Samurai Jack: A Better Future
Foreword:
Hello fellow Samurai Jack fans, curious readers, and the like. If you're reading this, thanks for deciding to turn the first (figurative) page of this story. Like many of you, I'm personally pleased and grateful that the creators of this iconic show decided to bring Jack's quest to an end. Yet like many others, I'm somewhat torn by the bittersweet taste of the final twist. So I've decided to join the ranks of other likeminded writers who've written alternate takes for the sake of giving our hero a well-deserved happy ending.
But this will be a bit different and longer than most of its predecessors. It's based on the idea of Jack remaining ageless and living up to the rewritten future without Aku. There he begins another adventure with the appearance of a new enemy, reuniting with the many he met in his past travels.
I've been drafting this story out in my head for months, before finally getting off my chair and launching it live. So I really hope you'll enjoy it.
Prologue
"Such a beautiful day."
And indeed it is. A fine sunny spring day in feudal Japan, over a lake in the open glade decorated by trees blooming cherry blossoms, complete with the sounds of nature in the air and happy families basking in the glory of it all.
And resting by the lake is a prince and his two parents, spending a well-deserved day outside.
"Yes it is. And a fine time to enjoy a picnic together as a family, my son."
The emperor smiles, holding his teacup up respectfully before taking a sip.
"You should be proud. Twenty years of peace and prosperity, and its all because of you."
"Oh? Has it been that long?"
The prince looks upward as he flashes back to that fateful day. The day he finally got back to the past and ended his quest to forever vanquish his sworn enemy: the shapeshifting master of darkness Aku.
"I still can't believe so much time has passed."
"Yet even in face of those two decades, you've remained unchanged."
The empress places her hand on her son's face, prompting a small chuckle. In contrast to his parents now visibly grey and full of years, the prince still glows with the full youthfulness of his prime.
"I know. Even after my passage through the second time portal, the 'gift' of eternal youth hasn't left me…"
At this reminder of his agelessness, the prince feels his serene mood fade and give way to an overbearing wave of uncertainty. His eyes shift towards the vast empty surface of the lake, reflecting only the clear open sky above.
"I'm… afraid. I know it's almost childish, but the idea of living forever…of living in an everlasting unknown future… terrifies me…"
The emperor sighs sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't be so downhearted, my son. I may not be able to imagine or comprehend what is to come. But however the new timeline unfolds, I know in my heart that it will be better than the future of Aku you have undone."
The prince looks around the land, full of life and free from the evil that had choked it years before. Then he turns and looks at his smiling parents. With his heart full of gratitude and a rising sense of hope he smiles back.
"Yes… Far better…"