When I open my eyes, I'm floating in the air in an inky, black void. The air feels cold to the touch,  my body shivering as I instinctively hugged myself. My first thought was that this was an awfully vivid nightmare and that someone must have left the AC on overnight. I was more than a little alarmed when I wasn't quite waking up, and that pinching myself had about the same amount of pain as it would if I did it normally.

A single star twinkled into existence in the empty void, far and away from reach. Then another. And another. Soon, the emptiness was full of shining stars, and I found myself staring in wonder. I had momentarily forgotten about the biting cold at this breath-taking sight before a wooden door slammed itself into my face, making me fall over and land on a tile ground. I'm pretty sure that wasn't there before. Also, OW.

Standing up and not having much better to do, I opened the door. Inside was a room with several televisions stacked on top of each other, with a short figure wrapped in a blanket playing on an old NES while seven different games played out on the screen. They turned around and looked at me, blinking twice with a piece of pocky in their mouth.

I stared at her. She stared back at me. Then she picked up a controller laying on the floor and offered it to me. "Want to play?"

"So you're some kind of cosmic being…?" I asked, staring at her in confusion, holding the controller as I sat nearby. We were playing two player Battletoads and it was just as frustrating as I'd expect it to be.

"Is that what humans call it, now?" She wondered aloud. The game then changed into Spy vs Spy mid-beat, making me fumble the controller. "That's what I am. I don't usually talk to humans anymore, though."

"How come?"

"I can't," She said. "I can't enter the world as you know it without breaking too many things. I don't like broken things, I want to just watch and talk to things. Everyone gets too scared or desperate whenever I show up somewhere. Sometimes they put on funny hats and try to give me weird gifts so I'll do nice things for them. It's funny, but it gets old too fast."

"Sounds rough," I reply, almost absentmindedly. This entire experience was incredibly surreal and I had so many questions, but I felt like spoiling the atmosphere was a terrible idea. Also, I wasn't sure if she could read minds.

"Mmm. What about you?" She asked. The game abruptly changed into Ace Combat from the PS2, making control with an NES controller change into a total nightmare. She wasn't having any real trouble, though.

"Well, uh…I'm nothing special, really. Just an everyday guy without much to his name. I'm kind of bland, really," I admitted with a sheepish laugh, still trying to figure out how I was supposed to pilot a plane without a proper analog stick. This distracted me enough at the time I didn't notice the confusion in her eyes.

"Really? But you're down here, with me."

"Well, I guess…but I don't know how I got here. Is it alright if you send me back?" I asked, politely.

"Mmm…I could. But…" She looked thoughtful for a second before a dawning realization appeared on her face. "Ne, you want to be more than just an ordinary guy, don't you?"

Against my better judgment, I nod on instinct. "Kinda, yeah. But I don't see-"

"Do you wanna be someone awesome?" She asked, a big smile on her face.

Why did I feel a sinking in my stomach?

"I wanna play something else. And it'll make you super strong, super smart, super whatever-it-is!"

"Superhuman…?" I asked, warily.

"All kinds of super! You'll go around, meet people, see people, punch people, kiss people, build people, eat people!"

"What was that last one?! I mean, uh, that's a very nice offer but I should really be getting-"

"Don't be so modest!" She said with a Cheshire Cat smile, clapping her hands together as my body began to glow and float upwards, with me flailing about and protesting all the while. "You're gonna be my Jumper!"

My protests were drowned out by being tossed through the Infinite Worlds like a bullet, the stars and sagas of the many worlds shooting past me before I collided facefirst with my first jump…

And here I am.

Jump 01: Ace Attorney
Age: 27
Origin: Drop-In
Perks:
I'll Allow It
Objection! [1050]
Sidekick [850]
Civil Procedure [700]
Perceive [300]
Great Revival [50]

Items:
Attorney's badge
Sharp Suits
Office
Wad of Cash [0]

Drawbacks:
Accident Prone [1100]

When I came to, there was a dead body in front of me. No, that wasn't quite accurate. Rather, I was sitting on top of it like a fucking dolt. The smell of death assaulted my nostrils and I stood up in horror at what had happened. Did my crash landing kill the poor son of a bitch? I barely have time to contemplate my surroundings before Detective Gumshoe of all people burst in through the door. I screamed. Gumshoe screamed. The police were screaming. And then I was in handcuffs.

