Sneaking His Way into the Multiverse (RWBY Jaune, WC-lite mechanics)

[Adudefromthesea]

Someplace light-hearted, I think. Terrifying for them, but lighthearted.

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Equestria confirmed

 

[Tohu]

Equestria confirmed

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Imagine being a human in the world of talking ponies. Or worse, being transformed into one. Tattletale would probably throw up from absurdity and weirdness.

Kinda make me think about their reaction to dimension where it's normally to start singing out of nowhere like in the Disney cartoon. Or something so weird that any attempt to understand it would lead to brain cramps like the Centaurworld. This one is especially scary because the world itself will force any outsider(lol) to bend to its rules and change them both physically and mentally. Don't let me even start with Nowhere King. This guy is more scary than Salem just because in Remnant flowers and children don't sing about how she would enjoy seeing light leaving your eyes. Just imagine their reaction after hearing it.

Jaune: I know that helping others and fighting evil is kinda my thing but how about get the fuck out of here and never return or even speak about it?

Tattletale: I was about to suggest the same. Now RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!

 

[Lazurman]

Exactly that.
And on Jaune's end, the last big war on Remnant they were using swords and bows still, and since then the cities never saw large scale urban warfare.

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Wait, you're saying something as basic as tactics more advanced than "run at the other guys and hit them until they die" is a foreign concept to Remnant? As the author, and not just Jaune being an ignorant teenage civilian?

That…don't make sense to me. Unless you think Atlas doesn't believe in training its grunts to do anything but stand there and look pretty, something as basic as flanking or covering fire is just simple common sense. Basic stuff you could learn in a game of paintball, much less a military training exercise.

You gotta remember, Huntsmen are a minority in the military, not the majority. The rest are grunts with weak Aura that could block a couple hits, and so would need to fight smarter.

 

[Talimancer2]

Wait, you're saying something as basic as tactics more advanced than "run at the other guys and hit them until they die" is a foreign concept to Remnant? As the author, and not just Jaune being an ignorant teenage civilian?

That…don't make sense to me. Unless you think Atlas doesn't believe in training its grunts to do anything but stand there and look pretty, something as basic as flanking or covering fire is just simple common sense. Basic stuff you could learn in a game of paintball, much less a military training exercise.

You gotta remember, Huntsmen are a minority in the military, not the majority. The rest are grunts with weak Aura that could block a couple hits, and so would need to fight smarter.

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More that the kind of tactics used by a modern military are only really good when used by non-aura'd people vs other non-aura'd people. As a Huntsman Jaune would have no reason to learn about them because he has Aura and therefore has better things to do, and nobody would be dumb but somehow well trained enough to use standard FIBUA tactics against him.

Just because modern style urban combat tactics either don't exist or aren't widely used doesn't mean they don't have any tactics

 

[NineYetis]

Jaune stared in frank disbelief. Did he just unlock his Semblance?

Uh, pardon, but what kind of utter crap was this? What, did Aura have a vector now? People went their entire lifetime never getting their Semblance, and this guy found his in less than a minute of having his Aura awakened! Hacks! Unfair! Sorcery!

"...Good for you," was what he said aloud.

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"Without it up and running, I don't think he can even talk. His Semblance seems to be operating off of that network, letting him lock in specific equations and thought processes within his memory to retain a measure of independent functionality, which would free the network to perform other tasks. The Semblance power of Mental Resource Allocation, in essence. So, how close am I?" she asked the boy on Jaune's back.

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Jaune's jealousy at Acelerators' instant development of his Semblanc is hilarious. Interesting power.

Or they leave that world never knowing about pokemon evolution. Lisa would mess with the Magikarp for fun, always poking it and calling it stupid. Then one day it turns into a Gyarados on her to make her cry.

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That's glorious.

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

Wait, you're saying something as basic as tactics more advanced than "run at the other guys and hit them until they die" is a foreign concept to Remnant? As the author, and not just Jaune being an ignorant teenage civilian?

That…don't make sense to me. Unless you think Atlas doesn't believe in training its grunts to do anything but stand there and look pretty, something as basic as flanking or covering fire is just simple common sense. Basic stuff you could learn in a game of paintball, much less a military training exercise.

You gotta remember, Huntsmen are a minority in the military, not the majority. The rest are grunts with weak Aura that could block a couple hits, and so would need to fight smarter.

Click to shrink...

The main mission of the Atlas military in Remnant's modern age would be to fight Grimm, or to defend walls. Meanwhile, Remnant has four big cities, and they're not seeing the kinds of conflict that would give rise to the Earth tactics of today. For the most part, those guys are going to be trained to fight outside cities, or at the edge of the city with the goal of keeping things out. They're dealing with generally straightforward enemies, where the solution is putting in more firepower until it's dead.

And for the typical skirmishes that the cities would experience, like between law enforcement and gangs, while the Huntsmen are few, I see them as a very useful go-to in those scenarios. When things get tough, why develop new tactics to get with the time, when the person in command could just say "They're too well-fortified in that house. Send in the Huntsman." Which neatly removes the need to form a SWAT team type of unit, along with all the innovations in urban engagements that comes with it.

But let's say Atlas has the mentality of preparing for the next world war with the other kingdoms. The only real precedent they have is the last war, where it was very much waged in a medieval style. Sure, the strategists can get together and hypothesize on how new technology will change warfare, but they're not getting the trial and error experience to refine those ideas down to a doctrine. Chances are pretty good they'd get something that we would look at and think is hilariously flawed in real life.

Basically, the soldiers aren't going to operate with the knowledge and mentality of those from Earth, because they aren't meeting the same challenges. Should war break out for them, it's going to look like the earlier days of World War 1, when dated tactics met new technologies.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

Accelerator's black wings in canon came about due to circumstances requiring that Jaune and Tattletale not be present on the scene to help, since they weren't characters in canon. So the moment they interfered, the scene was shot to hell. It's the consequences of their going into different worlds, and we'll be seeing a lot of that.

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That just means he gets an extra power up for when he needs it, good for him.

 

[thatguy3367]

Wow this story is good, at this rate you're going to make me watch index/railgun.

 

[NineYetis]

Basically, the soldiers aren't going to operate with the knowledge and mentality of those from Earth, because they aren't meeting the same challenges. Should war break out for them, it's going to look like the earlier days of World War 1, when dated tactics met new technologies.

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That's a fair interpretation. Kind of implies that they really figured out Dust and modern tech in the last 80 years tho.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

Noticed that the SB version dissapeared. Wah happened?

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

Noticed that the SB version dissapeared. Wah happened?

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Dunno.
Got the alert "Your thread Sneaking His Way into the Multiverse (RWBY Jaune, WC-lite mechanics) was moved to a different forum."
Except it looks like the thing's deleted. Someone might have had a problem with it, I guess.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

Dunno.
Got the alert "Your thread Sneaking His Way into the Multiverse (RWBY Jaune, WC-lite mechanics) was moved to a different forum."
Except it looks like the thing's deleted. Someone might have had a problem with it, I guess.

