Chapter 211 - My SI Stash #11 - Carl the Jumper by AngorMike (Multicross) (1/2)
-This is in my opinion, one of the best jumpchain fics out there! Sad that it hasn't got a big following but yea it's pretty much a mega self insert crossover. The SI starts in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Pokemon... Also it's not featuring an emo-angsty mc. Check it out!
Sypnosis: The author avatar, Carl, finds himself on one of those Jump Chain Adventures.
Rated: M
Words: 194K
Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/13488233/1/Carl-the-Jumper (AngorMike)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 1
[JUMP CHAIN.]
”What?” Carl was quite startled to hear a voice out of nowhere talking in bold caps. It was just something in the timbre of the voice that made him sure that if it had been written down it would be all bold and in caps.
He suddenly realized he was floating in a void. The darkness pressed in on him from all sides, feeling quite oppressive. In front of him, one of those sheets from those Choose Your Own Adventures self insert stories appeared. It was the only point of light Carl could see in the void. This one appeared to be for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel world.
[ENJOY YOUR TIME IN THIS WORLD. IF YOU WIN, YOU WILL RECEIVE MORE OPTIONS.]
And that was it. No matter how many questions Carl threw out, begged, demanded, or pleaded, he received no more answers from the voice.
Sighing at not being given a choice in the matter, Carl did the only thing he could and began reading the information sheet.
”Well, at least I have a decent working knowledge of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer show.” Carl sighed again at his predicament. He had a very distinct memory of dying in a car crash before coming here. He wasn't prepared to leave his world behind so abruptly, but he was dead and gone, and that was that.
”Okay, it looks like I'll be stuck in this world for 10 years. 'Anything you buy you will keep forever, even if you die before this 10 year trip is over'. Well, that's surprisingly generous. Although, mentioning death on the first page makes me think my second death is likely.” Carl sighed again at thinking of his likely fate.
”Well, let's see, I get 1000 choice points, or CP. Is that generous, or stingy?” Carl wondered aloud as he hit next.
”Identity. 'A history in this world will be created for you when you choose from the backgrounds below.' The positives include gaining skills, abilities, and world knowledge based on the identity. The negatives include…new personalities? And they may change who I am? That's a pretty big negative.” Carl snorted.
”Six choices of identity.” He continued. ”Spare Key, White Hat, Watcher, Initiative Member, Wolfram & Hart Lawyer, and Demon.” Carl read through each description.
”If this wasn't my first world it might be entertaining to play a demon or lawyer. But screw that. I need powers, knowledge, and a stronger will power first before I go playing with such dangerous creatures. Surviving will be tough enough already without having demons and lawyers looking to enslave and torture me. In fact, the only option that doesn't mess with my mind is the Spare Key.”
”And even though I'll be targeted by Glory later on, I should have a few years to prepare for that Big Bad. Hell, despite having difficulties defeating her, the group was able to pull out a win in the end. So I have at least a decent chance of winning.”
Carl selected the Spare Key option, and then chose not to pay to choose his age.
”Let my age be up to chance.”
When Carl selected the option to roll for age, a table appeared in front of him, with a single 8 sided die sitting on it. Carl picked up the dice and rolled. ”A five. So I'll be 17 years old, one year older than the crew, if I remember right. They'll be sophomores when Buffy shows up, while I'll be a junior in high school. I can work with that.”
The table disappeared from in front of Carl. A floating screen popped up in front of him with a message.
[You will be inserted randomly into one of the protagonist's families as a sibling. Your new family will have memories of you, while you will be flying blind. The choice of family will be a surprise for when you wake up in your new world.]
”Well, that's a thing.” Carl commented, wondering who would become his new sibling. Shrugging since he couldn't do anything about it, he moved on.
Looking at the next page of the form, he saw that it was greyed out because he couldn't choose a Demonic Heritage. Carl moved on to the next page, Special Abilities.
There were 30 choices to choose from. Carl saw he could pick up Just Plain Snarky and Fashion Chaser for half off, based on his identity as a Spare Key. At 50 points each Carl figured he could make them work to his benefit to survive.
Just Plain Snarky would make sure he would always have a quip available, even if it ended up as a s_e_x_u_a_l innuendo at his own expense. But at least it would slightly distract enemies, giving him a chance to get the initiative in a fight, so that was a plus.
Fashion Chaser would give Carl knowledge about what is fashionable and ”what to wear to catch the eyes of others”. Carl figured he could use that knowledge to do the opposite if he wanted, and dress in such a way so he would pass unnoticed. That would be a great means of survival in a demon infested town like Sunnydale.
Looking at the prices for the various abilities, Carl soon determined that unless he took some hefty complications that would totally ruin his chances of survival, he would have to pick one specialty and stick to it. The complication points were capped at 600 additional points, and after the first two they only gave half the points. Completely not worth it in his opinion, because he was trying to survive for 10 years, not grab a bunch of abilities but still die.
Carl figured there were three paths he could realistically choose without going demon or picking crippling complications. A physical fighter, magic user, or scientist/researcher.
