack closed his eyes and sighed before giving a stalwart glance to the forest in front of him. "Long ago, there was a beautiful kingdom. Its citizens prosperous and peaceful as the shogun ruled. Then, a great evil cast over the land known as Aku, destroying and killing with reckless abandon, capturing and enslaving all but the dead and the shogun's wife and son. For years, he trained away from his homeland, exiled, awaiting the day he would receive the one thing that could destroy Aku." Jack slowly unsheathed his sword and held it up, the midday sun shimmering on the steel. "The sword of righteousness." Mac and his friends stared in awe before Jack continued, "When the day came, the boy, now a man, earned the blade and came to Aku's fortress, ready to slay the foul demon. Before the final blow was struck, the warrior was tricked into hesitation, allowing the monster to tear a hole in time and send the man through it, giving lifetimes of preparation for the devil while the son would be disarmed. It would take years of journeying before he would find a way to return and end the wizard's kingdom before it began." Jack returned his sword to its sheath as the group ooo'd at the tale. "So what happened next?" Mac asked.

Jack stood in the middle of a desert devoid of life, corpses of trees the only markers shown by the noon sun. In front was a blue swirling portal surrounded by a metal holder. "At last," Jack spoke, "My quest is at an end." As he walked to the gateway, he immediately dashed to its side and drew his sword. When he struck, the blade hit a geyser of black that erupted in front of him, cleaving it with ease. A voice that sounded like an old man came from it, screaming in pain. The mass quickly grew two black clawed arms, a green mouth and nose, eyes with fire above it, a red chin beard, three sets of horns and a set of teeth, four of them curved, "How?" The figure boomed, "How did you know?"

"You have become predictable Aku," Jack shouted. He then jumped up and decapitated the wizard in a swift motion, prompting another cry of pain. "And I have had enough of your games." The body seeped into black liquid as the head fell with a thud. Jack turned to his goal before a jet-black tentacle grabbed his wrist. "No!" Aku screeched, "This will not stand! I am Aku! I own this world, I own these stars! I will not be stopped by a weak human!" Jack emotionlessly tore the tentacle asunder as Aku used another arm to grab the portal and pull it behind him. Jack walked to the monster looking unconcerned and began tearing apart its head. Pieces feel and vanished as they were cleaved, the tyrant's screams filling the air. In a fit of desperation, Aku bit the warrior on his leg, causing a cry of pain from Jack before he cut straight through them.

Before Aku could react, Jack thrust between his eyes. All was quiet for fifteen seconds before black fire came from the top of Aku's head. Slowly, Aku was vanishing with the flame, saying nothing before disappearing into oblivion. All that was left were the portal and a hooked tooth which Jack removed. Jack bent down and took the artifact, studying it before reaching in his pocket for string. After tying it around the tooth, he closed the loop making a necklace from his trophy. After promptly putting it over his head, he turned to the vortex and glared, "I am coming for you, Aku."

Aku stood triumphant in his castle of flame-like stones, smiling his toothy grin. As he turned around, a blue portal appeared in front of him, "What?!" From it, a warrior's cry came ringing before Jack flew from it, sword drawn overhead, ready to smite its foe. "How-" before Aku could say more, Jack cleaved the demon horizontally, splitting him in two. The halves dissolved and reformed, Aku's body looking like a puddle as he groaned. When his face was reformed, his eyes widened in shock, "Impossible!" The wizard shrieked as Jack stood atop his pitiful body. Without repeating his first mistake, Jack mercilessly pierced between Aku's eyes. The wizard cried in pain as his facial features melted into his black form. When the shrieking stopped, the mass that was Aku copied his future self's demise by burning himself away. When the last of the fires were extinguished, Jack pulled his sword from the ground and scanned the empty chamber.

Suddenly, the ground began crumbling beneath the samurai's feet as the castle shook and broke. Before Jack could register it, a flash of light blinded and enveloped him. He felt a sensation of being flung, powerless to fight against the unseen force. As he tried to open his lids, he could vaguely make out three figures. One had six arms, one had a falcon head and the last had an eyepatch. In Jack's ear a sentence was whispered, "There is more to do." The figures were overwhelmed by light as Jack once more sheltered his eyes, unsure of where he would be taken.

"And that is how I found myself in your world." Mac and his friends were speechless, processing what they heard with wordless awe. Mac was the first to break the silence, "What happened to your friends and family?" Jack shook his head. "I do not know. According to a machine I encountered, Aku's destruction happened long ago. Which means..." Jack's eyes widened. "I have returned to the future." He slammed his fist on the log he sat upon, prompting a jump from the group. The warrior then buried his face in his hands and was silent. "Jack, I'm sorry, but are you okay?" Jack looked up at Wilt. "I..." He stared back at the pit. "For so long, I have searched for a way to go home. When I had finally achieved it, I was ripped apart once more. I did not say good bye to my father, my mother, my people. I do not know if they survived or-" Jack stood up and bowed, "I thank you for your hospitality, but I must go. I must find the fate of my people and another way to return. Excuse me."

"Wait!" Mac spoke up, "You can't go at it alone." He ran next to the samurai. "You don't know about anything here. If you stay, we can help find someone who can help, I even know where to start." Jack's eyes lit up, "You do? Who?"

"I have a few pen pals who've been through some crazy stuff like time travel if you can believe it. Not to mention all of the geniuses who are in Townsville. It's better than going who knows where with no clue. Just gotta wait until our trip is done and we can hit the road."

"Great idea Señor Mac."

"I'm sorry, but I think that's a fantastic plan."

"Coco!" Jack smiled. "Thank you, Mac. I would be honored to accompany you."

"Not a problem. I doubt you'll need to use that sword though, nothing really serious happens to us anyway."

In Dexter's laboratory at Dexlabs, Dexter frantically typed on a holographic keyboard in front of a giant monitor. Behind him, Computress did her own typing on her clipboard/tablet before a beeping noise came from it. "Sir, we have an update on object x."

"Put it on screen." The monitor lit up with a picture of Jupiter. The only difference was that a planet-sized sickly-green sphere was connected to the celestial body. The "planet" itself had other massive objects of various color sticking out of it and a miniature asteroid belt around it. "At this rate," Computress announced, "Jupiter will have been taken in by object x within the week." Dexter sighed while pinching the area between his eyes, "This just keeps getting better and better. Between our attempts to find subject one from the trials and this thing eating planets, any commercial research will have to be halted."

"Are you sure sir?" Dexter turned to his assistant. "We have no choice. I have little doubt that we will need to focus the majority of our resources on object x, be it our decision or the government's."

"Understood." Dexter nodded and stared back at the screen. In an instant, a series of green specks ejected from the planet. "Computress, analyze trajectory." Numbers flashed on the screen before giving latitude and longitude coordinates. "Dexter, those objects are traveling far too quickly to be accidental debris." Dexter grit his teeth, "So, Earth is next, eh?" He turned back to the robot. "At their speed, they'll land in a few days. Prepare research teams and alert the president. I have a feeling this is even more dangerous than it seems."

"Of course, sir."