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Have you talked with the mods about it?

 

[kalifianto]

Yeah, it's important to note that To Aru *is* supposedly an Urban Fantasy series - with all the magic skulking around in the background ala Dresden, with mortal tech able to fight back AND all the supertech being a monopoly of the Academy City. Fighting magicians (and espers) might require a similar tactic as fighting a Huntsman (especially the Saints and physical-boosting Espers); but they are not widespread enough, nor public enough, for the typical mook or grunt to be experienced in handling. (As we can see from Kihara though, the right mundanes can fight off and trounce magicians and Espers -- for a while, with the right techniques.)*

On the other hand, Remnant is a post-apoc hellscape where the warriors mainly fight Grimms but sometimes each other. And they fight each other like they fight Grimms.

You don't have fireteams. You have Huntsmen teams.
You don't have creeping by fire. You have Semblances and Dust users supporting at close to medium quarters.
You can suppress using automatic gunfire, but the Huntsmen will either endure it or dodge it using superhuman speed.

You don't have Urban combats, mostly, in Remnant. Because the moment you have one, the Grimm overruns you. As in Canon Vale and Mantle.

'* incidentally, Worm earth might be much more supercombatant focused than both To Aru and Remnant combined ...

 

[last admiral]

Question, will Lisa soon will learn and discover the truth about the Worm powers and thus her power, and the whole shebag with alien space whales?

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

Have you talked with the mods about it?

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Okay, turns out it was a problem with the title that got the story taken down on Spacebattles.
Sneaking His Way into the Multiverse (RWBY Jaune, WC-lite mechanics)
The WC part specifically.
I added that so people aren't blindsided. A lot of readers have an aversion on the Waifu Catalog.
Someone reported me because Waifu Catalog means it's a rule-breaking smutfic in their mind. Proof was in the title, story gets taken down.
Mods took second look at it when I ask, and put the story back.

Question, will Lisa soon will learn and discover the truth about the Worm powers and thus her power, and the whole shebag with alien space whales?

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Ooh, nice guess. I have a particular way in mind for her to gain such a revelation.

 

[NineYetis]

Nah, send them to Pokemon.

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Someplace light-hearted, I think. Terrifying for them, but lighthearted.

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I've started watching "if Pokédex entries were literal" and Pokémon would totally shake their world. https://youtu.be/mHJDelljD-M?si=2jFYyFd8sjtErh-m

 

[Lazurman]

The main mission of the Atlas military in Remnant's modern age would be to fight Grimm, or to defend walls. Meanwhile, Remnant has four big cities, and they're not seeing the kinds of conflict that would give rise to the Earth tactics of today. For the most part, those guys are going to be trained to fight outside cities, or at the edge of the city with the goal of keeping things out. They're dealing with generally straightforward enemies, where the solution is putting in more firepower until it's dead.

And for the typical skirmishes that the cities would experience, like between law enforcement and gangs, while the Huntsmen are few, I see them as a very useful go-to in those scenarios. When things get tough, why develop new tactics to get with the time, when the person in command could just say "They're too well-fortified in that house. Send in the Huntsman." Which neatly removes the need to form a SWAT team type of unit, along with all the innovations in urban engagements that comes with it.

But let's say Atlas has the mentality of preparing for the next world war with the other kingdoms. The only real precedent they have is the last war, where it was very much waged in a medieval style. Sure, the strategists can get together and hypothesize on how new technology will change warfare, but they're not getting the trial and error experience to refine those ideas down to a doctrine. Chances are pretty good they'd get something that we would look at and think is hilariously flawed in real life.

Basically, the soldiers aren't going to operate with the knowledge and mentality of those from Earth, because they aren't meeting the same challenges. Should war break out for them, it's going to look like the earlier days of World War 1, when dated tactics met new technologies.

Click to shrink...

While I don't deny that Atlas and Remnant as a whole would have some doctrinal growing pains to look forward to in the event of the Great War Round 2, the example from the last chapter wasn't that. Flanking tactics are something we've had for all of history, arguably stretching back to when Grug distracted Ugg so Dug could unga bunga Ugg while he wasn't looking.

I dunno, I just feel like it's common sense to have your grunts use their brains when fighting a superior opponent, as opposed to just telling them, 'welp, it's a Huntsmen, and we don't have any, so i guess we just die now'.

If I absolutely had to take a buncha soldiers into battle against an Aura'd up OPFOR, that's how I'd do it. Lots and lots of hard hitting, rapid fire guns from as many angles surrounding a killzone as possible. Divide their focus, spread out so they can't blender you all in one go, and mix in some explosive traps for good measure. I'd expect to take horrendous casualties, and most likely still lose, but at least it'd be something to wear them down. It's better than "CHAAARGE! WE GOTTA MAKE THE PROTAGONIST OF THE SCENE LOOK COOL WHEN HE MOWS US DOWN AS WE COME AT HIM ONE BY ONE!"

I know it's not your intention to do so, but I can't help but feel that explicitly stating Remnant hasn't even managed the absolute basics of squad based tactics infantilizes them a bit.

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

While I don't deny that Atlas and Remnant as a whole would have some doctrinal growing pains to look forward to in the event of the Great War Round 2, the example from the last chapter wasn't that. Flanking tactics are something we've had for all of history, arguably stretching back to when Grug distracted Ugg so Dug could unga bunga Ugg while he wasn't looking.

I dunno, I just feel like it's common sense to have your grunts use their brains when fighting a superior opponent, as opposed to just telling them, 'welp, it's a Huntsmen, and we don't have any, so i guess we just die now'.

If I absolutely had to take a buncha soldiers into battle against an Aura'd up OPFOR, that's how I'd do it. Lots and lots of hard hitting, rapid fire guns from as many angles surrounding a killzone as possible. Divide their focus, spread out so they can't blender you all in one go, and mix in some explosive traps for good measure. I'd expect to take horrendous casualties, and most likely still lose, but at least it'd be something to wear them down. It's better than "CHAAARGE! WE GOTTA MAKE THE PROTAGONIST OF THE SCENE LOOK COOL WHEN HE MOWS US DOWN AS WE COME AT HIM ONE BY ONE!"

I know it's not your intention to do so, but I can't help but feel that explicitly stating Remnant hasn't even managed the absolute basics of squad based tactics infantilizes them a bit.

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Okay, I'm finally getting what's happening.

"Hound Dog used tactics different to what he knew. Less Huntsman and more militia, but even then, there was something weird about it. They didn't mount a charge, they repositioned. Two squads were moving up, with both of them doing a maneuver where a pair would advance for a short stretch before the next pair went, circling wide to catch him on either side."

"And on Jaune's end, the last big war on Remnant they were using swords and bows still, and since then the cities never saw large scale urban warfare."

