Mortal Kombat: Fire & Blood

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Chapter One: Welcoming Party

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On the River Rhoyne, aboard the ship the Shy Maid.

Floating along the River Rhoyne while the turtles swam about in the waters, a young lad no older than eighteen years of age with blue hair and wearing clothing suited for combat, sparred against an older man with ginger hair and a muscular body. The both of them were armed with blunted steel sparring swords. Nearby, an older man wearing clothes suited for a sellsword with blue hair as well watched them spar and also seated nearby was a woman with dark tan skin and handsome features wearing the robes of a Septa. At the wheel was a small olive-skinned man who turned the wheel of the ship with practiced ease.

The sounds of steel clanging against steel rang out into the air as the blue haired lad and the ginger haired man clashed their weapons against each other.

"Keep your guard up, Young Griff!" barked the blue haired sellsword. "Lest you want a hole in your liver!" he warned.

Young Griff nodded and moved back from his opponent, holding his sword at an angle with the blade tip facing down. The ginger circled him carefully. Young Griff followed his opponent's circling of him and waited for an opportunity to strike. Youthful impatience got the better of the blue haired lad and he gave a yell and charged at the ginger haired man who blocked his strikes with easy broad swings of his sword.

Young Griff's strikes began to falter and his opponent struck with his own sword at Young Griff's leg, striking just above the knee. The blue haired boy gave a short yelp as he felt his leg buckle under him and fell to his back. The ginger then placed the tip of his sword under the boy's chin and said one word.

"Dead!"

Young Griff sighed tiredly and nodded in defeat. His teacher removed his sword and allowed him to stand up.

"Do you see what you did wrong?" the ginger haired man asked Young Griff who shrugged his shoulders. "You wore yourself out attacking me as you did," the ginger haired man explained to Young Griff. "If you attack continuously, your opponent need only wait until you exhaust yourself entirely and kill you with one blow," he then said.

"Duck is right, boy," the sellsword said to Young Griff. "You cannot continuously an opponent hoping that will overwhelm them. You must wait for an opening and then strike hard," he added.

"But wouldn't that drag the battle out longer?" Young Griff asked. "Wouldn't it be better to keep striking until my enemy's guard breaks?" he said.

"Well, as you just saw, my guard didn't break under your assault," the ginger haired man, Duck, replied. "That sort of tactic might work on lesser opponents, but against a seasoned warrior or knight? You'd only be signing your death warrant," he said.

"So, what must I do to make an opponent give me an opening?" Young Griff asked.

"There are many ways, lad," Duck replied. "Not all of them are guaranteed to work, but a few of which are reliable," he said.

"Teach me, Ser Duck!" Young Griff said eagerly.

"Another time, lad," the sellsword said sternly. "Rest up. You need to continue your lessons with Halfmaester and Septa Lemore," he advised.

"Yes, Griff," Young Griff said to the sellsword who nodded before standing up from his seat to speak with the ship's captain.

Young Griff entered the hold of the ship and stripped off his tunic and sloshed some cold water onto his face and body, washing off the sweat and grime. Drying himself off and putting on a clean tunic, the blue haired lad then searched for Halfmaester, his tutor.

After an hour lesson with the Halfmaester, Young Griff then tended to his duties aboard the Shy Maid, checking the ropes were tied correctly and that there was no damage to the ship before swabbing the decks. After his duties were done, Young Griff then went into the hold for some dinner where a majority of everyone was eating their evening meal.

Griff then spoke loudly getting everyone's attention.

"Tomorrow, we'll be setting sail for Yi-Ti and Leng," the sellsword announced sternly.

"Yi-Ti and Leng? Why are we sailing there?" Young Griff asked.

"It is to further your training, boy, and to broaden your horizons," replied Griff firmly.

"What could I learn there that you aren't already teaching me?" Young Griff asked in confusion.

"The Yitish and Leng are skilled in fighting arts that not only involve weapons, but also the body and ways to hone the body and even the mind," replied Griff who then raised a hand to forestall a protest from Young Griff. "It is not my first choice to travel so far away, but it was at the suggestion of the Cheesemonger that we travel to Yi-Ti and Leng, and he also said that given the distance, the Usurper won't likely find us there," he said.

"Must we?" Young Griff asked, an almost pleading look on his face.

"As I said, it is not my first choice," Griff said stoically. "But the further we are from the Usurper and his spies, the better," he added.

"Yes, Griff," the blue haired lad said nodding his head resignedly.

"Get some sleep, boy," the sellsword said to him. "We have a long journey ahead of us," he added.

