Fan Fiction / Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ Shaman Evolution ❯ The First Signs ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

SUMMARY: Yeah, you guys guessed it. My first fanfiction, a Shaman King, X-Men Evolution crossover (after a big rewrite). The story begins when the time-suspended Apocalypse and Asakura Hao are released from their prisons. Yoh and friends must team up with the Bayville mutants to stop them from destroying the world, in a nutshell.

Author's Notes: This is my first fanfiction ever, so constructive criticism is accepted. No flames please, they're not very helpful. If it does suck, at least tell me why.

A few more things:

1) The timeline is set after Ascension.

2) I thought about this, and I think I'll use names and such from the English Shaman King. Most people haven't seen the original anime, but the rest of the series hasn't been released over in England yet, so if some terms seem unfamiliar, it's because it's from the original anime. The only things I've done on purpose is that Hao and Ren (Zeke and Lenny) will retain their original names. Why? Cos I like them better.

3) Magneto's disappeared for a while, during which Piotr and Remy have joined the X-Men (Pyro's at the Brotherhood; life was too boring at the mansion for him), so there will be Kiotr and Romy later on.

DISCLAIMER: Do we need to go through this? Warner Bros and whoever originally owns Shaman King, don't bother.

He had seen the light of his dominion. He had been waiting for its luminous glory for millenia, and now its golden sweetness was raining down upon him. Now humankind would shed its weakness, and in its glorious rebirth as mutantkind, it would be no more. He lay back patiently in his chambers, controlling the energy around the world that was slowly but surely bringing about the evolution of humanity. He had waited forever and a day (literally) for this; a few more hours wouldn't be long.

Then the light had dimmed. Puzzled, he tried to reactivate the powers that had entrapped the world, but some...force of a kind was preventing him. How could this happen? He was Apocalypse, the most powerful mutant to ever walk the earth....a god! The link...the light was fading even more. "No...." he groaned, as he felt the wrench that told him his fusion with humankind had been stopped. And he could feel the presence glaring down at him. He enjoyed the brief moment of fear that washed over the mutant. It was she, the one that had awakened and rejuvenated him. The one the Prophecy had told of.

"You've used us for the last time," he could hear her say. He almost laughed. Such brave words from one small child. He opened his eyes and grabbed hold of her. He almost frowned; the girl did not have the power within her, unlike last time. The girl gave a startled gasp, but then she freed herself from his grasp. Then she does something he didn't think she had the nerve...the audacity to.

She started to close the Eye of Ages. She was shutting out the light of his evolution....a mere mutant, a child!

He tried to summon his strength, but because of the failed fusion, he was too weak. He knew what would happen if he was locked up again. He attempted to make a howl, anything to let out the rage of his failure, but only managed a childish whine. When the last door had been shut, he started to bang against the walls of the Eye of Ages, once more his prison. He could escape, the energy wasn't there to keep him locked away. Then he felt a weight suppress bear down upon the Eye, and a voice calling for the girl to release the energy. Apocalypse felt the force that had blocked his fusion leave, and within, the symbols of Eye of Ages lit up. He heard the sound of metal being sliced, and he realized, with dawning horror at the sounds of circuits being terminated, that the controls had been disabled.

There would be no way to bring him back.

"This cannot be..." he howled, as he felt the yawning time portal consume him. "I am the Apocalypse! I am immortal!!"

Rogue and Wolverine hadn't heard his last cries of fury. For them, the Eye of Ages was gone.

But knowing their luck, it wouldn't be forever.

Somewhere(or rather somewhen?)in the bowels of time....

The last thing he had felt was the feeling of a blade in his abdomen. His eyes had widened as he realized that he was going to die. Him! The immortal Shaman scourge, Asakura Hao! He humphed quietly to himself in the swirling darkness that was his prison. What an...ordinary way to go. His previous deaths had been so much better than a sword giving his insides air conditioning.

Still, the Great Spirits hadn't even bothered to send him to hell this time. He had been banished straight to this...nothingness for eternity. What made it worse was that he had had the power of the Spirits in his grasp at the Pillar of Illvirakan. His Spirit of Fire was one of the most powerful Guardian Ghosts in the world, but the sheer magnitude of what he had touched that day made it puny in comparison. He had been more than Shaman King that day. He had been God. The world was his for the destruction.

And it had ended. Because of a boy. His twin brother (A/N: the actual relations between these two is a bit more complicated, but they were born as twins), Asakura Yoh. A mere child, a weakling who hadn't even tasted the power Hao had known, had been his undoing in the end.

But he would return. They had always banished his evil, but he always returned. His shamanic powers had been stripped this time around, and he was all but powerless without the Spirit of Fire. But as long as it lived, he would return. And humanity would die, and all of Shamankind would bow before him.