You're reading it like it's portrayed Jaune doesn't know what flanking is, while I intend it as pointing how slow and odd he finds their movements as they try to flank. They're not running like this is a battle as he knows it, they're taking turns with each other like it's not going to get them wiped out.
He knows of existing strategies in his world, comparing what he's seeing to how a settlement's militia behaves. He knows what tactics people would do in a battle according to his history. Only, they don't move in a slow, methodical fashion like these guys, because this type of leapfrogging, covering fire tactics doesn't work on Grimm (that just ignores it) which has been pretty much the Enemy that the military and Huntsmen is designed to fight, and in an older battlefield if you're going to flank, you do it quick, in numbers, and with shields up before the other front get overwhelmed. A flanking maneuver in a medieval battle is still a charge, just not charging in a straight line.

With the advent of firearms, squads can afford to become smaller. Small to the point that a dozen or so people can reliably take an objective. Then the battlefield changed from predominantly in the wilderness to predominantly inside cities and that brought more adjustments. Things become more careful, more slow. People spread out, and move in ones and twos, covering for each other instead of forming a shield wall and marching together.

Problem is, Remnant would not have cause to experience the end result of that yet, and that end result would look different from Earth.
Reasons being: It doesn't work on Grimm, again. Then there's no strings of wars and conflicts inside the four cities where people had to figure out what the best tactics are in practice; even the White Fang happens in the last decade.

Bandits? They live outside the walls, dealt with using methods that can be employed in forests and mountains. Indiscriminate and aggressive.

Huntsmen? They don't fight like regular people, fire one bullet and they're running at us, so most cases where we don't want everybody dead, we would need everyone in position and unloading at once in a very short engagement. It's either we're ready for them, or we're scrambling at an extremely fast pace to put things in motion.

Other soldiers? At this point, they can really only simulate because actual engagements aren't happening on a consistent basis considering the state of the world. And even then, for it to end up like the tactics of Academy City, it requires leaps in logic that we are taking for granted, but is not as obvious as we think because we have hindsight and the history of Earth telling us these things.
It requires a person from Remnant to think "We most often fight outside cities, and our enemies are most often outside cities, but how about we train our people to fight their battles inside cities?", "Let's make a rule right off that in cases of a war inside a city, we follow the humanitarian convention of not bombarding an area due to possible third parties unrelated to the conflict, even though the horrors of such a World War scenario has no precedent yet since that hypothetical war hasn't happen, and this means we should train our people to be very surgical and to minimize collateral damage", "We have Huntsmen, but let's not use them", "Why don't we assume that our enemies don't have Huntsmen, either?"

That battlefield is unrecognizable, the result of a person who had imagined a battle occurring on a different world, playing by different rules. It has little cause to become common practice, as opposed to a curious thought exercise about a niche scenario and perhaps a limited experiment if the person is persuasive enough to get it approved by military higher-ups.

 

[iamnuff]

It's easy to say dumb shit like "Just use tactics when facing down a superior foe."
Actually coming up with a usable tactic on-the-fly while someone with superhuman strength and mobility is trying to seperate your head from your body with a piece of edged metal is an entirely diffrent beast.

 

[Lazurman]

Okay, I'm finally getting what's happening.

"Hound Dog used tactics different to what he knew. Less Huntsman and more militia, but even then, there was something weird about it. They didn't mount a charge, they repositioned. Two squads were moving up, with both of them doing a maneuver where a pair would advance for a short stretch before the next pair went, circling wide to catch him on either side."

"And on Jaune's end, the last big war on Remnant they were using swords and bows still, and since then the cities never saw large scale urban warfare."

You're reading it like it's portrayed Jaune doesn't know what flanking is, while I intend it as pointing how slow and odd he finds their movements as they try to flank. They're not running like this is a battle as he knows it, they're taking turns with each other like it's not going to get them wiped out.
He knows of existing strategies in his world, comparing what he's seeing to how a settlement's militia behaves. He knows what tactics people would do in a battle according to his history. Only, they don't move in a slow, methodical fashion like these guys, because this type of leapfrogging, covering fire tactics doesn't work on Grimm (that just ignores it) which has been pretty much the Enemy that the military and Huntsmen is designed to fight, and in an older battlefield if you're going to flank, you do it quick, in numbers, and with shields up before the other front get overwhelmed. A flanking maneuver in a medieval battle is still a charge, just not charging in a straight line.

With the advent of firearms, squads can afford to become smaller. Small to the point that a dozen or so people can reliably take an objective. Then the battlefield changed from predominantly in the wilderness to predominantly inside cities and that brought more adjustments. Things become more careful, more slow. People spread out, and move in ones and twos, covering for each other instead of forming a shield wall and marching together.

Problem is, Remnant would not have cause to experience the end result of that yet, and that end result would look different from Earth.
Reasons being: It doesn't work on Grimm, again. Then there's no strings of wars and conflicts inside the four cities where people had to figure out what the best tactics are in practice; even the White Fang happens in the last decade.

Bandits? They live outside the walls, dealt with using methods that can be employed in forests and mountains. Indiscriminate and aggressive.

Huntsmen? They don't fight like regular people, fire one bullet and they're running at us, so most cases where we don't want everybody dead, we would need everyone in position and unloading at once in a very short engagement. It's either we're ready for them, or we're scrambling at an extremely fast pace to put things in motion.

Other soldiers? At this point, they can really only simulate because actual engagements aren't happening on a consistent basis considering the state of the world. And even then, for it to end up like the tactics of Academy City, it requires leaps in logic that we are taking for granted, but is not as obvious as we think because we have hindsight and the history of Earth telling us these things.
It requires a person from Remnant to think "We most often fight outside cities, and our enemies are most often outside cities, but how about we train our people to fight their battles inside cities?", "Let's make a rule right off that in cases of a war inside a city, we follow the humanitarian convention of not bombarding an area due to possible third parties unrelated to the conflict, even though the horrors of such a World War scenario has no precedent yet since that hypothetical war hasn't happen, and this means we should train our people to be very surgical and to minimize collateral damage", "We have Huntsmen, but let's not use them", "Why don't we assume that our enemies don't have Huntsmen, either?"

That battlefield is unrecognizable, the result of a person who had imagined a battle occurring on a different world, playing by different rules. It has little cause to become common practice, as opposed to a curious thought exercise about a niche scenario and perhaps a limited experiment if the person is persuasive enough to get it approved by military higher-ups.

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I see. That actually helps a lot. This was ultimately just nitpicking on my end, so I appreciate the detailed responses.

 

[Talimancer2]

Huntsmen? They don't fight like regular people, fire one bullet and they're running at us, so most cases where we don't want everybody dead, we would need everyone in position and unloading at once in a very short engagement. It's either we're ready for them, or we're scrambling at an extremely fast pace to put things in motion.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this is a big thing. Modern military tactics heavily emphasize consistency of fire, where any amount of effective (close enough to the enemy) fire can keep them pinned, so you prioritise always having at least someone firing.