As the reality of my situation sank in, I tried pleading to the one who had sent me here, but I didn't get a response. That's right, she probably can't talk back to me now. So I had to defend myself while not knowing an inkling of l--wait, no, that wasn't true. I had some of the basics in my head, now. Even some things that hadn't shown up in the actual games. But I was in the world of Phoenix Wright, and I had no plucky protagonist to be the one supporting me.

Since I was locked up, I couldn't get evidence…but I was helped by the fact the primary witness and the one who called the police in the first place was both a nervous wreck and a complete idiot. I obviously couldn't use the argument that I had appeared from another world, so I managed to make a believable story about scaling the walls on a dare since the crime scene was near the office I suddenly always had. The Judge bought it, even if Prosecutor Payne didn't. Then I pointed out that according to forensics, the internal damage caused to the corpse would have to be more severe than a grown man falling on him to be murder, and there was no evidence suggesting I had used a nearby weapon.

It later turned out that the murderer was the witness (surprise) and his elaborate murder plot was dropping a literal piano on the victim and then throwing the wreckage out in a nearby garbage disposal. I sincerely wish I was making that up. And it took a rookie lawyer with exactly one hour of experience to point this out to the police. I had sincerely forgotten how silly and stupid this setting could be at times, but seeing it up close is a little surreal. I could feel tiny bits of that contempt I had for people back home crawling back in.

I went to my office and made a makeshift bed for myself as I digested the events of the past day or two, hoping I'd wake up back home once I opened my eyes again. No such luck, but hey, now I had somewhere I could sleep with relative peace and quiet. It wasn't all bad.

That's when a girl with blonde hair burst into my office, flipped my desk over onto me, and then pointed at me and said she had a case for me. This lady was Katrina Wellengood, who would later become my first companion.

Much to my eternal peril.

Her father, a struggling artist with an extreme shyness in dealing with other people (how the fuck did he have a daughter while having such a crippling inability to socialize is beyond me), had been convicted of…you guessed it, murder. Namely, the murder of his mailman. I had a feeling there was a much more elaborate plot going on and, wanting Katrina out of my office as soon as possible, I reluctantly took the case. Had to pay the bills somehow.

Katrina I can best describe as a 'sentient firecracker'. Energetic, determined, stubborn, loud, and not one for the concept of personal space. She ended up acting as a perfect foil to my own personality, considering I was perpetually grumpy and lazy. To add to this, she was a few years younger than me and fit the 'sidekick' role perfectly while still dragging me around. I can't help but think that was somehow intentional, but I wasn't going to ponder the extent of Her influence here.

…I had realized too late I had no idea what the name of my 'new friend' was. It made me feel a little guilty, considering they were obviously doing this out of both boredom and a lack of contact. I'd have to apologize the next chance I get.

No I don't forgive them for tossing me into another world like a paper plane, it just pays to be considerate.

Anyways, this began a long train of cases to solve and me bumbling my way through them. I can't count how many times I would just flat-out bullshit things or pull things out of a legal framework just to stall for time to create believable acquittals or cases. Surprisingly, and thankfully, I never ran afoul of Edgeworth or Franziska…I guess they were too busy dealing with Wright. I ran into Phoenix a few times. You kind of get over the 'personal hero' part of meeting someone in the flesh when you realize they're just as if not more of a dork than you are. Not that I didn't enjoy trading 'oh god fuck this case' stories with him. Met Maya a few times, too. Nice girl. Kat didn't like her much, though.

Years pass and I get used to the atmosphere of crazy cases after a while. I meet Apollo, and I can't help but pull the 'youngsters these days' card anytime I did. Kat, meanwhile, graduated and became an actual detective herself. She kept breaking into my office to drag me along on new cases, almost out of habit. I was disturbed by how much I was getting used to it, surmising that I had just surrendered to the comedy routine by now. I don't know whether I was maturing or just accustomed to it.

I had a reputation as a gruff but decisive defense attorney, which was amazing because I still have no idea what I'm doing.

Then, the decade turned in the middle of me stargazing one night, and I was launched screaming off into the horizon again. A second voice near me told me that Kat was on the same train, as well. The routine would continue, and this was just the beginning.

