DISCLAIMER: I own the plot to this story and nothing more. Nintendo, Game Freak, and some other rich people own the Pokémon characters. Blizzard Entertainment and whichever companies hold stock in them own everything Warcraft. If I owned everything, I wouldn’t be job hunting right now. AUTHOR’S NOTES: Another wave of nostalgia got me back to writing again. This time, I’ve been playing way too much World of Warcraft and can’t get it out of my head, so it’s only fitting to do a crossover. Don’t worry though, because you do not need any knowledge about Warcraft to understand this story, since much of it will be explained throughout (although some knowledge of the Warcraft lore and World of Warcraft itself really does help enhance your reading). Anyway, I don’t have much else to say since I haven’t written much in years. Just remember that feedback of any kind is always welcomed and thanks in advance for reading. ----------------------------------------------------- Through Azeroth – Prologue Written by daBOSS Only he remained. It was difficult for Kil’jaeden the Deceiver to picture the reality of the situation. The Burning Legion, once an unstoppable force of demonic power that brought endless chaos to an uncountable number of worlds in the Great Dark Beyond, now appeared powerless after its multiple failed conquests of one. Azeroth had fought back two direct invasions from the Legion, completely ending the lives of so many of its top leaders. Sargeras the Betrayer, the founder of the Legion: killed in both physical form and spirit. Archimonde the Defiler, Kil’jaeden’s champion partner: destroyed by Azeroth’s mortal races at the battle of Mount Hyjal. Mannorth the Destructor, the barbarous leader of the pit lords: killed at the hands of a mere orc who successfully fought against his own corruption. The Burning Legion’s plans for destroying Azeroth had all shattered. It had tried corrupting the blood of the orcish Horde on the world of Draenor and unleashing the Horde’s fury upon Azeroth’s humanity, but the plan fell to ruin when the orcs, so close to victory, crumpled under incessant infighting. It had spread a powerful plague that converted the inhabitants of an entire continent and beyond to a mindless undead Scourge army, but its leader, the Lich King, had grown too powerful for the Legion to control. The Legion failed to destroy the Lich King and the Scourge broke away, sending Kil’jaeden tumbling back to square one. Its forces in Azeroth were now reduced to an almost negligible number and under constant harassment from the mortal races’ adventurers. As if that were not bad enough, the mortals have reopened the Dark Portal and entered Outland, the last remnants of Draenor, where Kil’jaeden’s top pawn, Illidan Stormrage, now operated. Illidan had already failed twice to destroy the Lich King and end the undead Scourge’s growing power for the Legion, but with the Legion as weak as it had become, there was little choice in terms of secondary leadership under Kil’jaeden. If Azeroth’s mortals drove Illidan’s forces from Outland, the Burning Legion would be finished. As the lone remaining demonic champion, Kil’jaeden could not allow such a plot to solidify. He needed a new source of power to reinvigorate the Legion’s strength, and he would have to search for it in a world that the Legion not yet ruined. It would not take him long to find that world. * * * * * * * * * * The tiny cruise ship docked, cutting through the sun-baked waters off the Pommelo Island coast. Crewmembers were quick to open the first class cabin doors, and a young, newlywed couple stepped off the mid-afternoon liner from Pallet Town. The young man wore a tropical shirt and trunks, sandals, and donned a baseball cap. The young woman had on a matching tropical one-piece dress. Hand-in-hand, the couple strolled through the docks and toward their beachfront hotel. They had been married earlier that day, and this was the Orange Islands honeymoon both had been looking forward to. Twenty-year-old Ash Ketchum and his wife Misty waltzed through the sandy Pommelo beach, eagerly anticipating a month off before beginning their new lives together. Ash had attained his dreams, becoming the youngest person in history to reach the top Pokémon master’s ranking where he had now been sitting for three consecutive years. Being the top master meant the ability to take extended time off between tournaments and meetings, which allowed him the opportunity to have a month-long honeymoon. Misty had reached her goals as well, standing alone atop the water Pokémon world and serving as a fully licensed Pokémon nurse. They had confessed their love to each other after he became a Pokémon master and had been the world’s most recognizable couple since. News of their engagement traveled around the globe in less than a day, and while neither minded most of the attention, the incessant pursuit from the paparazzi taught them to be more careful planning their wedding. No one outside their immediate family and circle of friends knew that they had tied the knot that morning, since the entire ceremony was never announced to the public and had been held at a small meadow just north of Pallet Town. However, this next month would not be about organizing Pokémon League tournaments or dodging camera flashes, even though someone was sure to recognize them while walking around Pommelo. This next month would be about sunny skies and sandy beaches by day with moonlit strolls and expressions of love in the evenings. Pommelo was the perfect resort to leave the daily workload behind and enjoy an unforgettable honeymoon. Little did the young couple know that the honeymoon would completely deviate from their own script. * * * * * * * * * * Yes, such an untapped world would be perfect. Kil’jaeden had found what he was looking for. This new world had creatures that harbored more elements of magic than Azeroth. He watched as the humans captured and trained these creatures, increasing the strength of their individual powers. He knew that if he could corrupt these creatures and bend their wills to serve his own purposes, he could harness their energies and use them to strengthen the Burning Legion once more. With the combined energies from these creatures fusing its demonic powers, the Legion would be an unstoppable force again. Kil’jaeden chuckled to himself at this thought, surprised that he hadn’t discovered this world earlier, and went to work on his new plan. Yes, the humans of this world were unbelievably foolish to not realize the true potential of these creatures’ combined powers, and he would soon show them what they were missing. It was only a matter of time before he would corrupt them all and absorb this new world into the realm of the Burning Legion, and revenge on Azeroth for all it had done in the past would be his at last. Calling upon two of his top dreadlords stationed in Outland, Kil’jaeden ordered them to begin channeling energies from the Great Dark Beyond to open a portal that would bridge the two worlds. ----------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR’S NOTES: There you have it. If you have any questions about Warcraft or if you want to provide some feedback, you can reach me at da_boss1@bluebottle.com. I’ll get chapter 1 up soon.