Vs Grimm and especially Huntsmen what you need to prioritise far more is the weight of fire. A bullet or two landing near a Huntsman won't keep them back but if you can fire enough bullets at them it might get them to prioritise dodging over advancing, or if you get really lucky it might overwhelm their Aura. It actually encourages 'firing line' style tactics where pumping out as many bullets as possible is more important than anything else, even taking cover

 

[LazyAutumnMoon]

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

A phone rang into the night. On its screen, a name they did not expect to hear from again, but should have.

Aleister Crowley.

Jaune and Tattletale stared at it for a while, then shared a look. They just screwed the guy over, throwing in their lot with the 'rouge esper' he wanted them to neutralize in order to steal back the kid his forces had stolen. All in all, it's a dynamic that did not bode well for any conversation that may follow. Jaune was the first to break the silence between them.

"Block him?" he suggested.

Pretend they're not home. Run back to the portal. Skip town before he finds them. A fool-proof plan.

Tattletale shook her head, and pointed at the blue container. "He brought peace offerings, and I want to know why."

Of course she did. Always with the knowing.

"Alright, I'm willing to give it a shot, but…let's make a little distance from that box just in case this is a trap and there's a bomb ticking away in there. I've seen the movies. If he says something along the lines of 'you will regret crossing me, muhahaha,' we dive for cover, okay?"

She snickered. "Sounds good, Jaune."

They relocated to the entrance of a nearby shop, a stationery store selling all manners of school supplies. Standing under the overhang, Tattletale pressed the answer button, and set it on speakers.

"Tattletale, Jaune. Greetings," was the first thing said by the voice on the line, still sounding like a chorus distilled into one.

Jaune waited for the incoming tirade, and was rather thrown for a loop when none came, leaving him with a lukewarm pleasantry to respond to. Now that someone did say hello right off the bat, the lack of insults and threats stumped him a bit.

After a beat, he settled on a simple "...Yo."

"Hey?" Tattletale added.

Truly, they were poets.

"A fine night, is it not? There is something about the air after a good soaking rain in autumn. The crispness of it, I suppose. It is beyond compare. Have I ever told you…"

And Crowley went on and on. At first, Jaune hummed along every once in a while to show he was listening, thinking that they would soon get to the matter at hand. By the time Crowley started blathering on about sunsets evanescent and love's forlorn whatever, he was forced to revise that idea. The guy might, in fact, be using them as a sounding board for his crappy romance writings.

Patience stretched to the limit, Jaune snapped, "Okay, what do you want?"

A chuckle came through over the line, amused with undertones that brought to mind of stark sadness and holiday cheer. Confusing as ever, it revealed little of the man's true thoughts. That said, Jaune got the distinct feeling that he had lost some sort of exchange by failing to keep his cool.

"Just my little joke," Crowley said, unapologetic. "As for the purpose of this call, well, I simply wish to commend you on a job well done, and ensure you have received your payment. How are you finding it, by the way? Nothing is missing, I hope."

"I…a job well…what?" Jaune spluttered.

Tattletale cut in, mind awhirl. "He considers what we did to be the outcome he wanted." Despite her difficulties in reading Crowley from his voice, the things said were enough to glean a few details. "As far as he's concerned, we're still on his side."

"You're kidding. He backstabbed us!"

Crowley gasped, sounding oh so fake. "Such a harsh accusation. My thoughts were of the city, and I have only ever assigned you to the tasks where you will do the most good."

"Oh, yeah?" Jaune made certain the man heard the sarcasm.

"Of course. Without your work throughout District Seven, the magician Vento would not have crossed paths with Kamijou Touma, where her containment at a deserted and out-of-sight location slowed the effect of her spell. In the same vein, the assignment which follows—"

"Threw us right in front of Accelerator," he said with an almost snarl. Sure, he could see how there might be sense to that spree of traffic mayhem from what Crowley claimed—people were dropping like flies due to the memetic virus, spell, or whatever it was. He can even agree that it was a good idea to drag Kamijou Touma into the battle, now that he enjoyed the benefit of hindsight. The other boy could handle Vento just fine. But Accelerator? "It was a death sentence. What benefit to the city was supposed to come out of that, then, besides getting rid of us?"

"4 minutes, 26 seconds."

Aaaand he was confused again.

"...Beg pardon?" he said, tilting his head.

Crowley gave another one of his offbeat laughs. "I had much the same reaction at the time." He paused. "Or near enough. Insofar that I am still capable of feeling surprised, at any rate. Most of my estimates place you at just shy of two minutes. The result as transpired was a far outlier, I can tell you that."

Jaune still didn't get it. But Tattletale? Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

"You fucker!" she hissed out. Turning to Jaune, she explained, "He might not have planned for us to die, but he also didn't care if we lived, and never thought we'd win. Our job was the same as Hound Dog, to delay Accelerator. Bodies thrown in the meatgrinder to keep him distracted from rescuing Last Order long enough to serve Crowley's purposes."

So, two minutes. That was the total worth of their lives. Two more, plus twenty six seconds, to make a happy surprise. A surplus they've provided him on top of their value.

Understanding came with an anger that burned cold.

"I think I hate you, Aleister Crowley."

The man took it in stride. "A common refrain, I'm afraid. Although, do not underestimate yourself. Facing Accelerator was no certain end, merely a risk," Crowley corrected. "Between the pair of you, and the anomalous properties you two exhibit, I anticipated a number of possibilities. Survival counted among them, and that is more than could be said of many. Of the available agents that I could send, you were the best for the job, and you proved it."

That sounded so nice. Crowley had nobody better than them!

It did not tell the full story, not with what Jaune knew now of the voice on the line. 'Available agents that I could send' was quite a turn of phrase. It seemed to suggest, but did not mean, everyone in his employ. Not when the task involved fighting Accelerator. Against the strongest esper, victory was unattainable, survival a remote chance. In that scenario, the best people comprised those that one can afford to lose. For Crowley, Jaune and Tattletale topped the list of the expendables.

And yet, something bugged him. Past his anger, there lay curiosity, and it won out.

"I don't get you," Jaune admitted. "In one sense, you calculated events out to a ridiculous degree, down to the seconds. But in another sense, the way you went about it looks… shortsighted."

"Oh?" Crowley waited, clearly waiting for him to elaborate.

"Why lie? I mean, yeah, it got us to the hospital, and to start a fight with Accelerator. Except, if you really believed we could come out of it alive, then the odds of us finding out the truth has to be pretty high, right? Because I'll just bet most of those scenarios involved him sparing us. Why lie, and those lies in particular? It could only blow up in your face."

"No, it wouldn't." Tattletale looked sick. And awed.

From the phone, a hum of agreement. Nothing more, as Crowley allowed Tattletale a chance to pursue the threads she had grasped ahold of.

