The Spark
The cartoon characters within this story belong to their respective creators. Cartuneslover17 and I only own the idea for the fic, the crossover pairing, and any future OCs. For fans of AshixSamurai Jack, we do NOT recommend this story for you and ask politely that you do not leave any nasty comments. There will also be violence and other adult themes in future chapters.
Chapter 1: The Storm Between Worlds
The sun shone down on the barren terrain, only a few large rock formations shielding portions of the ground from its light, defying it the heat beating down on it.
Just as she did.
Ashi panted as she readied herself for the next opponent to lunge at her. Her midnight black hair was wild and some strands stuck to her forehead from her body's perspiration, refusing to be blown back by the wind. Her body was dotted with scrapes and bruises, some from the fight previous to the arrival of the army, though nothing fatal. Her midnight almond-shaped eyes turned into slits as she glared at the multiple challengers surrounding her.
They snarled at her with their fangs protruding from their sickly pale green lips, intimidating her with their yellow eyes which glared like small fires from their dark-armored heads.
"You think you can take us all on, Samurai Sympathizer?" one called out in a gravelly voice.
"We'll leave you in the dirt in pieces and then finish the samurai!" another shouted, his proclamation followed by encouraging shouts from his wicked brethren.
"I'll die before I let you heartless creatures strike him down!" Ashi spat back, her tone cutting hotter than a heated knife and her words more poisonous than any serpent's bite.
Cruel laughter erupted from the army surrounding her, cackling as though she made some poor, foolish joke.
"It's your funeral girly," the first soldier snickered as he moved to attack her with his sword.
Ashi easily grabbed the charging marauder and flipped him hard. He hit the ground with a sickening crack and laid there ominously still. Roaring in outrage, three more armored beings ran at her to avenge their fallen comrades. The young woman jumped into the air at the last moment, causing the three to crash into each other. She landed gracefully to the left and grabbed a spear from one of the previous soldiers she fought.
No sooner had she grabbed it did the trio untangle themselves and stare at her with awe and hatred. She coolly stood her ground, seeing and feeling the murderous stares that would have struck her dead if looks could kill.
Positioning her newly acquired weapon for attack, she coolly said, "Come get some."
The second those words had left her maroon lips did the crowd of marauders close in on her. It was a frenzy. Kicking, punching, ducking, and even stabbing. More than once she was taken by surprised and struck hard but quickly recovered just as a weapon or heavy boot was about to come down on her head or abdomen. As she continued fighting, she noticed that she was slowly being cornered. She knew that she could not hold them off forever and that it would become especially difficult if she was trapped between a formation and the army. She had to think fast.
As she was backed against the formation, she prepared to dodge the next weapon that flew at her. With a vicious war cry, a soldier to her right threw his spear at her. As quick as the wind, she dodged the weapon and grabbed it before it pierced the ground. She then threw the spear at an angle so that it penetrated a high part of the rock wall and was still reachable for her. She leaped for it while narrowly dodging several more spears. Using the stuck spear as leverage, she hauled herself to the top of the rock formation as disappeared from the view of her enemies.
"She's getting away!" one of the marauders near the front shouted indignantly with a strong hint of irritation.
"After her, men!" another in the front cried as they marched towards the back area of the large rock structure.
As they neared the back, they were surprised to find…nothing.
They did not see the midnight-haired woman climbing down or fleeing from the rock formation. The army looked around in confusion, a silence of uncertainty and tension flowing among them.
Finally, one soldier spoke out, "Where did she go?"
"Up here!"
Heads turned upwards towards the sound of a female voice. What they saw made their eyes widen in shock and horror.
Ashi stood above them, somehow having been able to hide on the top while making it look as though she was attempting to flee. In her hands was the spear she had used to get herself on the top. With one lunge, she brought the sharp end down on the portion of the rock structure that seemed old and crumbly. Immediately, a large chunk of rock broke off and hurtled down towards them.
Some were able to get out of the way while others were not as fortunate.
As the dust and rubble settled, Ashi saw the remaining soldiers laying on the ground, half conscious. She leaped from her perch and landed before the survivors. Her dark eyes coldly met the yellow stares of her opponents.
"I offer you this last chance. Leave now and let Samurai Jack be or face your death," she commanded, her voice calm but her eyes promising a brutal end.
They did not speak. Before Ashi could warn them again, she felt a shot of pain in her back.
Letting out a cry of pain, she fell on her hands and knees, her face scrunched up as her hands balled into fists. She didn't even have to look. She knew and felt the blood from her injury flow down her leg, careen downwards and stain the grass weaved around her foot. She heard a cold, rough chuckle from behind. She could practically feel the breath of her attacker flow from his mouth and caress her back.