[Bodymod]
Build: Medium
Body Type: Bodybuilder [500]
Stats:
Strength 2
Endurance 3 [150]
Dexterity 2 [400]
Sense 2 [300]
Appeal 2 [250] [100]
Shape 1 [200]

Perks:
Height 1
Metavore [0]

[Cosmic Warehouse]
Utilities:
Electricity [140]
Plumbing [130]
Heat/AC [120]

Structures:
Shelving
Housing [100]
Medbay [80]
Terminal [0]

Misc:
Portal [50]
Return [30]
Stasis Pod [10]

Finally, we landed. I was inside of a metallic Warehouse…and I was back in my old body. No, that wasn't quite right. I felt more robust. Definitely more fit than I was when I first left. I turned over to Kat was next to me, likewise looking a bit younger, like she was back in college.

Then she collapsed, panting, and putting her hands on the metallic ground as if to check it was real. I went over to her from concern before a familiar voice broke the silence.

"You're back!" It was Her, sitting on a couch and beaming at the both of us. Our first meeting had become such a tiny memory in my head, but it all came flooding back to me.

"You…what the hell was that all about, huh?!" I said, walking over to her, feeling a mix of anger and relief that I wouldn't be stuck in the world of Phoenix Wright forever, but she had tossed me around like a damned baseball to another world in the first place. She didn't seem bothered by my outburst, clapping her hands.

"I sent you to another world to be somebody! And wow, you were something!" She said with genuine mirth and cheer. "You managed to pull on through with only the stuff you started with! I was right, you are something!"

Somehow, that didn't feel like much of a compliment, considering the number of close calls. Besides, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did without Kat's help. Speak of, after coughing a few times, she demanded to know what was going on.

"So…you're from another world?" Kat asked, looking at me, obviously perplexed. "How come you never talked about this until now?...are you on drugs? Am -I- on drugs?"

"It was a long and unbelievable story," I said, honestly. "Besides, it's not like it mattered much until now, right?"

"…you're full of crap." Kat said, glowering at me. I just raised my hands defensively while She laughed at the both of us.

"You're both so fun to watch! I bet it'll be even better in the next world!" She said with a big smile. That set off alarm bells in my head and I quickly spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait! I don't wanna do this anymore! I wanna go home!"

The empty Warehouse became dead silent as She looked at me, tilting her head and looking at me in confusion. "But…why? Didn't you have a lot of fun compared to where you came from?" That catches me off guard, and I fall silent. I couldn't deny it. I felt like being a cartoonish defense lawyer was more fulfilling than where I came from. "Once you go home, I won't be able to see you anymore. You'll be too far for me to reach back for," She added. "But…if you wanna stay longer, I can keep it going for a very long time. You'll meet new people, do new things, and get great power!"

"Great…power?" Kat mumbled, biting her lip.

I stopped and considered my options. There was a danger to visiting other worlds like this. Sure, it had been lots of fun, but the cons outweighed the pros at a glance. But what was keeping me from really refusing wasn't the temptation of more power or more adventures, though the latter did stick out in my mind.

It was Her sad face at the idea of being alone again.

I sighed, relented. "Fine. Not like I'm losing any time out here, right?"

She beamed again and clapped her hands, and then Kat interjected. "W-wait, hang on! I want in on this, too!"

"Kat, don't you have a job to go back home to…?" I asked her warily.

"Well, yeah, but it's boring! It's just murder cases and weird hairstyles out there? You're saying we can go on adventures and get cool stuff this way? Then heck yeah I'm in, sign me up!...where am I supposed to sign, Anon?"

"That's okay! You're here because you're a new companion!" The girl said as she hopped off the couch and walked away.

"Companion…?" But I didn't get an answer, with her raising her finger.

"I gave you some stuff to keep on the road! Be sure to use it when you're in a pinch!"

And then we were launched off into the ether again.