Then he would come after Yoh and his samurai. Hao grinned viciously as he went through his visions again. First he would destroy those closest to his "brother," including that human Manta. Then there would be his family. He had special plans for his dear mother and grandfather. And those annoying friends of his. He would make sure Yoh was alive to see what he would do to them, especially that Anna. He would have loved her as his Queen, but since she rejected him...ah well. Then he would seize Amidamaru and turn the samurai against Yoh. The irony and tragedy of being killed by the spirit Yoh foolishly called his "friend" made him grin further.

He was brought out of his cruel musings by the sudden appearance of a flash of light. What was this?

Then the strange pyramid appeared before him, floating eerily. Hao looked over the glowing symbols and felt the power from the vehicle. He was surprised to hear the faint sound of screaming inside. Ah, company. Calmly, ignoring the shrill yells, Hao peered over the craft, noting the claw-like marks over where some electronic device used to be. He ran his fingers over the markings, and he felt a surge of alien power flow through him. His initial reaction was to scream, but he gritted his teeth and jerked his hand away. Hao looked down and saw the blue aura fade away. This wasn't shamanic power, but power it was nonetheless.

The pyramid suddenly disappeared, making Hao jump back with a startled oath. He quickly regained his composure. So much for company. He had to wonder who or what had been trapped inside that vessel. The power of what he had touched....Hao shook his head. Well, whatever it was, it had gone further into the cracks of time. Hao sat back down to meditate. He knew he would be doing this for another five hundred years.

"Not so," came a new voice. Hao jumped up and spun around, and before him was a crimson portal. He could see a tiny village sleeping in the night. His eyes widened as he realized that this thing would take him back to Earth. But how had this happened? What power was this? Hao didn't like this.

"Who are you?" he asked. The voice chuckled at him.

"I am but your servant," it replied. It was so low that he couldn't decipher the gender of the speaker. "I will aid you in your plans for the destruction of mankind, my lord. It is your destiny as the future Shaman Overlord, Asakura Hao."

He had wanted to refuse, but something about the words "Shaman Overlord" and "destruction of mankind" made the offer more appealing. Without another word, he stepped out of his prison and back into the world.

In the meantime, the Eye of Ages had fallen further into the cracks of time. It was now floating in a limbo that was denser than Hao's former prison. Within, Apocalypse had stopped howling with fury and was becoming resigned to his fate. For him, the most powerful mutant to walk the earth, to be put into such a position by a group of weak mutants was more than humiliating. It was unnatural. That most of them were infants and children didn't soothe his wounded ego or placate his anger. Somehow, he would be free of the Eye of Ages, and his dream to remake the world would be realized.

And those mutants who had banished him would die.

And then the Eye of Ages began to glow more brightly. Puzzled, Apocalypse looked around the chambers and saw that the symbols around him were pulsating with a brilliant light. He felt the heat around him grow, and his puzzlement grew. What was this? What was happening?

His answer came when the symbols burst into brilliant light. First one, then the others followed until it was almost impossible to distinguish them. He felt the light grow and surround him, and he felt a sudden wrench. The light was dimming rapidly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Eye of Ages rocket into the star studded skies....stars?

He grasped the ground beneath him and almost smiled as he felt the sands slip from his fingers. Slowly he got up, and found that he was back in Egypt, not more than thirty feet from the resting place of his former prison. He looked down at himself, and found that his skin was grey again. The power he had accumulated during the fusion was gone, but he would reclaim it somehow.

"All in due time, my lord," said someone behind. Apocalypse turned around and saw a young man with blond hair, dressed in a brown business suit. He had been the one to destroy the Eye of Ages and free Apocalypse.

"Who are you?" Apocalypse demanded. He could tell that this stranger was a mutant.

"Your servant," the man replied, suddenly prostrating before him. "We have awaited this day for some time, En Sabah Nur. I, like many others, share your vision of a pure world, populated only by mutants. Come with me, my lord, and meet the army that will help you realize man's evolution."

Like Hao, Apocalypse wanted to refuse, but he knew there was a possibilty that he would wait another five thousand years before this chance to realize his visions. Without the Eye of Ages, he would have to find another means of global fusion. Besides, this mutant had spoken of an "army." If they had been waiting for him like he claimed, then surely they had some way to realize his dream. The added absolute devotion and surprising amount of power he sensed from this mortal wasn't such a bad thing either, especially if this "army" had similar attributes. A ghost of a smile crossed the super mutant's face.

"Lead the way."

A week later in Bayville....

Giving that they had just spent the day tearing around the Institute, pranking each other and playing all sorts of games in the last few weeks of summer, the students at the Xavier's School for Gifted Children were, bluntly, zapped for the night. Even Jean and Scott, the two college students with the one a.m curfew, had gone to bed at the same time as the others. Everywhere was quiet. Well, everywhere except Rogue's room.

After a few fitful hours of sleep, the Southern girl had sighed, threw off her blankets and gone to the balcony to gaze at the stars. She always did this during clear nights, sometimes to clear her head when the crazy summer almost got to her. Tonight Rogue's mind drifted back to that fateful June day, when they had managed to defeat Apocalypse.