"Jaune, imagine you had a weapon. A trusty tool that you consider a trump card. Would you prefer that it works once, or a lot of times?"

The surface answer was a choice between one or the other. The answer reading between the lines, was a name.

"Last Order," he said.

Tattletale nodded. "Kihara's an unhinged maniac." There's another one talking to them right now, she need not mention. "He wanted to hurt Accelerator above everything else, and nothing would hurt him worse than losing Last Order. Hell, Kihara gave it a good shot at the end with the computer chip."

"Would you care to hear the simulated chance that he murders her at the conclusion of tonight's events, should he be in position to commit that deed?"

In fact, Jaune did not. His mouth ran faster than he could stop himself.

"What is it, then?"

"96.752% she dies."

Way higher than he ever guessed, yet so much more real from the moment he heard it spoken aloud.

"Kihara is a useful asset. Predictable, despite his quirks. His motivations, his past, his scientific expertise all made him uniquely suited to succeed in retrieving Last Order from Accelerator's care, and to activate the Imaginary District Five project so that we may repel Vento before she plunges the world into eternal slumber."

"But that's one half of the equation," continued Tattletale. "Just as you needed her abducted to deal with the crisis, you needed her rescued after it was over."

"Thus, you. Greedy, but not unduly so, and trusting, up to a point. The story of a child in captivity puts you where you had to be, when you had to be, again and again."

The lies set them against Accelerator, and the lies allied them with Accelerator. After those minutes of delay, it didn't matter that they discovered the ruse. Rather, Crowley counted on it. Even their animosity against him had become a part of the ploy, spurring them to push forward until they stood in an office building, staring down Kihara.

Jaune leaned back against the wall of the stationery store, looking up in a stupor. He swept his gaze across the skyline of Academy City. It no longer seemed as fascinating a world, where science and magic promised a million possibilities.

Accelerator had raised the first red flag, in a sense, of the strangeness below the surface. The boy had been unable to trust adults, and divided the city between them and the students. To color his views so, who else in this place shared Crowley's way of thinking that people were chess pieces and numbers? Too many, Jaune would guess, because Hound Dog was the next clue. They died in droves, traded for seconds at a time as Kihara discarded them like trash.

And now, a confession from the man himself, spoken with the ease of one commenting on what he had for breakfast.

"You can't expect us to believe that you orchestrated events to march so neatly to your tune," Tattletale protested. She was shaking her head, one hand pressing on her temples. "Like…like some kind of Simurgh Thinker plot. It's too contrived… What if just one thing turned out different at the hospital? It could have," she insisted, unwilling to accept they were led along to that degree.

The story had a thousand avenues it might have gone down. A single wrong word by Tattletale, and Accelerator would have pasted them on the walls. A sliver of Aura less, and Jaune would be dead, crushed by rubbles. And later on, they had been so very close to running when the angel emerged within the city.

"Then you die," Crowley answered.

A brief period ensued where Jaune and Tattletale stared at the phone with open mouths.

"Can you say that again?" Jaune finally asked, incredulous. "I could have sworn we were required for a later bit. You know, with the rescue and all."

"Barring your presence, other contingencies would direct Accelerator toward the correct location. They carried an increased risk of him deviating even further outside previous thought patterns, of course, plus other complications, hence my preference that you took up the task. The boy had a nearly 56% probability that he would die outright to Kihara if he went ahead without aid, would you believe it?"

"Sorry, I'm still a little occupied by the fact that after all the talk about us standing a chance, you were completely cool with us dying."

"You were up against Accelerator, Jaune. What did you expect?" Crowley asked, and notes of honest confusion shined through among his myriad emotions, as if to suggest it's Jaune who was being weird.

"I'm not the unreasonable one here!"

Crowley, it seemed, thought otherwise. "Your survival was the best case scenario, I assure you, but had it gone the other way? Well…you would have provided new combat data for Accelerator, moving him ever closer to the next phase, and I would be down two outside variables before their actions can cause further ripples in my city. It was, as the Americans say, a win-win. I had to be a fool to not take that deal."

"Are you serious right now? We spent most of the morning hanging out at a mall, you prick. Literal harmless teenager stuff."

"My point, exactly. You caused a ludicrous amount of problems left and right with just that alone. A dozen organizations were preparing to engage in a public street brawl to grab you. Your odd string of purchases might appear innocent, but it shifted the collected demand data for the Underground Mall ever so slightly, and that's going to lead to a number of hilariously off-tune products hitting the shelves in the future. Then we have Misaka Mikoto, who somehow wrangled a real date out of Kamjiou Touma—I had to revisit my end-of-the-world prediction models for that one, I'll have you know. And even after relocating, there's the matter of the substance you shared with Accelerator…my word, did you have to do that?"

"Yeah? Blame it on the situation you put us in," Jaune said in an accusing tone.

"How troublesome. I'll grant that it contains some academic value, despite its rather distasteful nature—"

"Oh, yes, talk about Aura like it's something dirty. That's really going to endear you to me."

"Forgive me, but I find it a hard thing to accept. Your 'Aura' does not belong in the true world." Crowley sighed. "No matter, it will ensure Accelerator better survives. The benefits outweigh the detriments. A net positive. It won't spread on its own, will it?"

"..."

"Jaune?"

He remained silent. Let the guy worry. Petty as it was, it's one of the few opportunities for revenge he could get, since the man seemed capable of running rings around whatever else he might do.

Another sigh, and Crowley said, "I suppose I will find out in the future, when a new zombie outbreak occurs or some such other problem. In any case, you may find my methods disagreeable, but I hope you see that it, as ever, serves a purpose."

He saw nothing of the sort, and Jaune sniffed in disdain.

(And if a traitorous part of him held a different opinion, then it can get stuffed.)

"What happens now?" he said, somewhat changing the subject. Avoidance of an uncomfortable talk aside, the concern was valid. By Crowley's own admission, the two of them were undesirables to the smooth running of Academy City.

Proving that they did not know him as much as they believed, Crowley said, "I have a new assignment for you, and payment will—"

"Nope," Jaune said, after needing a moment to understand that, yes, the guy was dead serious.

Taking cue from him, Tattletale added her voice to it. "Rejected."

"A shame. Am I to see this as your notice of resignation?"

"Yes, it is. We're not sticking around anyway."

Having confirmed so, Jaune tensed up, as did Tattletale, their hands moving towards the various weapons strapped around themselves. If a real backstabbing (as Crowley considers it) were to happen, now would be the time the trap was sprung, when they severed the tenuous alliance for good. They weren't assets anymore, just a set of unforeseen variables mucking up the equation.

But, screw Crowley, it had to happen. The portal didn't even factor into his decision. Jaune refused to work with the man again after the events at the hospital—it was asking for another betrayal. And who knew how many more children he would hurt without even realizing by heeding the man's request.