Jump 02: Batman - The Animated Series
Origin: Vigilante
Age: 20 [Free Pick?]
Perks:
Timm Design
Gimmick
Secret Identity
Friend of the Police
The Flying Jumper [1600]
Disappearing Act [1500]
Martial Discipline [1300]
"Peak Human" [1100]
All-Star Training [800]

Items:
Costume
+Body Armor [200]
+Utility Belt  [0]
Jumper Industries [550]
Jumper Computer [450]
Stately Jumper Manor [250]

Companions:
Rogue Gallery
Companion Import - Kat Wellengood [700]
Origin: Vigilante
Perks:
Timm Design
Gimmick
Friend of the Police
Secret Identity
The Flying Jumper [500]
Martial Discipline [300]
World's Greatest Mind [0]

Items:
Costume

Drawbacks:
Just A Man [1300]
No Killing Rule [1400]
Mass Hysteria [1500]
Rogue Gallery [1700]

A downpour falls onto a dreary street. A tired, old radio plays in the distance, the lyrics barely heard over the falling rain.
>"..ouds of mystery pourin'…confusion on the gr-"
A gunshot echoes into the street, an open hand falling down onto the ground, lifeless. A pair of boots run into the rain in a hurry, splashing
>"…good men through the ages…"
A pair of shadows emerge from the darkness and leap to the assailant. He fires a shot. He does not fire a second, falling down into the pool of rainwater on the concrete.
>"…tryin' to find the sun…"
A masked man holds down the culprit before slapping a pair of handcuffs on the thug. A shorter figure in a mask looks down inquisitively, her outfit colored a red and black with a flowing cape behind her.
>"…and I wonder, still I wonder…"
High above, a signal light shines into the sky, marked by the symbol of a Bat.
>"…who'll stop the rain."

[spoiler]This is going to need more than a few posts. Full version forthcoming.[/spoiler]

I had an entire lifetime of memories poured into my mind. A life where I had bumbled my way through the career of a defense attorney. A life where I had been living in a simple, unremarkable home for most of my life. And then I remembered that most of that was where I had just come from, and the life I had lived in Gotham was both backstory and setting-dressing.

I feel like I should be having a serious existential crisis right now, but I decide to chalk it up to 'reincarnation lol' and not think about it too hard. Overthinking things is what gets me into trouble, anyhow. So I'm the last living heir of an expansive technological company, rival to Wayne Enterprises, called Voyager Industries. The similarities are uncanny, except while Bruce Wayne's parents died of a gunshot in an alley, mine had died in a car crash caused by hedonism and poor life choices. I suppose that's why 'this' me doesn't feel much angst over the whole thing.

I can't help but wonder if that's just my benefactor showing mercy to me.

Anyways, the company practically runs itself and I get to live large in a mansion. But naturally, I felt obligated to do something about the crime on the streets. Past me, or 'this' me was inspired by the debut of the Batman to construct a bird-themed costume and train to become a vigilante and clean up the streets of Gotham. Internally, I couldn't help but mock the notion. "Yeah, and there will be kittens and puppies and sunshine forever." I knew damn well things wouldn't get any better in Gotham and it was likely beyond my power to fix.

Still, it would be a fun distraction, right?

After years of wanting to punch people in a silly courtroom, I finally have the body and training to do it. I try out my new martial mastery in training and find that I'm definitely a lot better coordinated than I've ever been in my life, feeling an adrenaline high from the experience. It was…intoxicating. Before, I had to work with what I had gotten and had to make do. Now, all the right tools were in my hands. I can do this. I can win against whatever they throw at me. Just like Batman, right?

Of course, stupid me had forgotten that Batman had been in plenty of unpleasant spots, especially in this iteration.

But luckily, I didn't have to face it alone. I would be joined by my trusty sidekick who was both smarter and more hot-headed than I, Katrina W. Good. The two of us, we'd take to the streets of Gotham and turn criminals in wherever we found them. It was, simply put, exciting. Running along rooftops, getting new tech to tackle the crooks with, the thrill of a chase and being a costumed detective and having a cozy home to return to…it was a dream come true.

Of course, no superhero story is complete without an archenemy.

There was a third childhood friend in my backstory, from a rich family. His name was Michael. His family's company was a pharmaceutical enterprise called NuLife. We had consulted him a few times on things like the Joker's laughing gas or biological agents some of the more colorful rogues used. One day, he disappeared without a trace. We searched high and low, but couldn't find him anywhere.

Almost a year later, he returned…different. His facial blemishes were gone, his appearance looked almost angelic. I remember him having a calm smile before he tore an innocent man's throat inside-out with a lazy grab of his hand.