"You were a fool to try to take us all on. Now you will die," the soldier uttered evilly, raising his blood-coated dagger to strike down. "But do not worry. Your samurai friend shall join you soon."
The midnight haired woman could not look up, pain from the wound and shame of her defeat weighing her down. She gave a silent apology to the samurai for her failure and a prayer to whatever higher power there was, excluding Aku, that her past wrong doings would be forgiven. She did, however, take solace in knowing that she had ensure the downfall of the Cult of Aku by getting rid of their leader. Even if they had been family.
She waited for the soldier's cold blade to go through her and efficiently end her.
A few seconds went by.
Then a minute.
Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up. To her surprise and confusion, the soldiers were no longer focused on her but on something else behind her. Carefully, she turned her head to look. She took note of the soldier who stood behind her with his bloodied blade and realized that he too had been distracted.
That's when she saw it.
A tall beam of light that looked to be the size of several large tree trunks combined together was moving towards them. In its wake it left a trail of scorched black land, the smell of smoke becoming more potent as it drew closer.
Then, one of the soldiers broke out of his shock and screamed, "RUN!"
The marauders quickly got up and began sprinting from the beam. Ashi, pushing past the pain, managed to pull herself up and force herself to climb back up the rock formation. As she heaved herself up onto the top, she turned her head and saw the pillar of light pass her and head towards the retreating army.
Her eyes widened as she watched them all be absorbed by the light. Their shouts of fear were carried among the wind to alert any forms of life within radius of what had transpired. Just as suddenly as it had swallowed her enemies, it finished. The beam remained in the spot where it had finished off the last one for a few moments. The golden-white light illuminated the entire area around it. Black trails were engraved into the ground, creating patterns on the Earth that mimicked an elongated black river.
Then it began moving backwards, right for her.
Ashi leaped off the formation. However, unlike before, she landed awkwardly, her wound throbbing with pain and the weariness from blood loss becoming imminent. Still, she forced her legs to move, her mind pushing aside the protests of all other body parts. The midnight-haired woman began running relentlessly, all her surroundings becoming meaningless.
It was in vain, she knew. But she would not go down without warning the samurai. She continued onwards to where she had been sitting patiently for the samurai to return. Ashi recalled how he had told her that he had to go alone and she hoped that he would not be too angry with her for disobeying his order.
The midnight-haired woman twisted her head to look back at the approaching beam and saw that it was practically less than a meter behind her. Snapping her head back forward, she forced herself to hasten her running.
Ashi saw the location where she had been waiting for the samurai. She was almost there. She was so close. Just a bit further-
However, fate seemed to take glee in tricking her.
Her legs lost their coherency which sent her falling.
As she tumbled to the ground, she felt something strange. She did not feel that she was being burned by the light but warmed. Disoriented and weakened, she allowed herself to succumb to unconsciousness as the beam caught her. The sky filled with light and before fading.
All was calm and vacant.
And she was gone.
In the town of Elmore...
"Gumball! Darwin! Get in here! The storm's getting worse!" Nicole Watterson yelled at her two sons.
The young blue cat and young orange goldfish dashed into their house as their mother shut the door, succeeding in pulling it free from the grasp of the raging wind and locking it. Both Watterson boys joined their sister and father on the couch. The room was faintly lit with candles, the storm having knocked out the electricity. Outside, rain pelted the ground and anything or anyone that was unfortunate to get caught in the furious shower of water droplets. School had been let out early when reports of the oncoming weather had caught the attention of Principal Brown and the rest of the faculty at Elmore Junior High. However, it had seemed that the storm had arrived early.
In no time at all, the entire town of Elmore had been caught in a mess of downpours, gusts of wind that bordered on typhoons, roaring thunder, and flashes of lightning. The town's inhabitants quickly closed up shop, went home, and locked themselves within the safe confines of their houses. Gumball and Darwin had only stopped long enough to see the swirling clouds, heavy and dark, cover the bright blue sky before beginning their rampage.
"I just don't get it!" the Watterson matriarch muttered as she peeked through the curtains, squinting her eyes at the rain. "I've heard of spring showers but this is just ridiculous!"
A flash of lightning and boom of thunder caused her to jump back with a gasp before sitting down with her husband and children.
"Maybe it's just Mother Nature trying to get all done with her rain so that we can have a nice sunny spring," Richard comforted his wife, giving her a gentle smile.
"Well, whatever it is, it totally ruined our evening!" the young blue cat huffed angrily. "We were gonna grab sundaes after school!"
