AN: So, the time has come once again.....

Chapter 10: Don't Leave Me Wiggle!

Scott spent quite some time kneeling on the edge of forever. He gazed down at the floating landscape beneath him in an attempt to try and understand what he saw. Once he had managed to come to terms with his strange new reality, he crawled away from the edge.

For the first time he had stared into the face of a potentially insurmountable challenge. He could not shoot his way out of a bottomless abyss, not with a pistol at least. One misstep and he would die. Maximum human stats would do nothing for him if he fell.

Wits collected and held firmly about himself, Scott left the edge of the world far behind. He checked the remains of the bio-mechanical turtle things to see if there was anything worth salvaging. Surprisingly, he found that they were quite light. With glorious ease, he hefted one of the massive mechanical monstrosities over his head then took an experimental step forward.

"Wow! There's no way this thing doesn't weigh a few tons!" How the hell was he able to lift something like that? Was gravity different here? Was it the effects of the flower? Whatever it was, he hoped that it would last for a while.

The quirky background music played on as he tossed the destroyed mecha-turtle aside. None of them worked after he stomped on them. He picked up one of the spears then eyed it curiously. It was basically a long pole about four times longer than he was tall. It had a massive meat cleaver attached on its business end. He might be able to use the unwieldy thing for something, but fighting was not likely to be one of them. In the end he decided to leave it behind. If he saw a use for it he could double back, but it seemed pointless to carry the oversized thing around on a hunch.

He searched the area for more of the strange flowers, and found many that looked similar but seemed to lack something important. They danced but did not speak. Perhaps it had been a one-time deal, or maybe the rest were not interested in being devoured. Either way, he moved on.

The field of flowers continued on for quite some time before he came to a sudden slope. Below him he saw something that would have made a lesser man's heart fall down and straight out of his ass. Scott's heart merely skipped a few beats. "You've gotta be kidding me..."

Scott looked out on a wide expanse, the only way across was a series of floating platforms. Several of those platforms moved about lazily in the air, and in the center there was some sort of swinging ball on a chain that simply whirled slowly round and round in place in a vertical path reminiscent of the face of an old fashioned clock. He could hear the chain creaking from where he stood.

He slapped a hand over his mouth and slowly drew it down over his chin. He took a deep breath then turned away from the platform hopping death trap. There might be another way across if he were to search the area.

Hopes were dashed after he spent a great deal of time walking close to the edge of the floating flower field. He made a complete circuit of the area and came back to the same horrific scenario.

"Damn." he said after eyeing the obvious death trap. "Can someone hook a fella up with infinite continues or a jet pack?"

Scott stared at his destiny for a moment then sighed. "Man, I shouldn't have complained about the damned zombies."

He slid down the slope slowly then walked toward the edge of the platform. "How the hell am I getting all the way up there?" Scott looked up and saw that the first platform was several body-lengths higher in the air than he was tall.

Briefly, he considered going back to get the oversized polearm, but he recalled what he had been told once before when he had faced a supposedly insurmountable obstacle. "Jump... I'm supposed to jump..."

It was obvious of course, but he had not wanted to admit it. Who would want to do such a thing? "Can I even make it?"

Scott moved back a little and performed a few experimental jumps. The gravitas flower had provided him great strength and durability. He could easily leap several times his own height into the air. However, it was not quite enough.

"How...?" He looked around in case he might have missed something, but only one thing came to mind. Scott looked back at the slope then frowned. "No. No. No..."

He looked from the slope to the first platform. He closed his eyes then growled out an angry sounding, "Oh-ho. Fuck. Me..."

Scott was at a loss. This was no enemy that he could fight and win. This was one shot at survival. If he failed, it was a long way down.

He balled his hands into tight fists then started his climb up the slope. If he stayed here it would be a death sentence. How long would he survive with only flowers to eat and no water?

Once he reached the top, he looked out at the platforms floating before him once more. Scott spent a moment taking several deep breaths. He hopped up and down experimentally then shook his body a little to limber up. "Ok. Ok..." he said repeatedly.

Scott ran forward a few steps then slid to a hard stop and fell on his ass. "Dammit!" he snarled. He stood back up then returned to the top of the slope. "Get it together man!"