Young Griff then finished eating his food and headed off to the cabin he shared with Griff. Stripping off his clothes until he was only in his smallclothes and pulling on a nightshirt, the blue haired lad climbed into the cot and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

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Young Griff's dreams were fitful and filled with visions. Visions of people and places he'd never seen before, and horrors and creatures he dared not wish to look upon again. A great pyramid stood in the middle of a blood-strewn battlefield, and the blue haired lad saw Griff, Duck, Septa Lemore and Halfmaester all lying on the ground, their bodies practically torn to pieces. Young Griff's heart thundered in his chest as he saw his teachers' dead bodies lying before him. Then standing at the top of the pyramid, he saw a large imposing man wearing strange armour with eyes liked that of a demon and holding in one large meaty hand an enormous heavy looking warhammer.

And lying at the monster's feet was a man wearing black robes and with glowing white eyes, blood bubbling from his lips. The monster laughed in triumph and raised his weapon high above him, preparing to crush the head of the man at his feet.

The dying man then spoke out in a dying wheezing voice.

"He must… win!"

Then the monster slammed his warhammer down and as the head of the hammer neared the dying man's head, Young Griff woke from his bed with a startled scream. His heart was hammering in his chest. Griff awoke with a start and asked, "Lad? Lad! What is it? What's wrong?"

Young Griff stared at the sellsword, his eyes wide with fear before he calmed himself and said, "Nothing… it was nothing. Just a bad dream."

"Are you sure, lad?" Griff asked him with concern in his voice. "Would you like Halfmaester to give you some essence of nightshade to help you sleep?" he offered.

"I'm fine," Young Griff replied with a forced smile. "It was just a bad dream. Nothing more," he said before settling back down on his bed and sighed. Griff pursed his lips but did not press the issue before going back to sleep himself.

Young Griff however, lay awake in his bed, his mind going back to the dream he had. Now that it had passed, it was hard to remember the details of the visions of it. Convincing himself it had been nothing more than a dream, the blue haired lad simply fell back asleep, his dreams this time calmer and more lucid.

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The next morning, the ship had sailed out of the Rhoyne and into the Jade Sea. Young Griff stood on the deck, leaning on the railing, enjoying the smell of winds from the sea and the smell of the ocean.

Septa Lemore joined Young Griff. "Excited to see Yi-Ti and Leng?" the Septa asked him.

The blue haired lad nodded in response and said, "Yes, Septa. I'm looking forward to seeing the wonders of Yi-Ti and Leng. Is it true that the women of Leng are taller than men of Essos and Westeros?" he asked.

"I have heard the stories, but I have not seen a woman from Leng to say so," replied Lemore. "But I suppose we'll find out when we get there, wont we?" she said with a teasing grin.

"It'll be an interesting tale to tell for certain," Young Griff said with a boyish grin on his lips.

"I've also heard that the women of Leng, although fearsomely tall are quite lovely to behold," Lemore said with a teasing grin. Young Griff gave a laugh at that.

"Mayhap they are," he jested. "But Griff would keep me as far from them as possible, lest I get any ideas of bedding one," he japed.

"Indeed," Lemore said going along with the jape. "Although, it wouldn't stop Duck from trying his luck with a Lengese woman," she added with a chuckle. Young Griff gave another laugh and went back to looking across the sea.

Then an ominous rumbling of thunder was heard, and dark clouds crept over the ship. Griff looked up at the darkening clouds and cursed, "Seven Hells! We do not need a storm to throw us off course!" he spat. "Everyone inside!" he commanded and everyone barring a few deckhands and the ship's captain went below deck to wait out the storm.

Then with a crash of thunder and flash of lightning, the storm hit. The waves churned and rocked the ship. Young Griff tried his best to keep his footing as the ship rose and fell with the roiling waves. Duck was seated on a stool, trying to keep his balance. Septa Lemore sat herself on the stairs leading up to the deck while Halfmaester looked a little queasy. Griff had an annoyed look on his face, muttering something about how the storm would throw them off course for days.

Young Griff made his way to the cabins and flung himself into his bed, hoping that the storm would soon pass, and he could go back out on deck. The rumbling of thunder and crackling of lightning only worsened and the ship nearly overturned on itself. Griff stumbled his way into the cabin. "Lad! Are you alright?!" the sellsword tried to yell over the crashing thunder. Young Griff could barely hear the man but nodded his head in response.

"Never seen a storm like this!" Griff growled out. "It isn't natural!" he hissed as he sat himself on his own bed.

"Perhaps the Gods are angry with us?" Septa Lemore said as she entered the cabin.

"Nonsense, woman!" Griff rebuked. "We've not done anything to displease the Gods. The storm should pass and soon!" he said firmly.

But then a loud crash of thunder and the sound cracked with lightning flashing, bathing the room in bright white light.