"Understood. Then we shall part ways here," Crowley said, unveiling no nefarious intentions that Jaune could detect. The man's amalgamation of voices was quite annoying in these instances. "Please, do take your payment with you. Confirm that there are no traps, if you like."

One whispered argument later, and Jaune approached the blue container. A pile of guns that had run out of ammo appeared on the street, making room for the box to vanish inside his Pocket. Shapes flickered on his upraised palm as he ran down the list of items for Tattletale to study, taking them out and sending them back to form a series of split-second observations. At the end, she nodded in satisfaction.

"No tricks, no bombs, no shortchanging. He pays his bills, at least." She paused at the familiar sound of a drone. One shortly drifted down to deliver another blue box, smaller this time. "What's this?" Tattletale asked, suspicion making a comeback.

"A bonus. In appreciation of a job well done."

Ugh. He hated how there was a brief pang of gratitude welling up in him, a sense of 'oh, hey, he's not such a bad person' that Jaune would bet was the point of this move. A bribe to assuage their feelings, so as to dissuade further retaliations.

"Thanks, I suppose," he said with reluctance.

"You are welcome."

What a polite backstabber.

"...Crowley, it was not a pleasure to have met you. After everything, I could only say that you're an asshole. There are lines."

"I shall do as I will, such is the whole of my law," Crowley offered as his reason.

Jaune thought about that for a bit. "Yeah, like I said. Asshole."

If a phone could convey a shrug, this one did.

Those words of Crowley, he found them uncomfortable to the extreme. There was a selfishness to the credo that struck too close to home, reminding him of forged papers, thefts, and thoughtless little lies piling up.

With nothing else that could be said, Jaune turned his head away from the phone, letting the conversation end. Tattletale mimed dropping the call, and he nodded.

Then, he stopped in his tracks, because in the night, shapes were emerging from the shadows. Cars turned the corner to rumble down the road. Alleyways disgorged figures in faceless masks and body armors reminiscent of Hound Dog, with a number of insignias to differentiate them from each other.

"Uhhhh, Crowley? Are you still there?"

"Yes?"

"Did you send these people after us? You know, to maybe stab us in the back or something."

"No. I have ended our partnership, however, and I do believe the various research organizations took that to mean a withdrawal of my protection, thus making you fair game."

"And does it?" Jaune asked, heart sinking as he already suspected the answer.

"...It does. My, they are rather quick to move on an opportunity."

"You couldn't have told us this beforehand, huh?"

"I shall do as—"

"Yes, yes, you've told me."

A chuckle emanated from the voice on the line. "Good luck."

Whether they were captured and dissected to the point they no longer counted as 'unforeseen variables,' or they removed themselves from the equation, did not matter to the master of Academy City. By the end of the hour, the problem they represented would be solved.

The call ended. Jaune and Tattletale looked at each other.

"We can fight them," he suggested.

From the sky came a constant whip-whip sound, much louder than that made by the drones, to denote the arrival of multiple helicopter crafts. Snipers knelt at the open doors. More cars pulled up.

"We can still…"

The pavement cracked with loud booms as huge mechanized suits landed on the street. Eyes glowing red, they brought net launchers to bear. For whatever reason, perhaps because test subjects didn't truly need legs, chainsaw arms whirred to life.

"Run?"

"Run."

-o-​

"I told you it was a bad idea to make so many different PINs!"
"Be quiet and let me work, Jaune!"
—Conversation in a coin locker.

"Hurry! Hurryhurryhurry! How long could it possibly take to remove a toilet!?"
"Be quiet and let me work, Tattletale!"
—Conversation in a public restroom.

-o-​

The portal was shrinking ever smaller before their eyes. During the time remaining, Jaune and Tattletale waved to the mercenaries, mad scientists, espers, and assorted pursuers who were currently packed into the public restroom on the other side. Not that many were paying attention. Denied access to their targets, they've fallen into infighting, with a rousing battle in full swing as the portal finally shuts down to leave them alone together in the apartment.

"And that's that," Jaune said.

"Yeah…" Tattletale laced her fingers together and stretched them to the ceiling. "Oh man, that was a long day."

To roughly correspond with their internal clock, the sky outside had turned to night. It hit them right around the point they were watching the planet hanging in place of the moon just how exhausted they were, and the pair arrived at the same thought to leave everything for tomorrow.

As Lisa padded off to grab a shower, mask removed and a new set of pajamas tucked under one arm, Jaune set to the task of stowing away their loot. Circling the room, he held out a hand, summoning items from a Pocket filled to the brim. The shopping bags were dropped in a corner—not the one with the bat, but opposite it. The blue containers joined them there. Weapons got a spot along the wall. Kitchenware and other small appliances went on the countertop, with the tools Crowley provided them—carjacking device, crowbar, etc.—placed next to those for later reorganization. Which will either be tomorrow, the day after, or whenever Lisa pesters him to put them away.

Passing by the spot where the portal was, he snagged the high-tech toilet still dripping with water, lifting it and walking over to the bathroom, setting it beside the door. Since they had been in a hurry, the removal process mainly involved him smashing apart the area surrounding the thing using the crowbar and Crocea Mors, then prying it out. It left pieces of concrete and tiles attached to the fixture, along with a couple of pipes cut clean through. The electrical wires, he had ripped from the wall and they now hung off of one side.

That was going to be a mess and a half for tomorrow-Jaune to deal with. Poor bastard.

The last item summoned from the Pocket was special, and he mustered a bit of energy for it. Holding the box in hand, he studied the picture on the front.

An inflatable mattress. It sure looked comfortable.

Unboxing it, Jaune used a foot to shove aside the couch that had been his sleeping spot. Out with the old, in with the new, he spared it not a single glance as he spread a piece of fabric onto the floor. The instruction sheet was dead simple to understand, comprising two steps, and with the first step already done, all he had to do was find the button on the tiny motor tucked in one corner. A press, and the mattress quickly filled with air, resulting in a pretty sizable thing longer than he was tall, that he can lay on with both arms spread out wide.

He placed a hand on its surface as a test. This was soon followed by his head, his face sinking into the softest bed he had ever experienced. It didn't feel like an air mattress, but one stuffed with…with down feathers or something.

Not that he actually knew what a down feather bed felt like. He wasn't made of money.

Still, it resembled the sensation that he imagined one would have, along with the air inside somehow managing to achieve a layer of firmness once he sank down deep enough. It resulted in a neat balance where he could enjoy being surrounded by warmth and softness without it feeling suffocating. There was also this peaceful, flowery scent that practically beckoned him to sleep. It took all of his willpower to even stand up after Lisa exited the bathroom, and through the entire length of his shower he dreamt of his new bed.

Which was why it annoyed him rather a lot when he came back in the room to find a wild Lisa bouncing up and down on the mattress. Although, the joyful laughter made it difficult for him to get mad.

Strolling over, he asked, "Having fun?"