She shuddered as she remembered that monster grabbing her. Amazing what a touch could do. The first time he had grabbed her was what had started this whole mess. Even if she had been under Mesmero's control at the time, she still felt a bit guilty for the near-global chaos that Apocalypse had grandly called "evolution."

And when he had held her again, something inside her just snapped. The memory of his skin against hers made her tremble, and suddenly she was circling around the Eye of Ages, closing it as frantically as she could. She hadn't cared if he could escape again, or if he had enough strength to do something. Anything to forever bar him from touching her.

But had they succeeded? Rogue didn't like this feeling in the pit of her stomach, that somehow this was just the beginning of all their troubles. The Professor's speech hadn't helped, when he told them of the visions he had seen through Apocalypse. But this wasn't what was troubling her. Rogue yawned and ran a hand over her dishevelled hair.

"Ah ain't doin' mahself any favours, broodin' like this," she muttered. She returned to the stars again, watching the little dots in the sky sparkle. Just then, a light caught her eye. Rogue watched with surprise and wonder as a shooting star sailed across the night sky. She smiled quietly and decided to go back to bed. Shooting stars were supposed to bring good luck.

If only she knew how wrong she was.

A few minutes earlier, in a little city in Japan.....

Yoh Asakura was leaning against the lone tree at the top of Monument Hill. He watched his friend Morty walk to night class. Yoh thought about following him, but decided he would be fine. Rio and his buddies were in town at the moment, and if anyone gave him trouble, they'd answer to his badly coiffed friend. Besides, Morty was coming later for dinner and to hang out. That was the most time they would have together that night.

Yoh gave a happy sigh and looked up at the stars, soft rock music blasting through his orange headphones. This was his favourite nighttime activity (before dinner, which he never dared miss, and afterwards) before going back to bed around two in the morning. Anna always scolded him for coming home late and subsequently sleeping in class, but she'd become a bit less...physical about it. Several months ago, if he had done such a thing, Anna would pound him until she was sure that he had been beaten to within an inch of his life. But ever since the end of the Shaman fights, she'd grown less violent. She was still surly and bossy, but she'd mellowed. Maybe because he'd died that one point during his fight with Hao.

Unlike his friends, Yoh had learned to deal with the fact that his spirit had left the world, if only for an instant. He didn't know why they all got nervous and somber when the subject was (accidentally) brought up. It had happened, and it was over now, so what was the big deal?

The boy yawned and stretched. Still, there were times he missed the Shaman Fights. Not the neverending training or Anna's hellish attitude, but the travelling and the adventures. Most of all he missed being with his friends during all the danger and excitement. They still came over when they could, but they weren't constantly together anymore. He especially missed Amidamaru. His samurai friend had crossed over a few weeks ago, deciding it was time to be reunited with his old friend Mosuke. He'd wanted Yoh's permission, a memory that made the boy smile. After all they'd been through, Yoh couldn't deny Amidamaru something he'd been waiting for more than six hundred years. Still, there were times when he missed his friendship and constant presence.

It was almost seven thirty. Anna, as much as she had chilled, would still beat him up if he was late for dinner. Ren had gone to stay with Jun for the weekend, so it would be just him to face Anna's wrath if he was tardy.

Exactly thirty seconds to the deadline, Yoh ran into the house and sat down just as Anna came in carrying a steaming bowl of rice. She glared at the innocent-looking Yoh, but seeing as he was earlier than he was last night, she couldn't think up a good reason to throw him against the wall.

"The sauce will be ready in a minute. Don't you dare start eating without me!" was all she said as she returned to the kitchen. Yoh allowed himself one millisecond of gloating. Anna still had her powers, and being a telepath and medium, he didn't take any chances with her. Drumming his fingers on the table, Yoh looked out the window and saw the shooting star fly by.

"Hey Anna, just saw a shooting star."

"That's nice, Yoh," came the nonchalant reply. The boy sighed and continued to make the dinner table an improvised drum kit. Then came the beeping.

"Yoh, when did you get a cell phone?" Anna asked, popping her head from the doorway.

"I thought it was yours," he replied. "It's coming from the corner." Yoh indicated a dimly lit area of the room, where his schoolbag was. "I don't get it. The only electronic thing in there is...."

Yoh and Anna turned to each other, eyes wide. Anna got there first and practically tore Yoh's bag apart, forgetting her cool demeanour (and that the sauce was burning). Yoh watched her, curious and amazed, to say the least. Anna took out Yoh's Oracle Bell, the beeper that had informed him of his shaman fights during the Tournament. The high priestess Gorudoba had told them that all of Oracle Bells had been deactivated with the end of the Shaman Tournament.

The tiny summoner was sounding off like there was no tomorrow.

A/N: Apocalypse's banishment into time was taken from the last Evolution episode (damn Warner Bros for not making a new season!). The Shaman King scenario was played around with a bit, but it follows the basic ending of the final anime episode. This is just a tester. If you like it and review, I'll post more. If not, I'll can it.

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