Because of the world being the way it is, if he wanted to become a non-demon physical fighter, he would have to swap his gender and pick up the slayer ability. Not happening. He needed a clear head to survive 10 years. Being distracted by his change of gender, s_e_x_u_a_l orientation, and very identity while hunting demons was a good way to end up dead.
Going the scientist/researcher route he could pick Technopathy, Robotics Genius, and Brilliant for 300 points each. Technopathy would allow him to communicate and command any electronic devices on the same network, but sentient machines could resist the commands.
”Actually, how many sentient machines were there? Wasn't it only Ted and that Moloch dude? Who was technically a demon, not a sentient machine. So aside from those two, I would be the hacker king of the world.”
Carl briefly entertained day dreams of having the world's computer systems at his beck and call, before remembering it would be 1997 in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer world. Being a hacker king in that world wasn't nearly as impressive as if he had the same perk in say, the Stargate universe.
Robotics Genius would allow him to build robots that could be useful as guards, sentries, or shock troops. It would definitely help the Scooby Gang. But the huge downside was he would be dependent on technology to be able to defend himself. And knowing the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he would probably end up in many near death situations, without his robots to protect him, waiting for the slayer to save him. No thanks.
Besides, he would be a poor High School student, and electronics cost money. Sure he could hack his way into some funds, but he was sure that would bring him to the attention of certain groups he would rather ignore his existence altogether.
Brilliant would make him incredible in numbers, quantum physics, science, and have a natural talent for inventing. As awesome as that would be, it wouldn't directly help him survive his time as demon bait. And this first world Carl was all about increasing his survivability.
With survival in mind, Carl chose to go the magic user route. His magic would always be with him. He couldn't be disarmed of his main weapon so easily, and it would be great for offense, defense, and general utility.
He first chose the ability Sorcery Savant ability for 600 points to gain a great natural ability to perform magic. ”'The spells you perform will be on the same level or possibly above that of the greatest witches on earth once you gain more experience.' Well, if I'm only as good or better than the best, why bother?” Carl sarcastically quipped.
”Now does that skill level include Willow? Cause she was able to get close to destroying the world at one point. Or at least killing everyone in it. Even if I don't get that powerful by messing with dark magic, I'll still be plenty strong enough to protect myself.” Carl decided.
Next he picked the ability High Stakes Fighter for 100 cp. It would give him a working knowledge of jujutsu and aikido. While he wasn't planning to physically fight demons, knowing how to redirect force, use holds and leverage, and generally survive physical confrontations would be instrumental in keeping him alive through ambushes until he could bring his magic cannons to bear on the enemy.
Carl next picked up Cunning Linguist for 100 points. He chose Ancient Greek and Latin. He figured being well versed in a couple ancient languages would save him a lot of time on his magic studies, as well as make him more useful for research. He could always spend more time learning more languages, but coming into the world already knowing two would help immensely.
Satisfied that he would be able to survive as a magic user, Carl moved on to the available equipment list. He immediately chose the Book of Kelsor for 100 cp as the single most useful item for him as a magic user.
”'This detailed tome describes nearly a thousand varieties of demons, and provides insight on how to properly combat them. This codex has been around for centuries and steadily updated, one of the most reliable sources for generic demonic knowledge.' The tips on how to fight should give me plenty of pointers on how to make my spells more effective. Knowledge is priceless!”
By this point Carl had spent all his points, but he hesitated when he saw one particular item he really wanted at 100 cp. He agonized about whether it was worth getting. Was it worth picking up a complication in order to afford the item?
Finally Carl decided it was completely worth it. He selected the Root Beer Keg for 100 cp. ”Refreshing and foamy, you have a refilling keg of root beer that maintains the perfect temperature all the time.” This would make his stay in Sunnyhell just a bit more bearable. To always have a perfect mug of root beer. Yummm…
Looking at the complications that would give him the needed 100 points, it was a choice between Leporiphobia, Zeppo, Kleptomaniac, and Perfect Harmony.
It was a choice between fearing bunnies, an ”interesting times” curse with a side dash of people dismissing him, a tendency to steal things, and having Harmony Kendell interact with him on a regular basis.
Carl first strongly rejected the ”interesting times” curse of the Zeppo. Anything that brought extra danger into his life would have to have a much bigger point bonus to get him to consider it. Besides, the idea that the group he associated with would dismiss his abilities and ignore his suggestions when he was planning to be a world class mage chapped his hide.
If it was only his enemies underestimating him, that would be fine. But he didn't think he could become close friends with people who summarily dismissed him on a regular basis. Acquaintance, maybe. Friends? No.
Next, he rejected Kleptomaniac. He didn't have anything against relieving the worthy (aka vampires) of their material goods, but he didn't want to be subject to such an involuntary compulsion. It would probably kick off at the most inopportune time, like when he would be trying to be stealthy, and directly lead to being caught. Pass.
