For Jester, Sunday was not a day of rest. Sunday was a day of uninterrupted, brutal training.
Jester was drenched in sweat. His muscles were already protesting... Long before the sun had fully cleared the horizon over the distant Oakhaven hills.
He was already out of bed before the first hint of orange touched the horizon. A habit forged by years of self-discipline. In a world that could produce danger and death at any moment.
His heavily modified backyard served as his personal training ground.
He started with the treadmill. A clunky, manual contraption that groaned under his disciplined pace. Sweat beaded on his forehead within minutes. A familiar warmth spreading through his muscles.
When his legs felt burned enough, he moved to push-ups. At least a hundred repetitions. He varied them. Wide grips, close grips, diamond push-ups... Taxing different muscle groups until his pectorals and triceps screamed in protest.
Next were sit-ups. A hundred of them. Slow and controlled. Focusing on core strength. He felt the familiar strain in his abdomen. A sign of progress rather than weakness.
Scotch-jumps, explosive and demanding, followed. Designed to build leg power and endurance. He did five sets of twenty. His breath was coming in ragged gasps.
Pull-ups on a sturdy bar he had rigged between two trees were next. Grinding out twenty, then fifteen, then ten, then a final set of five. his back muscles tightening with each upward heave.
Acrobatics came last in the general routine. He practiced rolls, tumbles, and flips. Movements that honed his spatial awareness and agility.
These were essential for a Rogue like him. Allowing him to evade attacks and navigate difficult terrain with grace. Each landing was deliberate. Each transition was fluid. A dance of controlled chaos.
Then came the weapons portion. His summoned nunchaku spun through the air. A blur of motion and rhythmic clicks.
He practiced forms, strikes, blocks, and transitions. His hands were moving with practiced ease. It felt like an extension of his own limbs. A tool of both offense and defense.
This Sunday, there was an addition to his routine. Spear wielding. He transformed his [Thunder Nunchaku] to its [Lightning Spear] form. He gripped it with both hands.
Thrust. Retreat. Parry. Sweep. His form was crude. Unrefined. But he focused on the core mechanics. Extending his reach. Putting his weight behind the strike. Then retracting, ready for the next move.
He focused on accuracy. Trying to hit the point he wanted the spear to hit. He practiced for another twenty minutes, before collapsing onto the grass. Panting. His muscles were aching but they felt invigorated.
With no school today, Jester spent the rest of his morning in a more domestic pursuit. After taking a bath and breakfast, he methodically cleaned his small house.
Dusting the furniture. Sweeping the tiled floors. Wiping down the kitchen counters. It was a simple, repetitive task. But it brought a sense of order to his modest existence.
After a quick, solitary lunch of large number of sandwiches and two glasses of milk, he retreated to his small study. A room dominated by a bed, a bulky desktop computer and stacks of textbooks.
This was where the magic happened. Or at least, where the raw footage from Toonworld transformed into something watchable.
He booted up his computer. The whirring of the hard drive a familiar comfort. He opened his editing software. A clunky but functional program he had installed.
He spent the early afternoon reviewing the footage Cammy had captured from last night's North Dungeon excursion. His battles with the Winged Jellies. The transformation of his Nunchaku into the Lightning Spear. The exciting exploration of the brightly lit dungeon.
The raw video was very clear. Almost too clear for Sherra's current analog video technology. Cammy's optics, advanced by the fusion with the [Toon Gear], rendered every detail with a crispness that bordered on uncanny.
He started to edit. Cutting out moments of hesitation or uneventful travel. He arranged the combat sequences. Trying to build a sense of tension and release.
The blunt reality was, watching himself repeatedly throw a spear and retrieve it, while effective, wasn't exactly prime cinematic material. It lacked flair. A hook. He needed a story. Not just a montage of repeated actions.
He edited. Replayed. Frowned. And re-edited. The project was still in its embryonic stage. A collection of impressive visuals without a coherent plot.
The doorbell rang precisely at two o'clock. A jarring interruption to his focused work. He knew it was Vale. That guy was punctual to a fault.
"Come on in!" Jester shouted. Not bothering to get up immediately. He finished exporting a short, particularly exciting combat sequence. A small victory in his battle against narrative dullness.
Vale entered first. A slender figure carrying a worn backpack. Humming melodic notes absent mindedly. As Jester had expected.
But he was not alone. Daisy followed him. Her usual energetic stride filled the small entryway with enthusiasm.
"Yo, Clown!" Vale said, as he entered his bedroom. His green eyes scanned the room quickly. "Met this tomboy outside. I've got those pieces we discussed." He patted his backpack.
"Perfect timing." Jester replied. Finally turning from his computer. "I was just wrestling with some particularly flat footage. Come on in, you two. Make yourselves comfortable." He gestured to the single armchair and the bed in the room.
Daisy immediately gravitated towards the computer screen. Which still displayed a paused frame of Nightclown mid-spear-throw. Her eyes widened.
