It was dark. And in the darkness, Jakus was knocked out and tied toca chair in some sort of basement. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around him, slightly panicked at his predicament.

"Huh? Where am I?" Jakus asked out loud. "Crap. . . am I gonna die now? This isn't what was supposed to happen."

"Why did you attack him?" A voice asked from above him. "He wasn't a threat."

"Sorry." Another voice said as they both got closer to them down the stairs. "It's a bad habit, I know."

"Let's just see if we can get some better answers from him." The other voice said.

The source of the voices then came downstairs. It was Jake and April.

"Sorry about that." Jake said. "I swear she didn't mean to knock you out."

"Apology not accepted!" Jakus said angrily. "I wasn't even doing anything. I just showed up out of nowhere and. . . oh wait, I see now."

"So, you say you're from another universe?" April asked. "Is that why you look like Jake?"

"Well, I guess so." Jakus shrugged. "I mean, this definitely isn't my home."

April then scoffed as she walked up to Jakus. "Then why are wearing different clothes? Why are you older? And why is your name different?" She asked a bunch of questions.

"Look, you're not looking too hot either." Jakus said. "This kid barely ha any power in him."

"Excuse me?" Jake said, feeling offended.

"So then you're Jake from another universe that is similar to this one, but you somehow traveled to this universe, but you're not quite sure how?" April asked, pulling a random theory from her pocket.

"Well, I explained it to little Jake already, but yeah." Jakus said.

"Little?" Jake said, starting to get annoyed by the obvious jabs at him.

"Hmm. . . I guess that makes sense." April said. "Maybe you can train Jake to use his powers better?"

"I don't need a trainer." Jake scoffed.

"Yeah, you do." Jakus said. "And here's your first lesson. Don't watch the mouth. Watch the hands."

As he said that, Jakus held up his hands, showing that he was able to escape from his restraints.

But before Jake or April could do anything, Jakus stood up and swept under their legs, causing them to fall on their butts. He then went up to the stairs and began to head up.

"Jakus, wait!" Jake called out to him.

Jakus just sighed. "Trust me, kid. This will all make you better at-"

Suddenly, Jakus was cut off as his whole body suddenly glitched as he fell back down the stairs and landed hard on the ground.

Jake and April ran to his side and knelt down beside him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jake asked.

"No, I'm not." Jakus scoffed.

"What just happened to your body?" April asked.

"I don't think the atoms in my body are jazzed to be in the wrong dimension." Jakus said as his body glitched again. "God damn it!"

"That must hurt." April said.

"Look, I'm not looking for a side gig as a power coach." Jakus said, as he stood up and made his way back up the stairs. "I've got a lot going on back in my dimension, so. . ."

Jakus's body then glitched again, but this time he was able to keep his balance on the railing.

"Want my advice?" Jakus said. "Just go back to being a regular kid."

"I don't have a choice!" Jake said. "I've been given a very important duty. And I have to fulfill it!"

"Look, I just want to find the source of the thing that got me sent here." Jakus said. "I need to get back home. My friends are in danger."

"Oh, you're looking for something to send you home?" April asked. "I think Donnie might be able to help you. He's smart."

"I know." Jakus said. "I'm going to the city to see him."

"Then, I'm coming too." Jake said. "I need to make sure that whatever has the power to bring you to a whole new dimension, it needs to be destroyed!"

"Or everyone's gonna die?" Jakus scoffed. "That's what they always say. There's always time before anybody dies. That's why I have to do my part to make sure that everyone is safe."

"Oh, like how you were able to keep your girlfriend safe?" Jake said.

Jakus stopped dead in his tracks when Jake said that. He looked back at him, as he was still walking up to him.

"Look. . . we need each other." Jake said. "Possibly even more than we think. Whatever machine is out there, we have to find it. We can't afford anything horrible coming through."

Jakus sighed as he turned his back one again. "You're quite a persistent little asshole, are you?" He said.

"I just want to look out for those in need." Jake said. "And you're in a lot of need. So let's team up! We can work together on this."

"And while you're at it, it would be nice for you to see what you could have again." April said. "Enjoy the city for a bit. You don't need to rush back to your. . . wasteland of a universe."

"You told her about my home?" Jakus asked.

"I did." Jake said. "I figured it was vital information."

Jakus just sighed as he figured this was the best way to go about his mission.

"Fine." Jakus said. "But once we get to the machine, I'm going home."

"What? You're not gonna help destroy it?" Jake asked.

"How will I get home if we do?" Jakus asked. "I can't help you fight *and* make it back home. Otherwise, one of them won't achieved."

"You're doubting Jake too much right now." April said. "What would the April in your world think?"

"She doesn't." Jakus said. "She's dead, too."

"Oh. . ." April said.

"Then why are you rushing to get back so bad?" Jake asked.

"I have duties to fulfill." Jakus said.

"Yeah. And that duty is to keep the world safe." Jake said. "That includes all worlds. Even mine. And you're really gonna let a kid who you don't believe in his power to stand by and fight the battle alone and risk all of the dimensions? You cool with that, Jakus?"

Jakus sighed as he just continued walking away. "I'm sure you can handle yourself." He said. "You held your own during our first encounter. You'll be fine."

"And now he's contradicting himself." April scoffed. "Are we sure we want his help?"

Jake just sighed as he fell down to his knees in the grass. Jakus looked behind him and sighed at the sight.

"What are you doing?" Jakus asked.

"Making you guilty." Jake said. "is it working?"

Jakus just scoffed as he didn't know what to do at that moment. "What, no! It's not. . . I'm not. . . No!" He said, trying not to give in as he was starting to regret his words.

Jakus turned around and screamed into his jacket as Jake looked up at him and Jakus turned around and sighed. "Okay. . . you win." He said, putting his arms up in defeat. "Now, let's go. We've got a lot to get done."

"Yes!" Jake said, standing back up. "Let's go, April. We've got a variant to send home and a world to save from potential doom!"

"Yeah. . . yay." April said, not really sounding too enthusiastic.

"You coming?" Jakus asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Jake said as he and April began to follow Jakus to the city to see Donnie.

However, they would soon come to realize that this mission may be more difficult than they had previously let on.

To be continued. . .

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