"And then we were gonna rent movies and order pizza," the adopted Watterson child sadly added.
"Well, you two will just have to put it off until tomorrow," Nicole stated as she got up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen to prepare a simple meal.
"We could use this moment for some family bonding time," Richard said cheerfully. "I'll go get some board games!"
With that, the Watterson patriarch went up the stairs to fetch the activity sets.
"Even if there wasn't a borderline maelstrom of rain and lightning out there, I don't think it would have been a good time to bother Larry," Anais spoke up logically with compassion. "Especially since 'you know-what' happened."
This caused both of her brothers to wince. It had happened just last week. The multi-employed man had lost something more precious than all of his jobs put together.
He had lost the woman he was planning to make his wife.
Word spread fast. Karen had broken up with Larry on one of his rare days off, right after rejecting his marriage proposal. It hadn't even been the result of the nonsensical mishaps of the Watterson family or anyone else in the town. The pansy pink being had, according to Gary Hedge the mailman, just broken it off and moved out.
And it wasn't like that previous breakup that resulted from when he had accidentally yelled at her, having tried to shoo away the Watterson boys that pleaded for the return of Lazy Larry. Or when his second attempt at proposing had been ruined by their father.
It had been Karen's sole choice to break up with him. Permanently. While Gary did not entirely know what was said, he did say that the break up was linked to Karen having feelings for another man. The next day, both she and Melted Cheese Guy had moved out of Elmore.
Poor Larry. No one had ever seen him so disheartened and miserable. Not even when he had quit all his jobs and the town fell into chaos.
Everyone was careful not to bring up the multi-employed man's now ex-girlfriend while offering comfort and support. They would tell him that he would be okay and that it wasn't the end of the world. Most of the customers, including Officer Sprinkles and a few of the dads, would joke around him and even invite him to partake in their Guys' Night Outs. A few of the female ones would often hint to Larry that they knew of other single women that they could introduce him to.
However, Larry would always decline, offering a grateful but sad smile. He still wore a pleasant smile and went to work with a polite attitude, but everyone could see the pain and sorrow hiding behind his eyes. He thought that he had finally achieved his dream of finding a girl to settle down with and treasure until they were both gray and old. Apparently fate had a way of messing with the things people desired.
"He'll find someone eventually," the goldfish boy claimed immediately with an encouraging smile. "There's gotta be someone out there for him…other than Karen that is."
"Dude, have you looked at the single ladies in this town?" Gumball said to his best friend and adopted brother. "You wouldn't exactly say that Larry has a lot to pick from."
"I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to agree with Gumball on this one Darwin," the only Watterson daughter spoke up. "And that fact alone is just scary."
Gumball was about to nod when he realized what his sister just said and snapped, "Heeeey!"
"Kids! Richard! Dinner!" Nicole's voice resonated from the kitchen.
At that call, Richard came rushing down the stairs, dropping board games and other activity sets in the process.
"I guess all we can do is wait and hope someone comes along who Larry takes an interest in," Anais sighed as she followed her brother into the kitchen.
Little did they know, that among the rain, thunder, and lightning strikes, a newcomer would arrive that would fulfill that hope.
Citizens remained huddled inside their homes as they watched trees nearly get torn from the streets of Elmore. Garbage cans that were assembled for tomorrow's trash day were already knocked over, spilled contents dancing in the violent winds. Sidewalks and gutters began to accommodate large amounts of rain, which, on the positive side, would mean no drought for the city.
The flashes of thunder and lightening struck fear in those who continuously watched the chaos from the inside of their windows. Children kept close by parents, who comforted them while sharing just as much intimidation by the unruly weather. When the lighted effects of Mother Nature became too bright, citizens turned away from the sight, closing their drapes and curtains to avoid anymore witnessing.
However, what none of these people realized was that the light was not a source of weather at all. And as everyone resumed their safe tasks away from the view of their own city, the light grew brighter.
Omniscient as it was, it trailed over the streets like one giant helicopter beam. No one witnessed its light become even stronger, able to blind someone upon sight of it. First it scoped the tall buildings of Elmore's main city features, then found its way across businesses and other economically-aided places, before purging across the neighborhoods.
Over forests and landscapes, only the giant child known as Hector and his mother took slight notice of it. But made no regard to what it actually meant, assuming thunder and lightening were getting more violent. That was why Mrs. Jötunheim made sure her son was nowhere near their cave's entrance, using magic as a shield in case the weather dared to enter their home.
