Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape-shifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But, a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law. Now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku.
The brave samurai fought viciously against the evil demon— dodging snapping claws, parrying black stingers, rolling, jumping, tucking and turning,he traded blows with the wizard of legendary evil, Aku. When the scorpion tail of one of the Master of Masters’ forms caught in the wall of his own lair, the warrior severed the vile appendage, causing Aku to fall into the bottomless well of blackness.
Just as soon as he had disappeared, long, black tentacles gripped the walls and flung an octopus-like Aku back up to face the man. He lashed out, but the experienced samurai bobbed and weaved through the strikes, severing several dark, wriggling tentacles. While his other appendages preoccupied the samurai, one of Aku’s tendrils slithered onto the man's ankle and lifted him up above Aku’s mouth.
Thinking quickly, the samurai severed the tentacle and plummeted towards Aku’s maw. He landed atop the demon’s bulbous body, and used it as a trampoline to spring himself to higher ground. His advantage did not last long, however, as Aku came charging at him in the form of a horned bull!
Just before Aku slammed into the rocky platform he was standing on, the samurai leaped, and split the evil creature right down the middle. However, the slippery shape-shifter transformed yet again into a bird-like form, and once more descended on the noble samurai.
The warrior knelt down and whispered the incantations which would spell the end of Aku: “Now, demon, with the blessings of righteousness, and the power of the sacred blade, I cast the back to the vile pit from which you came!”
He flung his katana skyward towards the rapidly approaching Master of Darkness, and the Aku was impaled on the long blade. With a violent explosion, the foul creature’s essence was absorbed into the blade as it fell back down to its master, who expertly caught his sword and slammed it to the ground.
Black ooze slithered out from the blade and prostrated itself before the formidable warrior. The evil being groaned and met the eyes of its better.
“You might have beaten me now, but I will destroy you in the future,” it spat.
The samurai lifted his magical blade to vanquish this evil once and for all, and purge its darkness from his home. “There is no future for you, Aku,” said he.
“I disagree…”
The wicked villain let out a rippling screech that formed white rings which rose above the samurai’s head.
“What trickery is this!?” he exclaimed, and swung his blade as the rings descended around him.
The rings formed a white cylinder around the brave warrior and began to shrink. He could only utter his evil adversary’s name before the base of the cylinder gave out and he was swallowed by the collapsing tube.
“Do not worry, samurai. You will see me again, but next time you will not be so fortunate,” warned the Shogun of Sorrow.
The portal he had been flung into twisted and pulled at the samurai's being with its spiraling depth, stretching him to the point of infinity, until there was naught but blackness.
When the warrior awoke, he was no longer facing the evil shape-shifting demon Aku. No longer was he in the fiery lair of the demon fighting for his people’s lives and freedom. No longer was he in the land he called home. Rather, he was in a dark forest. He was on his feet instantly, magical katana drawn, ready to fight any demonic minions the Shogun of Sorrow would undoubtedly unleash on him.
This place certainly had all the trappings of a forest, although altogether different from what the man had experienced of forests in his homeland. Perhaps Aku had flung him to some far-off land so the evil wizard could continue the devastation and enslavement of his land and people unperturbed.
-WHOMP!-
In an instant, the warrior spun around, drew his sword, and stood in a defensive stance facing the origin of the sound. It would seem Aku’s evil minions had finally caught up to him, and were about to make their move. However, what he saw was unlike any henchman of Aku’s he had ever seen. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure it was in line with Aku at all.
What stood before him with fierce predatory determination in its eyes was a frightful conglomerate of beast, bat, and insect the likes of which left the man at a loss for words. The animal had large paws and teeth, an enormous furry frame, a long, slender, barbed tail that could only belong to a scorpion, and a pair of large, leathery wings of a bat.
Every part of this nightmarish creature screamed apex predator, and every part of that apex predator looked as though it wanted to make him its next meal.
The beast pounced with a speed that would have been unavoidable for any normal man. However, years of training ensured the samurai was no normal man. He quickly rolled to the side, and deflected the creature’s follow-up flick of its fearsome barbed tail. The predator surged forward once more, lashing out with its large claws, but he was able to parry and deflect each of the blows with some effort.
The creature’s considerable size belied an awesome speed, as the beast unleashed a volley of attacks that even the experienced warrior had difficulty keeping up with. However, the creature was not very combat-minded, and occasionally left openings in its defense. One such opening arose as the creature had missed him with a swat of its mighty right paw, and he swung for the opening.
However, the samurai had underestimated the monster’s speed, and before the blow could connect, the beast rounded on him and caught his sword between its paws! Each combatant struggled against the might of the other, and just as it had seemed the swordsman’s sword would slip from between the beast’s grasp, its sinister tail flung from behind it and struck him in the back and shoulder, and he was forced to jump back from the beast.
Knowing that it had scored a dire injury, the monstrosity closed in for the kill. It lifted one terrible paw and swung with all its might, hoping to finally finish the noble samurai.