The ship then rolled onto an unnatural angle. Young Griff nearly fell out of the bed and Griff gave a curse and Septa Lemore was muttering a prayer to the Seven for safe passage and the storm to end soon.

With another crash of thunder, the rolled over onto its side and Young Griff fell from the bed and whacked his head against the hull of the ship and darkness took him.

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"Lad… Lad… are you alright? Lad?!"

Young Griff awoke with a hollow groan, his head thumping like a blacksmith hammering away at an anvil. He looked up to see Halfmaester kneeling over him with some smelling salts in his hand. Griff stood nearby, an anxious look on his face.

Halfmaester spoke slowly, "Are you alright, Young Griff?" he asked. "Are you hurt badly?" he also asked.

"I'm fine," Young Griff replied as he rubbed his head and felt a bandage wrapped around his head. "What happened?" he asked.

"The storm passed, but we landed on an island with the ship nearly in ruins," replied Halfmaester. "We're trying to do some repairs on the ship, but it will take some time," he explained patiently.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Griff asked anxiously.

"Yes. I am fine, Griff," the blue haired lad replied. "Where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know," Griff admitted with a frustrated sigh. "I've been to many islands in the Jade Sea, but I'm afraid I don't know this one," he said.

"Has anyone had time to take a look?" Young Griff asked.

"Duck has gone to look further inland for anyone living here, but I'm not hopeful," replied the sellsword. "I was waiting for you to recover so that we could go look for him," he then said.

"Alright then," Young Griff said as he made to stand. "Let's go look for Duck!" he declared as he prepared to stand. Halfmaester stopped him.

"Easy! You've had a nasty bump to the head! You could have a concussion!" the Halfmaester warned.

"I'm fine!" Young Griff retorted as he stood, swaying only slightly before steadying himself. Looking at Griff, the blue haired boy said to him, "Have we any weapons?" he asked.

Griff nodded and opened a nearby trunk and pulled out two simple steel longswords. Handing one to Young Griff, he said, "These are real weapons, lad, not sparring weapons or toys to play with," he said sternly. "If we must fight, we fight to kill! Understand?" he asked sternly.

Young Griff nodded in response and took one of the swords from Griff's grasp. Buckling the blade to his waist, Young Griff followed the sellsword out onto deck where he saw the damaged to the ship.

"Won't be leaving here anytime soon," Young Griff commented.

"No. We won't be," replied Griff an annoyed look on his face. "But the crew are working on it as fast as they can and we should be able to leave here within enough to reach Yi-Ti," he said confidently. Leaving some orders to await their return, the sellsword and Young Griff headed into the jungle of the island. There was a myriad of lush greenery and flowers bloomed everywhere. The caws and cries of birds could be hard in the trees as the pair travelled into the dense jungle.

As they ventured further in, they began to hear the distant sound of voices. Griff waved Young Griff so that they crouched low hoping to avoid being seen. The pair crept through the bushes until they came across a distressing sight.

Duck tied to a boulder, surrounded by… well, they could only be described as demons. They had large mouths filled with sharp needle like fangs, bald heads with demonic looking eyes, clawed hands and strange sharp bone protrusions on their forearms. One of them wearing a white tunic and seemingly looking to be the leader of these demons spoke harshly to Duck.

"Speak outsider! Who else are you with?" the creature demanded and growing from one arm was a long black iron blade. Young Griff almost gasped loudly in surprise were it not for Griff clamping a hand over his mouth, although the sellsword looked surprised as well.

"I'm here alone!" Duck growled out as the tip of the demon's arm-blade tickled his cheek drawing a small drop of blood.

"Liar!" roared the demon as it pressed its blade harder into Duck's cheek.

"We have to do something!" Young Griff hissed to Griff who nodded and replied, "Aye, we must, but we're outnumbered!" he said in frustration. Young Griff looked and saw that the demons numbered about ten in total counting their leader.

"What do we do?" Young Griff asked.

"I'll draw them away from here and you rescue Duck," Griff ordered as he crept off to the side leaving Young Griff alone.

It didn't take long before a bird's call alerted the demons. Their leader yelled out an order for them to find the noise. More than half of them left, leaving only the leader and four underlings.

Young Griff weighed his options, trying to think what could be done. He wasn't sure how capable these demons were in combat, but they were no doubt strong looking beasts and those arm-blades of theirs would be lethal in battle. Picking up a stone, Young Griff tossed it near the demons. One of the demons looked to see where the stone had landed, when Young Griff snuck up behind him and quickly cut his throat. The creature gave a strangled gasp as its throat was slit to the bone. Young Griff almost stared at the dead creature in shock, realising he had just someone, or rather something. Quickly putting that thought aside, the blue haired lad quickly stabbed his sword into the back of the next demon who gave a death-cry alerting the leader and the others.