Whatever happened to him, whatever he did, he had become a serial killer with an almost serene calm behind him. His supervillain name was 'Smile'. His body could heal injuries almost instantly, and change shape and biology at will. We soon began a game of deadly cat-and-mouse with a supervillain who knew our secret identities and had become a complete monster. And what tore at me the worst is that I had no idea how it happened. If I had been someone watching this on TV, I would have seen a backstory episode, some kind of scene showing his fall. But I didn't. It just happened, and had created my first -real- enemy.

Batman had the Joker. I had Smile.

It came down to an out-of-costume fight to the death as Smile burned down the manor around us. He had stabbed Kat in the stomach before tossing her out a window. I remember me crying out in both rage and despair at everything happened, before I began to fight the shapeshifting madman. It went as well as you'd expect - close range combat with Smile was like trying to catch a gust of wind with your hands, and I was on the ropes as I tumbled back. And because of my own hesitation, I couldn't bring myself to even attempt a killing blow, even against a monster like this. Why, why, why did I have to spare someone like this?

I didn't have time to contemplate this as my body was pierced by several flesh-needles, along my arm and my knee, restricting my movement as Smile approached. I asked why he was doing this. Why he had turned into this. True to his name, he just grinned at me and tapped his sharpened fingers, showing me that he was going to take his time.

Luck was the only thing that saved me. I had dragged the fight on long enough that a burning piece of wreckage from the roof had collapsed on top of him. There was no outcry, not lament of pain. Just laughter. He said something I could barely hear over the roaring inferno as I limped out to my escape, burned and wounded, trying desperately in my haze to find Kat.

I found her on the grass, motionless. No heartbeat. No warmth. Nothing. Desperately, I carried her along to the walls surrounding the property even as the mansion burned down behind us, setting her down in the Medbay before I collapsed into the bed opposite of her, letting the machines do the work as I struggled to remain conscious.

I remember the 'dead' status screen flashing over her bed. Nothing in the Warehouse but the sound of my own labored breathing, the fire outside, and the sound of a flatline. Only when I had no more strength to spare and prayed the equipment would do the rest of the work, I mercifully gave into unconsciousness.

When I woke up, the only thing I could feel was soreness and pain from my wounds. The lights of the Warehouse ceiling glaring down at me as I felt the strain of trying to sit up. I looked over to the side and saw that Kat's bed was empty. I blinked in confusion before rubbing my eyes and trying to figure out what had happened, before someone cleared their throat next to me.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Batman said.

I screamed.

"Hey, what are you screaming about?" Kat asked, opposite of me.

I screamed louder.

Since I had left the Portal open overnight and Batman had been tracking Smile's activities independently, he had shown up just in time to see me limp into the Warehouse with Kat in tow. Apparently he had figured out who we were and what we were doing a while ago and saw this was a good time to act on his hunch, and now I had inadvertently revealed it went further than that. He hid the Portal from view and let the police do the rest of the work in the background.

As for Kat…I felt this weird mix of confusion, fear, relief, and happiness all at once. Is there a word for that? I'll go with 'overwhelmed'. The last thing she remembered was talking to me in the mansion about where Smile's movements were heading, and then she was suddenly in the Warehouse. She didn't remember the half-hour leading into her death.

I dodged the subject.

So, with no other way to explain the interdimensional portal thing, I explained the 'Jumper' thing to Batman. He was incredulous at first, saying this wasn't a game, but relented by citing the amount of good we had done on our own. Though, I feel like he had sympathized with us due to similar situations…at least, 'backstory' us. He suggested we get out of the superhero business and move out of Gotham, because we wouldn't be safe from Smile or other Rogues. Go figure, no one had found his body.

When we refused despite his protests…that is, Kat refusing despite his protests…he made it clear it was too dangerous for us to be working alone. More than just out of concern for us, I think he wanted to keep an eye on us out of suspicion from the whole 'Jumper' thing. All things considered, I'd probably have done the same thing in his position.

And that's how we got strong-armed into the Bat-family.