"I can do this..." Scott nodded his head twice then stomped his foot down on the ground hard enough to cause a miniature impact crater. "If anyone can do this, I can do this!"

He had the agility, the flower power, and the need. This time when Scott ran forward he gritted his teeth and powered forward as quickly as he could. The world around him became a blur as the power of the gravitas flower kicked in and he moved at incredible speed. At the last moment he screamed out, "Shiiiit!" as he leapt with all possible force toward his goal.

Scott sailed through the air, a blurred streak of translucent Scott's behind him, but it was still not quite enough. He slammed into the side of the platform, hard, and slapped his hands down in place. He struggled desperately to pull himself up while he legs dangled uselessly in the air. Inch by inch he pulled himself over the top then flopped over. Somehow, he had made it.

After he took a moment to revel in his triumphant survival, he rose to his knees then took stock of the path ahead. His frown returned followed by a determined sigh. "Right..."

The quirky background music rose in volume as he started forward. The first few jumps were hair-raising, though simple.

He did not have any further issues until he reached the moving platforms just beyond. They were moving slowly enough that a simple leap to the next one did not seem to be a problem. However, their spacing was a much bigger deal.

He glanced back and noted that the platform that he was currently on was longer than the others. "Another running jump, huh?"

Scott watched the platforms for a moment as they moved around in their lazy pattern. The first and second platforms simply moved from side to side. The final two platforms rotated in two separate circles that only remained in perfect sync for about two seconds. That was his margin of error. If he did not time things just right, he run right into his untimely death.

After a short while he sighed deeply then nodded. Scott walked to the far edge of the platform then turned toward the next phase of his platform hopping adventure. "Wait for it..."

Once the moment he judged as the right time came to pass, Scott shot forward at all possible speed. His body blurred in the air just as he leapt from the edge and sailed through the air. He landed hard and immediately jumped to the next platform without slowing his step.

He took neither the time to scream nor to pray to a god that he was uncertain actually existed. All he had time to do was jump.

A second leap was made the moment his feet touched down. This time when he leapt forward the platform he had just leapt from chose to plummet downward toward the unending abyss below.

He did not know, nor did it matter. Scott hit the first rotating platform and leapt one more time. Unfortunately, his timing was a little off. He hit the last hard jump a bit off center and fell heavily to his side. The platform began to tilt dangerously and he started sliding toward the edge.

Scott immediately struggled to crawl further toward the center. The balance beam effect of the moving platform slowed down as he moved toward his goal. Soon he was spread-eagle at the center of his only hope. The platform righted itself over time while he panted heavily.

The next jump looked to be an easy one, but that did not mean that there was not some other hidden danger involved. Scott rose to his feet and did his best to maintain the balance at the center of the platform. When the next one came into range, he jumped forward and landed easily at his destination. The stone beneath him began to shake slowly. Cracks began to form. Scott immediately moved forward, but the shaking and cracking happened on the next platform as well.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he ran forward and all possible speed. He had no time to analyze the next jump. The platform blocks behind him fell apart and crumbled downward toward the endless sky below.

The ball and chain whirling slowly around was his next major obstacle, but he had no time to analyze it. He ran forward and hoped for the best. Surprisingly, he reached it just as it passed by in front of him. He hopped over the block that it was attached to and then bounded quickly forward onto a sturdier looking platform beyond.

Another short series of hops left him waiting for the final moving platform of the short adventure sequence. It floated lazily toward him but something urged him to caution. He waited until it reached his position then started moving away once more. When it was close to what he thought to be his furthest jumping distance, Scott leapt forward. He barely made the jump and wobbled in place slightly. However, the platform decided to mimic him and began to wobble in place as well.

Thankfully, he was close enough to the end of the platforms that he was able to leap for his life. The platform fell a split-second after he made a jump for it. Once again he ended up clinging for his life on the side of a block while his feet kicked feebly at the air. However, he had made it. Scott had reached the other side.

He crawled up onto the next large area then laughed a little. The laugh grew louder over time and soon it became hysterical. Somehow he had made it. Wasn't that fucking hilarious? Who could survive something like that? Yet, he had made it across.