Lisa stopped her bouncing and flopped on the bed, face down. A groan of pleasure drifted back up, and she answered him in a muffled voice. "Holy crap this is soooo comfortable! I think it's softer than the other bed!"

"Right? Waking up without that nasty crick in my neck is going to feel amazing." He sighed in happiness at the thought.

Lisa did not respond. Nor did she move.

He waited for her to get the hint. Then, after a little while of nothing happening, he cleared his throat. "Hey, Lisa. You mind?"

"This is mine now."

Oh, to hell with that.

"Excuse me?" Leaning down, he glared at her, the effect somewhat dampened by the fact that his gaze was meeting the back of her head. "I don't think so. Off."

"You can take my old one," she offered.

"Good joke, but no. This thing's replacing the couch, and who was sleeping on that? Me. It only makes sense for this to be mine." He thought that was very sound reasoning.

Lisa clung onto the bed as a declaration of her intent.

The long, ensuing period of silence got her thinking she won, and the corners of her lips quirked up in a bright smile. To make sure, Lisa turned her head to peek out with one eye.

Right as Jaune landed on the mattress.

With a yelp, she bounced a foot in the air. By the time she landed, Jaune had secured his spot, head resting on the pillow he brought with him, his eyes shut.

"Go away!" Lisa demanded once she regained her bearing.

"Nope. My bed." He stuck out his tongue.

This bed was his domain, claimed by conquest, so decreed Jaune Arc, king of the apartment. That he had also claimed by conquest.

Unfortunately, Lisa wouldn't leave it at that, and she pushed at him with both hands in an attempt to dislodge him. It looked tenable at first with Jaune being moved an inch at a time, but before she succeeded he stuck out an arm. In one shove she was sent flipping end over end off the bed.

Her head poked above the edge of the mattress. Green eyes narrowed to slits. Growling, she pounced.

The pair began quarreling back and forth, all thoughts of sleep forgotten.

After a long, long day, it was good to be—

Well, not home, but something close.

-o-​

Footsteps rang out over stone, coming to a stop next to Jaune's head.

"Zzzz."

"..."

"Zzzz." The fake snoring continued in the hope that it would make any disturbance give up and go away. Sure, it was a tad cold and uncomfortable lying here on the rough ground, but Jaune figured he could weather any storm if it meant a faster return to his real bed.

"...Oh look, this island is breaking."

His eyes snapped open. "Wha—ahhhh!"

Jaune smacked into a new landmass below the one they were on. The impact didn't hurt, not really. It seemed more a case of him knowing that he should feel pain, and so did. The sensation would fade as soon as he became distracted.

With his eyes now open, Jaune looked around to confirm that he was once again within that half-dream, half-reality space called the Void.

The unnatural cold bit deep, though Jaune shivered not from that alone. Surrounding him was the yawning emptiness that stretched without end. All sense of scale paled before it. Here and there, islands floated, and a few could well be the size of continents for all that they resembled pebbles at this distance. Sometimes the islands were just barren rocks, and sometimes Jaune thought he recognized the shapes and figures standing on them, like scenes from old memories he could barely recall. The details were fuzzy. There might have been movements.

He stood upon one such place, with dark, jagged stone beneath his feet and pure nothing in front. A simple turn of his head, and he was now on a pedestrian bridge. City streets laid before him. High rises loomed, among them a windowless building on one end, a smashed open office building on the other. A comet flew in the sky.

A young man with black eyes was by the railings, arms resting atop it. Jaune found him inscrutable as always—the neutral expression never changes. The guy seemed to enjoy the chance to talk judging by previous meetings, though, so this was probably one of those occasions. Sighing, he walked over to join the Outsider in looking up at the angel.

They stayed like that for some time, neither person speaking. It was almost serene, in a way. Just them and the silence.

"You were watching," Jaune said, finally.

"Of course. I said I would. I liked the rabbit."

"I didn't. That thing was vicious."

The conversation stalled out there, and Jaune used the time to study the angel.

In the absence of an ongoing crisis and the wanton destruction, it's not quite as scary. Back when it was moving, he had been so concerned of an errant blast wiping them off the face of the planet, that each glance at the angel led to him shaking. Here, the stillness lent it the air of a painting. He could observe the angel at his leisure, and appreciate the details without an overwhelming fear to mar the experience.

A hundred wings of light reached for the sky, frozen in the moment. They lit aglow the Void, seeming all the brighter amidst the dark.

"Kinda beautiful, isn't it?" Jaune asked, just to have something to say.

"Do you think so?"

He thought of Last Order. "No."

The Outsider nodded, and turned to sit on the railings, one leg pulled up. "I have said this before, but what is it about people, that across civilizations they would arrive at that same idea, and make that same choice."

"What idea?"

"Torture a person, create a god." Pitch black eyes stared at the present, and saw the past. "Why do they always think it would end in benevolence?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head, distinctly uncomfortable as he muttered, "That's…I mean, it might not be like that everywhere." He was not ready for this heavy a topic, one that told much of the Outsider's story. "It's two worlds."

Dunwall, and Academy City.

"Three," the Outsider corrected, but did not elaborate.

Jaune ran through the previous universes in his head. Of his Remnant, Earth Bet, Steelport, Monty Python, and Lordran, he could only guess it'd be the last one.

"Okay, I'll admit it's concerning. This is starting to sound like a—"

"Pattern? Yes." The Outsider gave a chuckle. Where Crowley's laughter contained every emotion under the sun, this one held none. It was more akin to the imitation of mirth, than the real thing. "And you assume, there's one to a world."

Jaune blanched. "Are you talking about…" He pointed at the copy of Academy City.

"Magic gods, they call it here. I met them by chance in a place much like this." The Outsider spun his finger in a circle to indicate the Void surrounding them. "We compared our stories, and it was fascinating the extent to which they match. I peered into a mirror, almost." He motioned across his throat. There was a faint hint of a scarred line there, that didn't look like the kind of wound a person got better from.

What was there to say to that? Jaune searched and searched, and failed to find words that were sufficient.

Crowley had seen a need for the angel, and he deemed a child's suffering worth the cost. By his estimation, it was the necessary step to save many more lives. Kihara shared the sentiment to an extent, diving in head first on that decision, and he called himself a hero for his deed. How many through history, and across worlds, said the same?

Of course, other people probably haven't gotten the same chance as him (lucky him!) to meet a person who was sacrificed and who then returned to let their feelings be known on the matter. The Outsider held a rather rare perspective, one coming from the other end of things. Maybe if everybody could see dead people, these sorts of decisions would have different outcomes.

And him? Well, he faced the choice twice in his life thus far, and though he wanted to boldly declare that he went at it his way, even he was not blameless of that brand of heroism. An unwitting 4 minutes and 26 seconds helped give rise to the angel, and hurt a young girl.

