Prologue

In the fabric of time and space its two inhabitants played their eternal game. The Ellimist had just won another round against Crayak. The game of Earth was finished in The Ellimist's favor.

"You cheated!"

"Prove it."

"You stacked the deck. Brought together all of your pieces together at the start of the game, and used an anomaly to secure your chosen timeline. You even directly interfered with the playing field, shaping events and the pieces in your favor."

"Well that hardly matters now."

"I suppose. But what if we had a rematch?"

"Why would I agree to that if I've already won this game?"

"In exchange for this game I'll let you take two other ones."

"Very well, but there is little point in this. As you said the anomaly secures the current timeline. A rematch won't do you any good."

"Then we will have to change that. In this game the anomaly will be corrected, allowing the game to be played differently. And then we will have to shuffle the deck, scattering the pieces across the board."

"Two changes in your favor. Then allow me two changes."

"Of course."

"First, new pieces will be brought into the game, to make things more interesting. Second, the humans will evolve faster, throughout their history."

"The terms are acceptable. Let the game begin."

A/N: I hope you like this framing device for an Animorphs/X-Men: Evolution crossover.