From there on, things felt more…episodic. We met colorful foes, brought them to justice, had to deal with Arkham's revolving door problems, and then fought again. Smile would go on to haunt us for the majority of the jump, and the fear of death had been drilled into my mind after that harrowing experience. Crime-fighting wasn't an exciting thrill anymore. It was a job, and a very risky one. Kat still wonders why I looked so miserable most of the time, almost like I was foreshadowing the jaded cynic Batman would become years down the line.

And still, one thing still haunted me, above all else. The words Smile uttered to me before the mansion finished burning down…

"Life is but a dream."


The world spun and we were in the void again, the Warehouse floating in the middle of Nowhere and Fucked If I Know. She was standing there, still wearing a heavy jacket that covered a lot of her body, and baggy jeans to compliment it. I could hear Kat groaning in disappointment. "Aw, come on, we were in the middle of a case!"

"I could send you back to live there?" She offered with a friendly smile. I immediately raised my hands in protest. "No, no, that's fine! Gotham's fine without us! B-besides, time doesn't move while we're gone, right? Ahaha…haha…"

Kat folded her arms and tilted her head. She looked at me curiously and poked her own chin once.

"You look tired."

No shit I was tired.

"Maybe I should've started with something a little easier…I'm sorry. I saw you wanted something more exciting, so I picked a big superhero place. I was gonna send you to Metropolis next, too!"

Oh sweet mother of God, no. She must have seen my reluctance or read my mind, because she immediately changes gear.

"Buuuuuut if you wanna take a break for a while, I know a nice and cozy place to send you next!"

"Cozy is…cozy is good. Yeah. Let's do cozy." I said. Kat rolled her eyes behind me, folding her arms and mumbling something. Unlike me, she hadn't lost her hunger for adventure or excitement. The difference had driven a slight wedge between us.

"Alright, how abooooooout…Central Asia!"

"I mean I can get beh-wait, what."

Too late. The void around us spun and the world changed once again…

[spoiler]Build and write-up forthcoming.[/spoiler]

Jump 03: Otoyomegatari
Location: Tehran, Persia
Culture: Foreigner
Background: Traveler
Age: 21
Perks:
Eye for Detail
Everyone Has Their Own Way
A Rolling Stone [900]
Doctor [700]
Warrior Blood [600]
Archery [200]
Journeyman
Calculator [0]

Items:
Period Wear
Traveler's Satchel
An Abacus

Companion:
Guide - Ulmes (New!)
Perks:
Warrior's Blood
Steppe Rider
Archery

Drawbacks:
Awkward [300]

Thankfully, this time didn't involve having a lifetime of context shoved into my brain, except now I only have a vague idea of where I am. Kat appears next to me, a little bit younger all over again, and immediately complains about the heat of where we ended up. Good old Kat. We head in the direction of civilization before a young man on horseback approaches us. I understand enough of his speech that he introduces himself as Ulmes, and offers to be our guide along the plains. Convenient.

Ulmes is taciturn, even when I take the time to learn the local language more fluently. He's direct, to the point, and usually handles any cultural or navigation problems we have with gusto. When I asked him about why he had approached and decided to follow us in particular, he answered with something along the lines of, "The stars guided me." Apparently he thought it was destiny he joined me and Kat.

Anyways, we wandered about Central Asia and near the Middle East, something I was amazingly leery of because of how much of my modern memories had followed me. But aside from The Great Game and periodic troubles with some riders, things were relatively calm for us. So we wandered.

A few oddities happened about a month into my stay, I received a note detailing the current wealth of Voyager Industries and that their technology was ready for delivery again. It took me a few minutes to figure out what was wrong with that sentence, because I thought it was going to be left behind me in Gotham. It even came with an address to my mansion, which had been transported a day's walk nearby, and no one paid it any mind. I try thinking about how this property fuckery works. After the migraine kicked in, I decided not to question it further.

Kat kept insisting we help the locals or fight crime like the good old days. I had to chastise her that superhero antics wouldn't fly in this world, but it just served as fuel for more arguments. It didn't help that as I tried to unwind, I could still see what happened in Gotham in my sleep. The Joker. Smile. All of it. The fire. It's still there when I close my eyes, and I wake up with shivers and shakes.

I'm scared. Call me a coward, but I'm scared of running into something like that again. I just want to let go and not worry about it. Things will resolve themselves without me, won't they? I'm a Jumper, just the same as an uninvited tourist or a background character. I shouldn't be throwing myself headlong into danger. It's normal to be scared, right…?