The light continued over all of Elmore, mixing itself with the rain and harsh winds. Finally, it stopped, in the center of a park where it equipment was practically fighting to stay attached to the ground. Swings, slides, see-saws, and other play things swiveled from the wind's impacts.
An explosion of white, and very minuscule colors, overcame that part of Elmore. It was long moments before it began to evaporate into nothingness. As soon as it made its impact, all rain, thunder, lightning, and other weather roles had immediately vanished.
Water dripped onto already wet grass, trash and other things that were part of the winds laid on the floor.
In a heap laid a lone figure who was still trembling from what just happened. However, the pain in her leg suddenly vanished, and whatever trauma her body had faced, all that was gone.
Ashi slowly opened her eyes, wondering if she had finally gone to the Great Beyond. Regret over being unable to warn the samurai still overcame her still beating heart. However, that was immediately lost on her as she gazed at her surroundings.
Instead of the rocky formations she needed to challenge and overcome, she was upon grass and nature itself. Beautiful yet dripping trees greeted hers, as did children's play equipment.
Confused, she could only stare at everything around her. Wondering what just happened. Where was the army now? Where was she?
Daring to lift her formerly injured leg, she moved it and realized that, out of some miracle, it was truly healed. Taking this opportunity, she slowly pushed herself off the ground. Now on both her legs, she gazed at the setting before her. No enemies were in sight, but she was able to spot buildings and homes nearby.
The first thing her conscious told her was to find help, and perhaps answers. But in a place such as this, who knows who she was able to trust. But at least there would hopefully be people like her around here somewhere.
She avoided the soggy trash on the floor as she approached the town, noticing its lights began to switch on.
Elmore's power had finally returned.
Puddles splashed beneath her grass-weaved footwear as Ashi dashed through the still dark alleys. The air smelled heavily of a combination of wet plants and rain. Although the storm had ended, it would seem that it was nearing late evening, the Sun having past its zenith in the sky and slowly inching towards sunset. The remaining shadows allowed her cover just in time.
As she was about to exit the darkness of the shadows into the light, she heard the sound of a shop door opening. Ducking back behind the brick wall, she waited to see what kind of civilian would walk by.
She heard a soft woman's voice said gently, "C'mon Penny."
A young sounding female voice replied back, "Coming Mom."
Ashi blinked as she saw a peanut-shaped creature with antlers pass, followed by a smaller yellow creature with similar antlers and a pair of wings. An unusual species but she was used to strange creatures.
That was when she saw the next being come by.
This one looked like a multi-colored cloud with a blue mustache and tie. Behind that one, was a smaller version that looked to be a child and had a headband. Not too soon after they passed by, a tall orange creature passed by, holding the hand of a smaller dark blue creature.
Now the midnight-haired woman had to see what was going on.
Stealthily climbing to the top of the roof of one of the buildings, she peeked over to see and was astonished by what had greeted her.
Creatures of entirely different species, colors, height, and shape walked among the sidewalks. There was a couple of balloons with moving faces, a sentient cactus talking to a sentient flower, a grey, furry skinned couple that almost looked human, walking-talking food beings, a tall furry brown creature with glasses, anthropomorphic animals, a large green reptile of some sort, sentient cloud beings, and so many others.
This was unusual, even for someone who has met strange creatures before. The beings she met were mainly animal-based, robotic, or humans. She had never seen a more diverse community. Never had she met ones that were as random in species as these.
And yet, she did not mind.
Among the people, Ashi saw a shady looking thumbprint being with a black mask go into the store she was on top of.
Within the store…
"Okay, so that will be $14.95," Larry said cheerfully as he took the money and handed Carrie her change, the DVDs, and snacks.
"Thanks Larry," the ghost girl said to the cashier. "You can come over after your shift, you know. My parents always have an extra seat open."
Larry gave the young ghost child a gentle smile and said politely, "Thank you, but as you know, I got another right after so I'm gonna have to pass. But it was kind of you to ask."
"Oh, okay," Carrie stated, sound a little disappointed before giving him a smile. "Well, see you later."
"Bye. Come again," Larry called after her with a wave.
As soon as she left, the smile left Larry's face and he sighed.
The store was mainly empty due to the residents of Elmore adjusting to the coming and ending of the storm. He tapped his fingers on the counter, the other cradling his head. He used to hate it when business was hectic. But now he would give anything to have a distraction.
He tried not to feel anger towards Karen or Melted Cheese Guy. He really did. He knew that some relationships didn't work out. Lovers parted separate ways. They found new people to spend their lives with.
But that didn't mean it wasn't still painful.
Even though he tried to move on, the memories would jump back at him.