"I'm sorry," he said in the lack of a better answer. "I might not have done anything directly to you, but I held some responsibility for what happened to Last Order. I'm one of those people you're talking about. So…I'm sorry."

The Outsider turned his head to look at him, and the thought occurred too late that he might have made a mistake admitting that. Nobody could predict what one of these unknowable beings would consider a grievous sin. Pitch black eyes rooted Jaune in place. In it, he saw dark, only dark. Cold, empty, soulless. The end—it ends—

Lips curled to imitate a smile.

The sensation Jaune had of forever falling down vanished in a blink. He could breathe again.

"You had a hand to play in that girl's suffering, true," the Outsider said. "And yet, I cannot help but imagine… If I had someone like you on that day, if the man I once was screamed for help, and a voice called back in answer, saying that everything will be alright." He drew his gaze upward, seeming to mull on matters. "I suppose my thought on this, is that you continue to be a strange one. Hm."

Pushing off the railings, the Outsider landed on the sidewalk, and began strolling away.

Caught by surprise, Jaune hurried to catch up. Problem was, despite how hard he ran, the Outsider outpaced him, walking further and further ahead. Jaune soon surrendered, and slowed down to a stop.

"What, is that it?" he asked in a loud, carrying voice. "No dragging me from place to place? You really seemed to like doing that."

The Outsider called over a shoulder. "How small we are, Jaune, that the world does not upend upon our will. Ah, no matter. There will be many more chances yet. For now, I have an appointment to keep."

"An appointment? With who?" Jaune considered the possibilities for himself, and paled. "You didn't bring tagalongs from the last universe, did you?... Did you!?"

There was no response. The Outsider kept walking down the street, while the world around them started to grow hazy. One by one, the buildings fell apart, floating off in the air. The dream will soon come to an end.

At an intersection, just before he turned the corner, the Outsider paused and spun back to Jaune.

"Oh, and if you ever get a chance, do put your Void-given powers in contact with that strange right hand."

It took a moment for Jaune to get the reference. "Are you talking about Kamijou Touma?"

The Outsider spread his arms, gesturing to their surroundings. "The Void is the end where all things have come to pass. It is a vast emptiness, infinite in distance. Formed of itself, dreamt up by fearful minds. Shaped by will. Should it touch that hand…I wonder, can even 'nothing' die?"

And with that, he vanished from sight.

Left behind, Jaune slowly shook his head, and said to no one, "That just sounds like a bad idea."

Then he fell back, and was gone before he hit the ground.

-o-​

Jaune awoke from the best sleep of his life, buried in the softness of his new bed.

Despite recent dreamings, he restfully dozed as the minutes passed on by. The memory had dulled in its intensity somewhere between the Void and the waking world, and right now, he had little inclination to fret over it. Nor was he in a hurry to get up.

It was still pretty early, all told. The golden glow to the room suggested that the sun had just finished rising on the horizon, meaning he had lots of time to bask in this feeling of warmth.

And weight. Curious.

He raised his head to look down his chest.

A sleeping Lisa was there, lying sideways across his stomach. Her arms and legs sprawled out unreservedly, as if striving to claim as much space as possible. One of her hands clutched at his shirt, with the fabric bunched up under her fingers, and a line of drool trailed down the corner of her lips.

It seemed the two of them had failed to reach a resolution to that battle for the bed, and so just fell asleep after becoming too tired.

Jaune briefly entertained the idea of shoving her off the bed again, but laziness stayed his hand and he decided that today he shall be a man of peace, letting her sleep on. That face wasn't fair, anyway. How dare she look so content and carefree.

His gaze drifted past her to the window, where a sunlight talisman shone with a lively glint, and to the sky beyond.

It was a bright new day, rife with triumphs and mistakes and everything else.

"Good morning, world."

Universe: A Certain Magical Index. Location: Academy City. Event: September 30
Loot: Modern day clothes, full complement of kitchenware, assorted day to day supplies, phones (x2), inflatable bed, carjacking tool, crowbar, high-tech toilet, cleaning robot (household ver.), stun darts, tranquilizer darts, smoke grenades, flashbang grenades, smart handcuffs, reshapable door keys, ID cards (customizable), acrobike, olfactory sensor tracking tool, camouflage cloak, rocket boots, a laptop.​

---

Author's Notes: A Certain Magical Index, done.

The Outsider, highly curious—Jaune, stick your finger in that socket.
Jaune, scoffing—Pft. Like hell I'm that stupid. *walks off the edge of a building*
Lisa, warm and cozy—*Zzzz*

Yakuza Arc needs its chapters.

 

[Chynya]

I don't know anything about Magical Index so it was tough to keep track of everything, but hopefully the next world is somewhere I recognize. Thanks for the chapter!

 

[Mashadarof402]

I forget, does the toilet auto install and fix itself with attendant plumbing?

If not, poor Jaune is going to bear some unfortunate resemblances to certain looters with a gross lack of understanding of what plumbing does.

Also, I find the idea of a dozen snatch squads with espers and giant mecha armor all occupying the same space as a public toilet rather hilarious. Must be standing room only in there, and the destruction is bound to end up with more than one poo fountain collateral.

 

[TheRookIsOnFire]

I forget, does the toilet auto install and fix itself with attendant plumbing?

If not, poor Jaune is going to bear some unfortunate resemblances to certain looters with a gross lack of understanding of what plumbing does.

Also, I find the idea of a dozen snatch squads with espers and giant mecha armor all occupying the same space as a public toilet rather hilarious. Must be standing room only in there, and the destruction is bound to end up with more than one poo fountain collateral.

Click to shrink...

I do think they already have a toilet in the apartment. It just isn't fancy like this one.

 

[Party2tehArth]

Yakuza Arc…

Click to shrink...

Now that's an idea! Send them to the Yakuza verse! The shenanigans!!!

Also great saga! Loved their little adventure. And looks like Jaune's getting to know his little guest a bit better. Can't wait for more understanding to deepen. Maybe even for the Outsider too.

And Outsider's thoughts on sacrifice and god making just brought to mind Angry Mango's background. Which brings the idea of a Fate trip full circle.

Can't wait for their break to settle in with their new loot and/or future trip next chap!

Rather glad they didn't take anyone else from Raildex. For now, the duo seems… adequate that idk what characters could have substantially added.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

Wonder if Crowley left any suprises behind? Surely not? He is such a trust worthy fellow.

Eh, honestly I doubt it, Tattletale would have noticed something, maybe.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

Which brings the idea of a Fate trip full circle.

Click to shrink...

If they end up in fate, that might just cause a singularity or make the timeline prune itself....

 

[coalface]

Wonder if Crowley left any suprises behind? Surely not? He is such a trust worthy fellow.

Click to shrink...

I don't think he did, cause Jaune put the loot in his dimensional pocket, and when he does that he gets a over view of what it is.

 

[DraconianGreed]

Man… they are adorable!
I can feel the qq draining out of my soul….