However, it too had underestimated its foe’s speed and endurance, as the warrior had deftly rolled out of the path of a surefire death, and into the perfect spot to strike at the beast.
The samurai swung his sword with a masterful aim that sent his blade directly into the creature’s right eye. The beast howled in pain, and swung blindly for the samurai, but these strikes were nothing like the previous onslaughts, and were easily dodged. Thankfully, due to its focus on its injured eye, the Manticore did not register the shaky gait with which the man carried himself as he advanced upon it, and ran for the underbrush before the odd creature it had tried to kill took out its last good eye.
The samurai was glad the creature decided against continuing the fight, because in the waning moments of the battle, his hearing became fuzzy and muted, his vision blurred, and his head throbbed as the beast's venom coursed through his body; it was all he could do to stay on his two feet.
Struggling, the samurai started to make his way to what appeared to be a clearing in the forest ahead. One foot in front of the other, he slowly, painfully staggered to the light ahead of him, summoning up all of his strength to carry on. He began to feel overtaxed as the difficulties of balancing, walking, and being mindful of roots and other obstructions became more difficult after each step. Seeing the foliage thin out ahead of him, he used the last bit of his adrenaline to rush to the edge of the forest. Finally, without a blanket of leaves covering him for the first time since he was thrown through Aku's portal, he lifted his head to the sun and felt it wash over him. He then looked out at the now spacious surroundings and saw what he believed could be an odd dwelling, surrounded by a few small animals. He started towards the hut, hoping that someone inside could treat his wounds.
However, after the next few steps, all the previous events had caught up to him: the battle with Aku, tumbling through the shape-shifter’s portal, and the fight with the monster that had left him bloodied and poisoned. Exhausted and out of adrenaline, the last of the brave samurai’s strength left him, and he collapsed.
Oh boy..Wait till Skeeter finds this one.
He will champion you.
i think.
EDIT: a bit more spacing might be required here, the paragraphs blend into one wall of text. other than that, good job on a first story!
Thanks for the heads up, it's been taken care of!
3581668
Much better! That's how it should look! I'll be sure to keep an eye on this one
Hm.
Bit fast of a start...
Still.
I do like a good Samurai Jack crossover fic. Let's see what you got.
~Skeeter The Lurker
3581634
Only if it's worthy enough.
This is undecided, for now.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Love it two of my favorite universes combined. Nice start!
I enjoyed it, the pacing was good and you did a great job of writing out Jacks fight. I think I'll enjoy seeing Jack interact with the ponies, he deserves some adorableness in his life.
I want to see Aku vs Discord. Anyways, great idea for a story!
3581757
3581775
such an awesome show cut down in its prime
R.I.P. Jack may u have slain aku in the next season
samurai jack kicks all kinds of ass write on my friend write on
3581900
Does this help at all?
ponybot.net/pix/2170.png
You have my attention. Please do go on.
I like the premise. I'm a fan of Samurai Jack. I like the scene you set and how well it's written. The action and emotion flow decently if not really well. My only pet peeve is that it's such a short chapter. Chapters this short bug the hell out of me.
This is original I could never have thought about making a crossover with samurai jack so I congratulate on this idea so make more please.
Not going to lie, when I read
I was going "FCK! Manticore cliche opening."
But you made the fight scene very enjoyable to read. It's rare to find a writer that can pull off a cliche opener so I salute you good sir. Keep up the Awesome work
Samurai Jack/MLP Crossover?
All of my YES!!!
A very nice start. I hope to see it continue. This has much potential.
3581937
It begins...
The great zambie slaying Admiral Popeye requires more of this awesome story!!
Just came here to say that you picked the most epic cover image ever.
Of all time.
3588908
Thanks! I had to rush to change a bunch of words at once, and I guess I didn't pay enough attention while doing so Good eye!
Awesome first chapter, and an excellent idea of a crossover. I have high hopes to see this continue and grow.
awesome fanfic idea but jack could have killed the manticore in seconds he's beaten army's of bad dudes before that had guns and i don't think a manticore is faster than a bullet/ laser anyway grate story so far keep up the good work.
3589577
Meh, storytelling. Maybe the fight with Aku tired him out?
>>To the Author
Random Tip / Advice that you are free to disregard:
You use 'nightmarish creature' twice to describe the manticore. It doesn't seem to flow well. Maybe, 'Every part of this nightmarish creature screamed apex predator, and every part of that apex predator looked as though it wanted to make him its next meal.' instead?
LOL OFF AN OLD SHOW LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL PROBABLY STILL A GOOD STORY THO
the ad under the story was for samurai swords.... interesting
Whose cousins on Earth, in packs (prides), are hunted by humans for fun.
3589577 Maybe he was tired and exhausted, he also had to face an evil, shape-shifting, wizard and go through a portal unprotected. How could he be at his normal strength?