Jump 355: Samurai Jack

Jump #355: Samurai Jack
>Ace of Wands, reversed: The herald of birth, invention, or upheaval.
>Age: 22
>Location: The Dome of Doom
>Identity: Drop-In
>Drawbacks: (+300) Fifty Years Have Passed..., Bloodless Violence, The Dome of Doom
Looks like I'm going to be here for the long haul. The especially annoying thing is that I could probably kill Aku myself... but unfortunately there are many reasons why such a course of action is not desirable. Fortunately, most of the issues I'll face won't require my blade to be blooded, which is crucial. Even starting at the Dome of Doom doesn't mean I have to actually kill my opponents. Just hold them off until I win.
>Navigation (Free, Drop-In)
Well, it never hurts to know the way around.
>Acrobatics (1200)
I'm going to be doing a lot of moving about. It's important to stay in shape.
>Polyglotism (1100)
Being able to speak everyone's language is helpful, too.
>Martial Arts (1000, Drop-In)
Just in case I don't want to use my sword. Or if I find someone living.
>Shapeshifting (600)
Useful. Rarely used, but this is practically unlimited shapeshifting, if imperfect.
>Enhanced Senses (Free, Drop-In)
>Enhanced Agility (500, Drop-In)
>Enhanced Stamina (400, Drop-In)
>Enhanced Durability (200, Drop-In)
Let's call the four of these the "I want to actually live through fifty years of the future that is Aku" package.
>Enchanted Weapon (0, Drop-In)
Another upgrade for the Black Blade. I'm almost certain it was already unbreakable and able to affect the intangible or purely magical... but honestly, why take chances?

And so it came to pass that fifty years had passed from the time that the samurai called Jack found himself flung into the future by the vile being that called itself Aku. Jack himself had continued to rove the lands all time, although being beaten down by time, the temptation of ending his own life loomed.

The Daughters of Aku confronted the samurai, who did truly try to kill him. Everything he was, everything he had, all destroyed by them. Save for the magic sword that he'd lost years before. He was hunted by them and turned his blade on one of them, only realizing they were human beings when he engaged one directly; he sliced Avi from shoulder to hip with a dagger that he used to collapse the temple, and when she stumbled and fell against the wall her mask cracked and fell off. Still, he collapsed the temple and fled.

The seven of them caught up to him in a snowfield. Jack systematically disabled them; he thought he'd killed one, and though she was slow, she still kept up with the others. There was no need for him to go that far. Certainly it took more restraint, it made the fight a bit closer than it might have otherwise been, but things ended much the same. Jack and Ashi fell from the cliff; the other six, broken and bleeding, were found by a wandering traveller.

When Jack and Ashi made it back to the mainland some time later, they found the traveller waiting for them, in a meditative pose. In front of him, a fire, and to either side... six young girls, also in meditative poses. Jack and Ashi prepared for battle once they disembarked, only to find the man holding up a hand. Looking at the six girls, they saw none wielded their weapons, still sitting in meditation.

>"It has been a very long time since I have seen you," Jack said hesitantly, raising a hand as well. After glancing at her sisters, Ashi did the same.

"Nearly fifty years, old friend," answered the traveller, smiling warmly, lowering his hand. "I seem to have run across a few of your, er... friends. I told them that you would bring their sister to them, safe and sound."

>"Yeah," Ashi murmured, uncomfortably, looking between them and Jack, as though preparing herself for violence. Jack nodded a small bit, concern on his face. "We've had much to speak of," replied the samurai. "But she is blinded by hate."

"As are they all," the traveller added. "But despite this they are honorable. The girls have given their word that if their sister was returned safely, they would at least hear you out before ... how was it put? Resuming the chase for their destiny." He sighed, shaking his head a small bit, before standing and looking behind himself, beyond the beach. "I miss this place," he admitted softly. "It was beautiful once. Do you remember the cherry trees?"