We wander and mark the stars, sometimes going back to the manor, something journeying around the surrounding areas again. Ulmes and I made it a habit to compete together in archery contests, trying to see who could make the farthest and most accurate shot on prey. Even though I had amazingly good training and perks backing me up, he managed to show me up consistently enough that I was convinced he wasn't human. He just smiled and said, "Good string, good arm." Or something like that. I was too flabbergasted to process it right. But no matter how hard I look, I can't find peace or a place of rest.

"Life is but a dream."

It's just the end of an old children's song. So why has it stuck with me this whole time…? I shouldn't give thoughts to the words of a madman, but…

…no. No use dwelling on it. I'll just…enjoy life as it unfolds. I have to.

There was no intermission this time. We just went from one place to another, Ulmes in tow. He didn't seem to mind very much, at least when he calmed down and we explained we hadn't been cursed or something.

A brief pause, and then…

Jump 04: Rurouni Kenshin
Age: 26
Origin: Wanderer
Perks:
Distant Sky
A Wandering Fool [900]
The Will To Live [700]
Man Slayer [400]
Identifying Scar
Warrior's Spirit
Unique Style
Shinsoku [100]
Heart of Sword x3 [-200]

Items:
A Good Blade
Meiji-Era Clothes
Traveler's Bag

Companions:
Destiny
The Eight Samurai [-400] - Importing Katrina and Ulmes

Katrina
Origin: Wanderer
Perks:
Distant Sky
A Wandering Fool [300]
Man Slayer [0]
Identifying Scar
Warrior's Spirit
Unique Style

Items:
A Good Blade
Meiji-Era Clothes
Traveler's Bag

Ulmes
Origin: Citizen
Perks:
Honest Work
Identifying Scar
Warrior's Spirit
Unique Style
Heart of Sword x3 [100]
Unique Style
Ogre x1 [0]

Items:
A Good Blade
Meiji-Era Clothes
Basic Cooking Gear

Drawbacks:
"Jumper. You have a successor." [-100]
Oro? [0]

Next time on writechain: [spoiler]Fucking everything goes wrong when a normal Jumper situation gets a perspective flip.[/spoiler]

We appeared in the middle of Kyoto, not much fanfare to our arrival except another letter informing me where the mansion was and that Voyager Industries was still producing whatever I would need. I was never going to get over how surreal that was. Anyways, I knew the world pretty well, though we were pretty far away from Kenshin and company…I think. I don't know, my memory isn't that sharp at this point. I think I can be forgiven for forgetting a bit of media after this many years.

Kat insisted we spar more often to hone both our new skills and retrace our old ones. I couldn't help but agree. Thanks to the imported memories, Ulmes took the change to Japan in stride. I was surprised, but when I asked him if he felt different or discomforted by what had happened, he just shrugged and sipped on sake.

I later learned Ulmes REALLY liked alcohol.

Along the way, I met a few colorful characters, though these ones weren't poised to kill me. One I can't help but note is Akari Inoue, someone who we met early on and gave us shelter after a bar brawl. She's…witty, kind, polite, gentle, soft-spoken and…um. I'm dwelling too much on it. I can't help but enjoy being around her everything I've dealt with, but Kat doesn't like her for some reason. I don't really mind at this point. It's clear we have very different ideas on how to spend the decade.

I was content to let things be, maybe try and find Kenshin and company just so I could meet one of my personal heroes. That's when the whispers and rumors started. Of a demon who stalked in the night, who had slaughtered hundreds and strung their bodies up by their own flesh. I ignored it, at first. Then the rumors became panic, and I realized this was no assassin at work.

It was a serial killer.

Unable to ignore the problem any longer when bodies were started to be displayed on the streets, we went to confront the problem. As if sensing our approach, the monster responsible pulled out the police and the military together in an open field confrontation. Cannons, gatling guns, soldiers…and none of it even slowed them down.

I could see him, standing in the field, before his eyes turned to look at us, almost glowing facial features even as his entire body was covered in blood and gore.

Smile.

I almost screamed. I couldn't believe it. He should be back at Gotham. I didn't have time to contemplate how this had happened until he came darting towards us. I don't remember what happened next. I fought. But I guess we lost. I only remember Ulmes falling to the floor before I passed out. Kat and I survived. Ulmes didn't, his skull caved in and torn in a bloodied mess.