It could just be because he hadn't seen the show for a long time, but Carl honestly thought having to interact with a good looking but shallow blonde girl couldn't be that bad. And if enemies found out about his fear of bunnies, they could use it at the worst possible time to gain an upper hand by distracting him.
So, Carl chose Perfect Harmony for 100 cp. At least he'll always have root beer. He could always use it to console himself if Harmony got too bad.
Carl woke up in his bed in a mansion. The decorations and furnishing looks expensive. There was a bookshelf along the wall, a desk with a computer on it, one of those old CRT monitors. And posters on the wall of some of the hot actresses of the day.
Carl soon discovered that his computer had a dedicated phone line for internet. At least he won't have to fight with whoever his family was over the phone usage rights.
Looking around, he soon discovered a journal that started shedding light on his situation.
He was now one Carlisle Chase, the older brother of Cordelia Chase.
”Well, did not expect that. I was expecting to be a sibling to Willow or Xander. Somehow I can't be too disheartened to be a member of a rich family.”
His parents wanted him to have a distinguished name, not some low brow name like Donald. ”He's a duck, after all.” But since he was being a teenager and rebelling against everything, he had everyone call him Carl just to annoy his parents.
As Carl read, he saw that he was given a suitable back story to explain his abilities. He had been enrolled in Jujutsu and Aikido for years. Carl continued to read about the people he knew from his time at the gym.
One of the diary entries explained how he gained his Book of Kelsor. One day while browsing a used book store, he found the Book of Kelsor just sitting alone on a shelf. Briefly reading the descriptions about demons and vampires, diary Carl had been entertained. He had purchased it, thinking it would be like a fantasy book.
But as he continued to read the book, it opened his eyes to the true nature of the world. He soon saw the lurking demons and vampires around Sunnydale. Deciding to learn as much as he could to protect himself, he started studying Greek and Latin because some of the entries in the book were written in those languages.
He explored the local magic store, The Magic Box, and bought some basic magic primers to start training himself in magic.
He soon found he had an incredible gift for magic. He kept his ability secret from his family. He recognized that there was likely a magical field or something over the town that caused people to overlook and rationalize away the supernatural.
Unless his family chose to accept the reality of magic and demons, they would just think he was crazy if he started talking about it. So he chose to remain silent.
He did work on creating some magical items. And there were two magical items he had crafted that made him immensely proud of his talents in magic.
The first was a crucifix necklace that he wove many protections into. He gifted one of these necklaces to each of his family members to keep them safe. It was the best he could do to keep his family safe until they opened their eyes and mind to the supernatural.
From reading the diary, Carl found out he had a good relationship with his sister, although they were very snarky to each other. Carl found himself amused to read that his sister's friend, Harmony Kendell, had a huge crush on him, and so would spend hours around him if allowed to. Based on the anecdotes in the book, Harmony could be a sweet, if ditzy, girl. At least when she wasn't being driven to be a bitch by her parents or the other social leaches in the school.
Carl also learned that his father really wanted him to join him at the investment firm after he graduated. Carl shook his head. Based on his memories of the show, at this point his father in this world had already been evading paying taxes for 10 years. In two years the government would crack down on him, and send him to jail, while confiscating the family's money and leaving the rest of them destitute. Not something Carl wanted to happen.
He continued to read the rantings of the teenager Carlisle about the fights the father-son duo would get into. Because Carl's backstory teenager self had discovered his great talent for magic, he didn't want to go into the investment firm, but couldn't tell his father the reason why because his father refused to acknowledge the supernatural.
Diary Carl also found out about his father not paying taxes, and that too turned into a big argument, because his father refused to listen to Carl about paying back taxes. His father said he said he ”had it covered”.
”Huh. Looks like I have two years to lay a financial foundation that's not connected to dear old dad so that mom, sis, and I don't end up in the poor house.” Carl muttered to himself as he began making plans.
Before getting ready for school, Carl ran through the magic exercises his diary talked about him doing. He found the telekinesis easy. He could even lift the weight of his bookshelf up. He split up his concentration and could individually lift 4 different items and control them separately.
He then found he could easily conjure softball sized fire, water, wind, and earth globes, and have them dance around the room under perfect control.
Banishing the globes, he worked solely on his fire control. First mashing down the softball sized fireball until it was the size of a golf ball. The more compact he made it, the hotter it burned. Good enough to immolate vampires. Now he just needed to work on his speed at conjuring the fireball.
He then worked on his delicate control, sculpting the fire to make different shapes. Square, donut, oval, and house shaped were just some of the exercises. That part was very difficult, and left him sweating.
Once he was finished with his exercises, Carl took a shower and got ready for school. ”Back to High School.” Carl laughed as he went downstairs and ate some breakfast their cook prepared for them.
”Thanks Rosalie, delicious as always.” Carl called out as he exited the kitchen, so he didn't see the startled look of p_l_e_a_s_u_r_e Rosalie had on her face for being complimented.
Carl knocked on his sister's door. ”Hey, you ready in there? We leave in 20 minutes!”