"Oh, Needlemeyer, why are letting yourself get stuck in the past?" Larry snapped at himself.
But try as he may, Larry could not forget. He could not forget how thrilled he was that night as he finally had Karen alone so he could propose. He could not forget the disbelief and the feeling that his heart was being crushed by a hammer when she ended it. He could not forget the rage he felt, yet managed to keep under control, as she left with Melted Cheese Guy.
"Stop it!" he scolded himself harshly. "Stop thinking about. Just focus on work."
And focus he did. He stared straight-ahead…only to be met with the sight of Sal Left Thumb holding a bunch of DVDs under his arm and pointing his signature silverware weapon him.
"Give me all the money in that cash register! And the tip jar too!" the sentient thumbprint crook demanded dangerously. "NOW!"
When Larry just stared at him with shock and horror, Sal jumped onto the counter, opened the register, grabbed a handful of bills and the tip jar, and ran out.
"STOP!" Larry shouted but it was too late.
Sal had escaped.
"I'm having a terrible day," the cashier moaned in misery as he quickly proceeded to call the police.
Outside…
Sal thought he was home free when someone grabbed him and harshly pulled him into the alley.
"I do believe that does not belong to you," came a woman's cold and angry voice.
Sal groaned and growled, "That's none of your business, punk!"
He cursed as he realized he was trapped against the brick wall of the alley. Sal then noted that he still had the glass bottle in hand and his goods were still under his arm. Gritting his teeth, he struck out in the dark air of the alley. A fleshy but strong hand grabbed his offending arm and pulled hard.
"OOOMPH!" the thief grunted as what felt like a knee struck him around the abdominal area.
This was soon followed by a punch and a kick which sent him hard into the wall, dropping the bottle but still miraculously holding his stolen goods.
"Now, give me what you stole," the voice commanded, the cold tone lowering to a frostbite level.
"O-okay, it's yours. J-just leave me be," Sal whimpered as he felt his loot be ripped away from him before succumbing to unconsciousness.
Back in the store...
Larry pitifully buried his face in his hands, eyes covered in shame. How could he have let this happen? He was surely going to be permanently fired for this! Stupid, stupid, stupid! He should have never let his guard down! What was he thinking?! How was he going to explain this to the boss? Where were the police?!
He was so tangled in his thoughts that he did not take notice of the front door opening and the sound of footsteps approaching the counter. He didn't even look up when he heard someone cough to grab his attention. Then he heard things being placed on the counter.
Realizing this person was not going to leave, he pulled his face from his hands and looked up. He was shocked to discover the stolen DVDs, money, and tip jar on the counter. But the biggest shock was the person who stood in front of the counter.
It was a being he had never seen before.
Based on the figure, the person was most likely a woman. The woman had soft, pale skin with short, dark hair and eyes the color of a clear summer night. Her lips were a glistening maroon which went well with her skin and hair. Her attire looked to be crafted from plants. Her one-sleeved dress seemed to be made of dark green leaves, the one sleeve having a couple of grass sprouts on it. Her left upper arm had what looked to be grass wrapped around it, as did her right forearm. A necklace of what looked to be dark pink petals strew around her neck. Her legs also seemed to be wrapped in some weaved grass as well.
"I believe these belong to you," she stated in a soft voice. "I can assure you that the thief was punished for attempting to steal."
Larry finally found his voice, "T-thank you."
Ashi nodded at him with a gentle smile as she observed him.
Based on his head and arms structure, he was a rock-based being. His freckled cheeks had a slight blush, a contrasting pink to his grey skin. He wore a green shirt, black pants, a red and white tie, and a matching hat. He was rather tall and skinny but she felt neither disgust or intimidation. She also took note that his lower body had a small box like component.
A shy silence drifted between them. However, it was cut short by the sound of an oncoming police siren. Larry turned his head to see a police car pulling up.
"Oh, good, the police are here. You can tell them that you handled the thief," Larry said with a smile as he turned his head back to look at her.
His smile faded when he found nothing but an empty spot, the door swishing close. The only evidence of her being there was the returned items.
Larry swiveled his head around, hoping to catch sight of her. Luck was not on his side. He looked down in disappointment with a sigh as Officer Sprinkles came in.
Gasping and holding his baton with two other police officers by his side, the doughnut authority figure looked around for the trouble. But all he found an empty store and a despondent Larry.
The pastry lawman awkwardly put his baton down and asked, "What did I miss?"
We hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. This story will also make have shout outs and callbacks to TAWOG episodes and good recognition to characters that are hardly given attention. Next chapter will be up soon!