We retreated to the Medbay, and sure enough, Ulmer was fine the following morning. Kat was the smartest of us, so she put two and two together quickly and realized what I had been keeping secret and why I was so protective of her and trying to keep us out of trouble. She didn't take it well. She said that if she'd just come back each time, then her safety shouldn't matter and I should have taken advantage of it more. It was…surreal to hear her say that, shrugging off her own death so easily. She said something like 'well it's not like I remember it, so who cares?'

We had bigger problems, though. Smile was carving a long and bloody path through all of Japan and the body counts was quickly turning it into a disaster. We gave chase. Tried to slow him down. For three long years.

Everything was just a blur of death and violence. Sometimes against people that Smile would somehow 'puppeteer', attaching tiny parasites of flesh to individuals and making them burst out like bloody surprise presents. Sometimes, I would even recognize the puppets, especially as the years raged on. The baker who had sold us food in the morning. The nice girl at the tea house. The retired samurai without a purpose.

Our party was held together only by grim determination. Ulmes believed that it was our destiny to end this apocalypse before it continued further, and never once did his resolve break. Kat became progressively jaded and willing to set fire to anything in our way if it meant bringing Smile down. Near the end, she said it was all my fault this happening in the first place. I don't know if she's right.

At some point, someone found the mutilated remains of a red-headed swordsman with a scar on his cheek.

The world around us became just as desperate as a sizable chunk of Japan's population was wiped out in the years-long massacre. It was only a matter of time before the Great Powers from outside sent adventuring and military parties…some of them were even honest in their intent to take down the monster. Most simply carved up the empty land as new territory for themselves, ensuring Japan would fall to the same fate as its neighbors in Asian - a sphere of influence for the Western powers outside. Only some of them survived Smile's movements.

Only at the end did destiny smile on us: Voyager Industries made a way to finally kill Smile by turning his own biology against him. A chemical agent we could attach to bullets or coat our swords with. The lines were drawn and we managed to convince a regiment of the surviving police to help us. Just us and Smile, on a bloodied and broken continent. We used everything. Gatling guns, cannons, katanas, any of the surviving swordsmen who had answered the call to war…the fire swing from one blade belonging to a miraculously-alive Shishio, Hajime Saito engaging Smile in melee while archers fired burning arrows at the monster, with everyone using any weapon they could craft or grab. It didn't slow him down for long. But just long enough.

I pulled him into close quarters, in a nearby castle. Just him and me. Just like old times. Kat had already fallen, Ulmes on his last limp before I charged and fought him. Every distraction exhausted, every resource spent, I drew my poisoned blade and made use of the techniques this world had taught me.

It didn't work right away, but it worked fast enough. The venom would cause his flesh to bloat, wart, and rot as his shapeshifting became less fluid, looking less like a man and more like a crawling pile of meat. His healing factor stunted, it turned into a desperate melee as we tried to kill the other before we ourselves died, until I was left bleeding on the floor with him overlooking me.

He said something to me. I couldn't make any sense of it over the flesh and pus in his throat, but it sounded like he was laughing. He was towering over me, my sword broken and without many options left beyond one last desperate grapple.

That's when I saw an arquebus pointed directly at Smile's head, held by one Akari Inoue. It was the specialized one I had prepared in case I had failed to engage him in melee, but I hadn't bothered with it due to how unreliable firearms. Smile turned to look at her, and for a brief moment, looked astonished that a Japanese peasant girl was holding him at gunpoint.

She pulled the trigger and his skull exploded into a bloodied mess on the floor.

The disaster had finally come to an end. Once the monster was put down and political lines were starting to be drawn, long-awaited questions demanded answers. Who I was. Where I came from. How I knew how to deal with Smile. How my company managed to acquire technology that, by all rights, looked almost like witchcraft to the current era. I didn't stick around to answer. I went into hiding. I had gotten very good at it.

The only reason I was alive was because Akari saved my life. When I asked why, the only answer she gave me was that she didn't want me to be alone.

The decade passed, and my half-remembered, beloved tale of samurai and romance lay in ruins behind me.

I had words to exchange with my benefactor.