(A/N: Okay, the whole two people that have read this fic have thought it was very good. Problem is, I'm having trouble getting more reviewers when I post it on & Shaded Pathway. And after all I put into this fic, nobody reads it… Oh well, I'll post it here and risk the random flames and deletions that this site is famous for.
This takes place a little over 1 year of the anime. I know somebody's going to ask.
Just about every character makes an appearance or is mentioned at some point, though some of the less-than-observed characters were omitted for the sake of clarity and fluid motion of the fic. What happened to a lot of them will turn up in Part II (and this particular fic is I of III) of the entire HFA saga.
I own neither Shaman King nor Games Workshop's range of human and alien races wherever they make their appearances. But you all know the drill by now, as far as disclaimers go.
PLEASE, avoid the urge to flame this to the ground! I know that most who pay attention and can follow it will like this (or at least the original), but statistically speaking, somebody will flame this to the ground just to be a jerk. And if you're that jerk, I recommend you resist the urge, as I want as many readers to enjoy this as possible. I realize that this may be hard for some people though. (reminisces over the fall of Peer Pressure) However, I will spare no expense in precautions for my fics.
Since I can't unfortunately post the original (the ratings don't go that high and I would never see any reviews), instead of prohibiting all of you from reading this, I'm just going to neuter it for a kiddie audience. (Oh crap… I've turned into an editor for 4Kids! This is not going to look good to some of my fans of old…) However, hope is not lost. If you want to receive the original HFA, email me a message or post a review stating that you want to see the original, un-screwed with fic and I'll send out the originals. Unfortunately the rating on the originals is much higher than normal because of words like "poison", "the Far East", and "love". sarcastically How dare I use such language and themes in an internet-posted fanfic…
Okay, I'm done ranting. Read on.)
Chapter 1: Discovery
It is a dark and stormy day around the Inn. Thunder cracks loudly, lightning illuminates the sky every so often, and the rain pours down the street in torrents. And all the while, the inhabitants, Yoh, Anna, and Morty, huddle around the TV in the living room…
As you can clearly see, these rains are impairing travel all across the country. But what baffles meteorologists the most is the consistency of these storms throughout the countryside, as well as similar, though less severe weather patterns at other locations around the world. The television shows disturbing footages of trees being torn from their roots by the torrential floods as the TV announcer continues dictating the misfortunate events as they occur.
Yoh and Morty stare at the television screen in complete awe, but Anna stares stoically at the events, showing no concern at all.
"Hmph, I can't believe they interrupted my soaps for this!" Anna comments snidely. "I never got to see whether Chad went out with Diana or not!" The frustrated blonde girl folds her arms crossly and stares at the television coldly, as if she could change the channel through intimidation.
Yoh and Morty continue to stare at the television like hypnotized zombies, jaws hanging wide open. The television continues to dictate.
Meteorologists have yet to come to the bottom of the source of this global hurricane, but attribute it to abnormally strong lunar-induced tides. No further explanation can be offered at thi-… The TV channel suddenly changes to a cheesy soap opera.
Chad, do you have feelings for me or not! A southern-accented female voice coming from the TV says.
Yoh and Morty turn back to see Anna crouched on the floor with the television remote in hand and a small bowl of popcorn at the side. "Stupid news. It always gets in the way of the best parts of my soaps…" Anna complains coldly.
Yoh and Morty glance at each other, and then slowly back away from the television, lest Anna shout at them for getting in the way.
Suddenly, a floating blue fireball with a cartoon-like face shoots through the opposite wall as if in a panic. "Master Yoh! Master Yoh!" Amidamaru chants as he approaches Yoh, Manta, and Anna.
The three all turn attentively to see what Amidamaru is panicking about.
"What is it, Amidamaru?" Yoh asks with a sense of urgency.
"And is it really so important that you have to interrupt me while watching my favorite soap opera?" Anna questions, her frustration building.