>"Yes, I do," the samurai said with a sigh, as he joined the traveller sitting at the fire. The six girls were no longer meditating, but were silent, watching. Ashi stepped over to join them, uncertainly sitting with the others. "Once they stretched as far as the eye could see..."

As time went on, the samurai and the seven girls spoke of many things. The stars in the sky. The life in the ocean. Even the trivial, insects such as ladybugs. Ashi was taught by the traveller to meditate as he had taught the other six. While they had mixed reactions, Jack promised to show them the truth in the morning. And they once more promised to withhold the pursuit of their destiny until he had done so.

They left the traveller behind to his meditation, and saw the blasted groves. The cities. The ruins of villages. They discovered the truth of Aku and were universally repelled. And as one, they followed Jack, now a surrogate father and a much more worthy one than any parental figure they'd known before.

Jack rediscovered purpose with them, just as they found redemption with him. They did what they could to make things better; in time, Jack once more was able to return to where he had lost his sword, and rediscover it while facing the truth of who he had become, against who he wanted to be.

One of the daughters of Aku against an army was a victory. Seven? Hardly a battle. Their mother arrived and attempted to assassinate the samurai personally, and found the seven of them a unified front against her. She tried to fight them. Tried to engage them. They repelled everything she threw at them. And in the end, when it seemed she might finally win... she fell from the cliff to the sea, dashed upon the rocks below.

And so it came to pass that the samurai called Jack and the seven girls who called themselves his daughters came to his tower to confront him, an army at their back. When Aku prepared to flee, he realized that the seven of them were a part of him. He did his best to take control of them... not expecting them to be able to draw on their bonds between each other, the bond that had developed with the samurai. They resisted. It was uncertain at first, but rapidly... they'd resisted and found themselves instead empowered. And then they began to openly fight.

>"How dare you talk back to your father!"
>"You're NOT our father."
>"Yes I am!"
>"No. He is."
>"FOOLS!"

And when Aku prpeared to flee, Ashi realized: "We have his powers."

Jack was sent back by the seven girls, and they fled the bleak future with him. When they arrived in the past, they scattered and left Jack to his grim work; the seven of them felt Aku leave the mortal plane as the tower collapsed. Jack returned to his home, his adoptive daughters with him.

The celebrations of Aku's defeat rung throughout the world and lasted for days on end.

As the celebration drew to a close, an otherworldly aircraft of silver and gold set down at the docks. A traveller disembarked, robed in a garment that looked like the night sky, and strode forth to meet the samurai and his girls.

>"It has been a very long time since I have seen you," Jack said, clasping the traveller's hand.

With a smile, the traveller said, "Not so long as it seems. My time in this world has drawn to a close, but I was granted leave to bring the Epoch here so that I might see all of you one last time. Ladies, I'm pleased to see you well."

>They bowed their heads. Avi said, quietly, "We still owe you a debt."

He waved a hand. "Pah! Think nothing of it. You went through a terrible ordeal. I'm simply happy to have helped unshackle you from what your destiny might have been. Even if the future Aku created never came to pass... life is what you make of it."

>Ashi froze, a look of horror slowly overtaking her face. "Without Aku... we would have never existed." Identical looks of horror grew upon the faces of her sisters and the samurai himself.

"You're not wrong," the traveller murmured, inclining his head. "But you recall the meditation, on the beach? As I said when I showed you all... destiny may not lead you where you expect. I helped unshackle you from those chains, even if they might have sought to reach back in time. You are all safe here. I saw to it."

>"Thank you, my friend. It seems we owe a greater debt than we knew." The samurai, and the daughters of Jack, bowed deeply, looking up only when the traveller started laughing once more.

"Ha! No, it is I who owe you a debt. You've saved countless people, it's about time someone helped save you as well. No, you are part of why I am who I am, my friend, more than you could ever know. If you want to repay any debt you feel you owe... then live your lives. Be happy. I wish all of you you nothing but the best... but it's time for me to move on."

>The samurai smiled. "Safe travels."