The leader whirled around and gave a roar of anger. Young Griff nearly soiled himself in fear, but he held his sword ready and said, "Let my friend go, and you may live!" he warned.

The leader and its remaining underlings all laughed in scorn. "Foolish human! You cannot best a Tarkatan in battle!" the leader boasted as another arm-blade sprouted from its other arm giving it two in total.

"Griff! Run! Don't worry about me!" Duck yelled from his spot before one of the demons punched him in the face.

"Ah, so you did come here with allies!" the leader remarked scraping its arm blades together kicking up sparks as it did so. The beast's fang-filled grin was evil and hungry. "This one is mine!" it said to its underlings. "Find whomever else came with them!" it commanded. The others nodded and ran off into the jungle.

Young Griff swallowed a lump in his throat as the leader circled, his stance low; it was clear this creature was a trained fighter and no doubt a seasoned killer from the looks of it.

The leader then gave a terrifying roar and charged forward leaping and spinning in the air, swinging its blades as it did so. Young Griff could barely block the strikes as they collided with his sword and he was nearly forced to his knees as he was forced into a blade-lock against the demon. The demon gave an evil grin as it pushed down against the blue haired lad who was forced to one knee. Swinging his leg out desperately, Young Griff managed to trip up the leader who gave a roar of anger as he fell to kneel. Taking the opportunity, Young Griff smashed his fist into the demon's face. He winced as his fists collided with the demon's jaw, but it did snap the demon's head to one side. Quickly getting back to his feet, the young warrior prepared to stab his sword into the creature's foul heart.

But the creature quickly leaped to its feet and delivered a kick into Young Griff's stomach, knocking the wind from him. Wheezing as the air was driven from him, the young warrior planted the tip of his sword into the ground to try and steady himself only for a fist to hit his face, almost sending him into the air. There was a small crunch and spray of blood and Young Griff gave a howl of pain as he felt his nose break. Clutching his ruined nose and tears running from his eyes, the blue haired lad glared at the demon who began laughing derisively.

"Are those tears in your eyes, human?" it taunted, laughing as it did.

Tears of pain! Young Griff thought as he was overcome with rage and with an angry roar, he tackled the creature to the ground catching it off guard and began punching the demon in the face repeatedly. The dull smacking thuds as Young Griff's fist hit the demon's face again and again were heard before it managed to kick the young warrior of itself.

Some ugly bruises were on the demon's face and a little blood trickled down into its mouth. Giving a low growl of anger, the demon glared at Young Griff who had a look of hatred on his face.

Then the demon scraped its arm blades and a great spark flew out towards the blue haired lad who gave a yelp and barely managed to avoid the fiery projectile. The demon swung its arm blade and brushed the edge against Young Griff's chest; the young warrior gave a howl of pain as blood was drawn and he dropped his sword clutching his wounded chest. The demon then roundhouse kicked Young Griff in the head, knocking him unconscious.

The rest of the demons returned with a bound and gagged Griff and the rest of the Shy Maid crew. Griff had a look of anguish as he saw Young Griff lying on the jungle floor.

The leader of the demons spoke. "Take them to Shang Tsung! He will decide what to do with them!" it declared.

Young Griff wrists and feet were then bound together with thick rope and he and the rest of his companions were all carried further into the jungle.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: There, the first chapter of this crossover done and dusted! Admittedly it's a short chapter, but it's something to set the stage of things to come in this story. This story was requested of me by my friend Jebest with whom I've been exchanging ideas for this story, so a big thank you to him and if you haven't already, feel free to check out some of his stories.

Okay, so this story will take place during MK9/MK 2011, but I will be incorporating some of MKX into the story such as the DLC characters like Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Alien, Predator, etc. And some of the DLC characters from MK9 will show up as combatants as well like Rain, Freddy Krueger, Kenshi, etc.

Now pairing wise, I've set up a poll on my profile and so far it seems like Jade and Margaery Tyrell are sharing first place and honestly I'm happy with either of them. Some of you know would like to see Daenerys/Dany take the top spot but given how the final season of Game of Thrones ended, I've been a little poisoned towards Dany. I get that it's Game of Thrones and that it was likely how George's vision for the ending of GoT was going to be, not just D&D writing it, but I was very disappointed at how Dany turned into the Mad Queen when things didn't go the way we all thought it would.

But before I get on my soap box, I have set up a voting poll on my profile of which lovely lass should be Aegon's main girl. There's a variety of women on the poll and the story will crossover into the Injustice games so there's some DC Comics girls there as well, so feel free vote on who you want Aegon to be with and I'll see what I can do.

Other than that, there's not much more to say, so I'll just leave this here and see what you all think of it.

Be kind to one another everyone,

Angry lil' elf.