Amidamaru quickly materializes before the three, then points to the main corridor in a panic. "Someone is trying to come in, but cannot due to the floods outside! Master Yoh, we must assist!" Amidamaru states.
"I'm there!" Yoh says as he springs to his feet. He runs out of the room, and on his way out, he grabs a sheathed samurai sword that is perched near the door.
Morty follows quickly, or as quick as he can for someone his height. On the way out of the room, he grabs a small, red dagger that looks like it is made out of stone. "Hey, Yoh! Wait up! I'm coming too!" Morty calls down the hall.
Anna glances back as Yoh, Amidamaru, and Morty leave the room, then immediately returns her attention to the television set. "Let me know what happens!" Anna shouts as she picks up a popcorn kernel out of the bowl on the floor and tosses the small kernel into her mouth.
Yoh and Morty open the front door to see a short girl in a long, pink, hooded raincoat. She hangs onto the stone front entrance, the quickly flowing, waist-deep floodwaters nearly sweeping her off her feet. The girl lowers her hood and shouts towards the porch. "Yoh! Morty! Help, I'm gonna' get swept away! The current is too strong!" she calls.
"Tamara!" Yoh and Morty shout. The two boys glance around their flooded yard frantically, looking for some way to get Tamao through the torrential floods safely.
Thinking quickly, Yoh glances down at the sheathed sword in his hand, then to Amidamaru, who levitates beside Yoh and Morty, also looking around the flooded yard in shock. Yoh reaches out towards Amidamaru and configures him into a blue fireball, which he takes into his left hand. At the same time, Yoh kicks the sheath off the sword in his hand. Then, in one swift motion, he places Amidamaru into the base of the blade of the sword. "Amidamaru, Spirit Form, into the sword!" Yoh recites. The sword in Yoh's hand immediately begins bristling with bright blue furiyoku.
Catching on, Morty tosses the small red dagger up to Yoh. "Yoh, catch!"
Yoh catches the dagger that Morty throws up to him, and then he crosses the blades of the sword with the dagger. "Into the antiquity!" Yoh declares. The sword flows into the blade and causes it to grow long and thick. Yoh's sword turns into a gigantic, highly ornate blue-bladed sword that stretches high into the air. Yoh swings this giant sword down, slashing at the pool of water in the front yard. "Celestial Slash!" he declares. A red energy wave comes off the tip of the blade as Yoh swings it. As the energy wave strikes the surface of the water, the waters rush apart, exposing the dampened and muddy sidewalk stones in the yard leading up to the elevated porch.
Glancing around frantically, Tamara dashes in between the walls of parted waters and runs towards the porch. Around her, the waves of water begin to reach a peak and fall towards her. Not even halfway to the porch, she speeds into a futile run to escape the aquatic trash compactor. She reaches the porch as the water closes in around her, and Yoh and Morty frantically pull her out of the way of the waves. Tamara, Yoh, and Morty all collapse on the porch in heart-pounding anxiety, all three of them drenched from head to toe from the splashes of the giant waves.
Meanwhile, in the warm living room, Anna sits on her side and snarls at the television set again. The TV shows a radio tower icon with the letters "EBS" under it.
The TV remains mute for a few seconds, and then begins talking again. We now interrupt our current program, "Nanoseconds of Our Lives", to bring you this highly urgent announcement.
Anna sneers and holds up the remote control and flips through various channels. To her irritation, all of the channels appear to be playing the same exact message. "Ugh… I hope this is as urgent as they claim it is, for their sake…" Anna comments as she slams the remote down on the floor next to her.