The new floating island was a grassland with a dirt trail along the center. Scott walked down the trail for a lack of better things to do and soon came to a fork in the road. There was a sign that gave him directions.

Cavern of Eternal Torment ->

<- World Three, Second Level

"Gee. I wonder which one I should take." said Scott sarcastically. He took a left and continued on his quest.

He walked for around two hours without finding a single platform to hop. However, his easy travels came to an end in an abrupt and decidedly aggravating manner.

"You've got to be kidding." said Scott with a sigh. Another series of platforms had appeared before him. This time there was the added danger of waist height triangular spikes that shot up briefly before sliding back down into the metal blocks that held them.

The jumps seemed to be much easier than the last set, but the added threat of spikey doom meant that it was just as difficult in a different way. There was also the possibility that the platforms would drop out from under him.

"Four jumps..." he said. The spikes shot up at different times, but there seemed to be a set pattern. Once he thought that he had the timing down, he attempted to make his way across. Scott ran forward then jumped to the next platform. He kept going and just as the first strike retracted completely he leapt from atop its temporarily safe surface. He barely cleared it as the covering of the block shot open and the spike slammed upward.

The next jump was just as easy, but he landed on a block that cracked under the pressure of his movement. He was forced to adjust his timing. Scott stepped quickly along the cracking stones instead of running. The timing was off, but he managed to reach the next spike block just as it retracted. He had no time to waste as the next landing block was a spike. He leapt over, but he was not fast enough. The spike shot up just as he was moving away and slapped harshly against his backside.

Scott shouted in pain and fell forward. He reached around to check the damage, but found little in the way of injury. There was a hole in his pants and a little blood on his fingers, but the possible death trap had not taken off enough of his hit points to do any serious damage.

"Man that was close." Scott stared anxiously at his beautiful masculine ass. "Speak to me booty... Can you wiggle?" Scott wiggled his man-booty briefly then sighed in relief. "Hell yeah... Still got my wiggle."

He left the most recent section of platform hopping mayhem and continued down the path. Soon he reached a strangely familiar series of stone stairs that rose high into the sky. At the top, he found a zip line that led to a small shrine looking place in the distance. Of course, the zip line was suspended over a pit filled with spears. Dozens of skeletons were easy to see in the pit below.

Next to the zip-line was a handy stand with a sign that read: Please take one. The item for the taking was a simple metal triangle with handle grips at the bottom. The part with handles has split in the center so that it could be attached to the line.

"I'd say you've gotta be kidding me, but what's the point." said Scott.

He tested the line carefully then set off across the dangerous chasm to his next destination. He screamed loudly as the speed increased to far greater levels than he had expected, but he was more than strong enough to hold on till the end.

At the bottom, there was a little bin to place the triangular zip thing. "Might as well." He tossed it inside the bin and continued on to his next goal.

The shrine looking place was made of some sort of white stone and had an overall appearance that resembled a mushroom. Inside he found polished marble floors and a single raised dais. At the center of that dais there was a strange geometric symbol on the floor.

"Guess I step into the center." Scott walked over and stood atop the symbol. He expected some sort of warp light or perhaps a pipe to pop up out of the ground considering the sort of place he was in currently. What he got was a puff of smoke and the appearance of a shiny red treasure chest in front of him.

Scott shrugged then opened it up to see what was inside. "Dice?" He pulled the six sided die from the chest then looked at it carefully. "The hell do I do with this?"

"Roll it maybe?" It was a die after all. Scott shook it in his hand a little then tossed it on the ground. He rolled a two.

The number two flared with a bright light and soft feminine voice echoed through the air. "Oh chosen champion who has tasted my bounty. Takes these treasures and use them for the good of my garden in the dark times to come."

Two new treasure chests poofed into existence. "Ok..." said Scott as he took a look at the surprising development. Inside the new chests he did not find another die, but he did find a few interesting items. He was gifted with a tiny glowing orb and ten gold coins.

"Well, who am I to judge free gifts?" asked Scott. He switched out his boots, pocketed the coins and then studied the glowing orb for a moment.

"Eat me!" exclaimed the orb. "The hell?" asked Scott curiously. Why did everything in the world want him to eat it?