"Whoa, Jest! What is this?" She asked. Her voice was tinged with surprise. "Is this one of those new computer games? The graphics are insane!"
Jester smirked. "Better than a game, Girl! This is footage from my adventure."
Vale settled into an armchair. Pulling out a small, well-worn notebook filled with musical notations.
"We've been working on something, Zee." He explained. His voice was calm. Almost understated. "A project."
Jester added. "Remember my Soulheart Gear?"
Daisy nodded eagerly. "Yeah. The brass pocket watch thing."
"Well, it's a bit more than just a pocket watch." Jester said. "It lets me go to a different world. The Toonworld. And this..." He waved a hand at the screen. "... is what I do there."
He un-paused the video. Letting the short combat clip play for Daisy.
Daisy watched, utterly mesmerized. The vibrant colors. The fluid animation of the toon hare. The exaggerated skills of the Winged Jellies. The dynamic camera angles provided by Cammy... It was unlike anything she had ever seen.
The world of Sherra, while modern, was still mostly rooted in analog media. Full-motion 3D animation of this quality was simply unheard of. It looked like a cartoon. Yet it felt impossibly real. As if she were peering into another dimension.
"This… this is incredible." Daisy breathed. Leaning closer to the screen. "The detail, the way he moves! What's this? How did you render this? Misterran top animation studios couldn't produce something like this. No Sherran studio could produce something like this."
Jester paused the video again. Turning to face her fully. "It's not rendered, Girl. It's real. That's me. Well, my avatar, Nightclown. Fighting in Toonworld. And that's Cammy, my special camera. The one who recorded it all."
He pointed to the small, metallic device floating silently near the ceiling. Its single lens blinking almost imperceptibly.
Daisy stared at Cammy. Then back at the screen. Then at Jester. Her jaw hung slightly agape. "You mean… you physically go into this cartoon world? And that camera records it?" Her mind seemed to be struggling to process the information.
"That's the long and short of it." Jester confirmed. "And Bard and I have a plan. We're going to turn these adventures into a movie. The most entertaining show you've ever seen."
A flicker of understanding. Then immense excitement. It lit up Daisy's face. "A movie? A cartoon movie? With this quality? That's… that's incredible! And Vale's doing the background music, I assume?"
She looked at Vale, who simply gave a slight nod.
"You guys are crazy! This is going to revolutionize entertainment, isn't it?" Her initial shock gave way to pure, unadulterated enthusiasm. "I want in! Let me help. My Soulheart Gear is just perfect for this. With its help, everything..."
Jester eyed her with renewed interest. He knew Daisy's Soulheart Gear was a mechanical bird of sorts. He had seen it during the Awakening Ceremony last week. But he hadn't had the chance to ask about its specific capabilities.
"Hold on, Girl!" He interrupted. "Your gear? What exactly does your mechanical bird thing do?"
Daisy practically vibrated with eagerness. "Oh, right! I haven't really shown you guys yet, have I?"
She closed her eyes for a moment. A faint shimmer appearing around her. Then, there was a soft whirr that seemed to emanate from thin air. And a small, delicate form materialized beside her.
It was a mechanical hummingbird. Crafted from what looked like shimmering, ethereal chrome. Its wings beat with incredible speed. A ghostly blur. And a faint, electric blue glow pulsed from its eyes.
"Meet Cyber Ghostbird!" Daisy announced proudly. "My Soulheart Gear."
She reached out a finger. And the tiny bird hovered around it. "What it does is simple. It can possess technological devices. Anything with gear, mechanism, or a circuit board. And when it possesses something, I can control that device with my mind."
Jester and Vale exchanged glances. That sounded… powerful.
"So..." Jester prompted. "You can control things? Like a remote control, but with your mind?"
"Exactly!" Daisy beamed. "If Cyber Ghostbird possesses a radio, I can change the station, adjust the volume, all with a thought. And..." She emphasized, turning back to Jester's computer, "If it possesses that computer..."
She paused for a dramatic effect. And continued. "I could edit your videos faster than anyone! I'd just think the cuts, the transitions, the effects, and it would happen. No mouse, no keyboard, just pure mental command."
Vale, always the pragmatist, spoke up. "Could it possess a weapon, Zee?"
Daisy tilted her head. Watching her Cyber Ghostbird flit around her. "Hmm, it could. If it's a technological weapon. Like a gun, or a mechanical drone, or something with an automatic mechanism. But not manual weapons, like a sword or a bow."
Jester's mind was already racing. This was a game-changer. For the movie project. Yes. But for Sherra, for the world… the implications were vast. He had so many ideas to use it. But for now...
He glanced at Cammy. Still hovering silently. "Cammy!" He called, speaking directly to his [Toon Camera Recorder]. "Come here for a second."
Cammy, with its characteristic slight tilt, drifted down. To hover between Jester and Daisy. Its single lens seemed to fix on Daisy.
"Girl!" Jester continued. "Do you think your Cyber Ghostbird could possess Cammy?"