We ask that all of you remain inside and do not go outside into the rain for any purposes until further notice. An analysis of the rainwater from the National Biological Analysis Center indicates that this rain contains trace particles of potentially hazardous spores. There is no word out yet as to what effect these spores have on human, animal, or plant tissue as of now. Please immediately seek dry shelter and do not leave to retrieve any property or pets. If you are currently outside, or have already gotten wet, seek shelter immediately, and then proceed to the nearest hospital or clinic in the area and seek treatment in between breaks in the storm. Repeat, we ask that all of you remain inside and do no-
Anna turns off the TV with the remote, then leafs through a nearby hotel magazine, muttering to herself. "Hmph… What a stupid warning… If you're already outside and getting wet, how are you supposed to watch TV to see the announcement that says not to go outside and get wet? There was no thought put into that warning whatsoever…"
"What did you say Anna?" Yoh responds from out of nowhere.
Anna tilts her head back and stands to her feet to see Yoh, Morty, and Tamara behind her, all three soaking wet. She recalls in her mind what the emergency announcement said about the rainwater being tainted. "…Uh-oh…" she mutters softly.
Anna paces around in a room, holding a cordless phone up to her ear. "What do you mean you're busy!" she shouts.
Faust holds up the phone on the other end by resting it between his chin and shoulder. His hands are full as he is almost literally juggling pill canisters and vaccination needles. A bony, green-glowing hand reaches out of his white lab coat and holds up the phone to Faust's ear. "I mean that we're busy, Mrs. Asakura. This epidemic is everywhere, and people are coming from miles away to my clinic, and I'm short on living hands and furiyoku at the moment."
Anna raises an eyebrow. "What does your furiyoku have to do with this?" she questions.
"Do you honestly think that anyone would believe that Eliza is my 'Assistant Nurse' if they could see through her?" Faust responds. He begins fumbling with the pill bottles and injection vials in his arms and all the items fall across the linoleum floor and roll away. "Rats…" he mutters. He then picks up the phone and holds it up to his ear. "Sorry about that, Mrs. Asakura, a slight complication with my coordination."
Anna stops pacing and anime-sighs. "Well whatever. How do I handle this… er… complication?"
Faust continues picking up the pill bottles off the floor, holding the phone in between his chin and shoulder while crawling around on his hands and knees. "It's not as complicated as the news report claims it to be. The water isn't lethal. I know because I accidentally swallowed some when trying to analyze it with my tongue."
Anna anime-sighs again. "Could we keep this on a need-to-know basis? Because that is something I didn't need to know."
Faust continues hunting around for fallen pill bottles. "I apologize. Anyway, you should take a hot bath or shower to clean off first. You live in an indoor spa, yes?"
Anna stares up in confusion. "Yeah, we live in a spa. Oh, and by the way it's not me, it's Yoh."
"Anyone else?" Faust asks.
Anna thinks to herself for a second. "Er… uh… nope, just Yoh. Yep, his miniature friend and that other girl are all perfectly dry, hehehe…" she says, then lowers the phone and anime-sighs yet again. "If word got out that I tried to help out anyone other than Yoh, I'd never hear the end of it…" she thinks to herself.
Faust doesn't notice the nervousness in Anna's voice. "It should be enough to get Yoh, Morty, and Tamara cleaned up. I was safe because I have a plethora of medications on hand. There's no telling what effects the rainwater will have on the others if not properly treated."
"Wait a sec… How'd you know about Morty and Tamara?" Anna questions.
"Of course, you don't spend your whole life studying medicine and not learn anything about psychology," Faust says.
"I hate it when you do that, you know…" Anna comments snidely.
"You're welcome, Mrs. Asakura. I know. Goodbye," Faust responds. He hangs up quickly.
Anna holds the phone up listening to the dial tone. "What a freak…" she says as she hangs the phone up.
(A/N: Okay, hope the castrations didn't have too much effect. Changing the names was a bit much though. I'll have to really bite my lip when Hao shows up… Zeke, pfft, somebody probably got fired for that… All done in the name of drawing in some of the lost and confused dub-viewers, of course.
Unfortunately, a lot was lost from Faust. I hear he's a really good interpretation in the original HFA. Remember though, if you want to receive the original HFA, contact me via email or review, but either way, leave an email address and I'll add you to my mailing list.
Viva la… er, my fanfic!)