Scott shrugged them popped the tiny sphere into his mouth. It tasted like a white grape, but it went down like a raw jalapeno. "Ah! It burns!" cried Scott. He thrust his hands out to the side for emphasis and twin balls of flaming energy formed in front of his palms.

"No way..." he said while waving his hands up and down.

"You have tasted the Boom Seed. May the power it grants serve you well while it lasts." said the sweet sounding voice.

He blinked then said, "Who are you?"

There was no answer. Whoever the sweet sounding person was, they did not seem interested in speaking to him further.

Scott decided not to think about it too hard. Instead, he focused on his cool new power. It took him a moment to figure things out, but the moment he realized that he could manifest and release the power at will he smiled.

That smile turned into a look of shock when he figured out what it was supposed to do. He ended up gripping one of the balls experimentally, cradling it if you will, and then found that it would stop hovering near his palm. The first time his balls dropped the result was strange and memorable.

The fireball dropped then bounced off the floor lazily flew up and smacked the ceiling then floated back down toward the ground a short distance away. The third time it made contact, it exploded in a tremendous display of heat and pressure that caused Scott to stagger back in surprise.

"Damn, it's like a fiery hand grenade made love to a tennis ball." said Scott. He willed the other orb away then grinned. "That'll come in handy, maybe."

Finished with the strange little shrine, Scott left and began to search the area. He found another zip line down a short slope near the back. This one led to another large floating island much farther down.

There was no point in ignoring the obvious. Scott took the little triangle provided and zipped downward. He felt the flesh of his face begin to wobble as the air pressure pressed harshly against him. He made the mistake of opening his mouth to try and shout, "Wahooo!" but the result was that his cheeks puffed out and his lips began to flap comically. Physics were certainly strange in the eternal garden.

He reached the end so swiftly that he was sent flying forward and landed hard on his ass. He bounced heavily and then skipped across the dirt twice like a stone across the water. He stayed where he landed for a moment while he regained his bearings.

"I hope there's a way off of this rock." muttered Scott as he rose to his feet. That was the most disconcerting factor. It was entirely possible that he would end up trapped on a floating rock if he moved wrong. Once again, he tossed the zip line thing into its bin, and continued onward.

The next area proved to be a somewhat simple place. He crawl under a few floating blocks, or hop over other ones. Eventually he came to a bridge that spanned a shallow river. Unsurprisingly, there was a large section missing in the center.

Scott started to cross but the moment he reached the first break, a loud rapid snapping noise echoed from the broken section. He peaked over the edge then fell backwards with a shout of surprise as a massive goldfish with sharp fangs leapt up through the space before him. It repeatedly snapped its teeth on the way up then performed a flip and executed a fishy somersault into the water. "Oh, this place... Damn." muttered Scott before hopping over the break in the bridge and continuing forward.

Just as he left the bridge he heard the snapping sound once more and looked back. The goldfish had leapt again, but this time it turned and looked at him mid leap. Physics be damned, it floated in the air for a moment then slowly widened its fishy mouth into a wide grin. It offered him a saucy wink then waggled the strange little ridges above its eyes like they were eyebrows before splashing down into the river once more.

Scott stared at the empty air flatly for a moment then snorted. "Sorry. I don't swing that way fella."

He continued along in the direction that he had been traveling and eventually found a new road. He turned left since he could see a sign in the distance and upon arrival a relieved smile appeared on his lips. "Five miles to Yellow Blossom."

No hard jumps made themselves apparent and the area seemed wide open. The obstacles that presented themselves were easily avoided simply by stepping around them or hopping on top of them. At the end of the road he reached the final obstacle, another zip-line.

On another floating island in the distance, he saw what looked to be a small town if a town could be made out of oversized fruits and vegetables. Mostly, he saw gourd houses but there were occasional pumpkins and even a few mushrooms. At the center of the town a massive building that looked like a normal castle. Its banners stood resplendent in the late afternoon sun.

"Please take one..." said Scott as he looked at the little zip-line stand. "Sure."

He zipped down the new zip-line, his face rippling along the way, and then leapt off at the last moment. This time he made a much better landing. He even felt proud of himself momentarily. After following the directions for the return bin, he headed off toward town. At last, he could complete his mission. No more platform hopping for him! It was time to get this mission done.