A Song of Ice and Fire Through Time

Ten years after Robert's Rebellion, the Deadwood begins to spread, fulfilling the ancient warnings of the First Men. Faced with the annihilation of his people, Eddard Stark rides out to face this evil, armed only with a sorcerous concoction. The events that follow after that day change the rules of the Game of Thrones.

I do not own Game of Thrones or Samurai Jack.

This story was adopted from Lord Maximus, the author of A Song of Fire and Righteousness.

Xxx

293 AC

Ned

To travel from Winterfell to King's Landing would take over a month, more if it was an army on the march. Yet with White Fang's speed the distance was traversed in minutes, each agonizing second trickling by during which his family could have been taken by the flames or crushed under Aku's rampage. His first thought had been to fly back to Winterfell, but White Fang had conveyed to him through a means which Ned had yet to fully comprehend that while Aku was present at each of the primary fortresses and cities across the continent each of these, save one, was a mere extension of his true form, which lay in King's Landing.

And so he rode down through the Neck and across the Riverlands, able to glimpse the pure consuming the ancestral seat of his wife's family in the distance as he bypassed Riverrun and entered the Crownlands where thousands were streaming away from the capital. Some caught sight of Whitefang only as a pile blur, even fewer glimpsed the rider atop the great direwolf.

King's Landing was visible from many leagues away, burning like a great beacon from a distance ionly to turn into an ocean of flames once they reached the outer walls. The Blackwater Bay was filled with ships fleeing the carnage, swarms of smallfolk and highborn alike surged through any exit they could find or make, sometimes throwing themselves off walls or chancing the putrid waters whether they were able to swim or not.

All to escape the demon tearing apart the Red Keep.

"Run! Run little pig king!" Aku swept one arm and took out an entire tower, adding it to the growing mountains of rubble around him while ignoring the few archers who still found the courage to fight back, releasing every arrow at their disposal and scrambling for more. "Run and squeal-"

The Shogun of Sorrows paused and blinked once as something zipped past his eyes. With an irate grunt he waved one hand at it as if swatting away an insect.

"What in the- cursed bugs!" The demon snapped, twisting around to follow the cause of his irritation only to find himself staring down at the sight of a large white direwolf perched atop the ruined remains of the Tower of the Hand, carrying an armoured man with a gleaming blade. "What's this now?"

Whitefang snarled and shot into the air, shooting towards Aku's midsection. What followed was something which had been previously unknown to Aku, something which he had no memory of from the time before he received self awareness.

Pain.

"AAAAAGH!" Aku wailed, reaching down to where his side had been torn open, the edges of the sound smouldering and small flakes breaking off to dissolve into nothing. "What- what is this?!"

"AKU!" Ned roared, coming around on White Fang with his sword held high. "Your reign is at an end!"

"You?!" Aku twisted around again, comically causing his body to resemble a shirt being twisted and squeezed dry. "How can this be? That blade you carry…it is no mortal weapon."

"It is not." Ned confirmed, pointing the tip up towards the demon. "And you will know to fear its bite."

"Bah!" Aku motioned dismissively and crossed his arms. "Magic sword or not, you are no match for the power that is Aku. Fight it, flee before it, eventually all shall…" His body began to fold in on itself.

"DIE!" Aku's body reshaped into a serpentine creature, writhing through the air and expelling a jet of flame from its mouth as it dove towards its foe.

White Fang quickly shot out of the path of the flames, and Aku began to pursue through the ruined and abandoned remains of the city surrounding the Red Keep. The demon would attempt to cut them off, but White Fang proved nimble enough to keep out of reach of its claws while providing Ned with the perfect opportunity to slice into Aku's hide, eliciting a pained and infuriated cry as the demon, unaccustomed in its short existence to being denied, allowed its rage to blind it.

After dealing his fourth blow Ned was taken off guard by Aku's tail and swatted out of his saddle. White Fang corrected his course, rebounding off of a wall and kicking away with enough force to crumble the weakened structure, catching Ned just before they both crashed down into the Red Keep and landed among the royal gardens, now reduced to blackened trees and ashes.

Looking up, Ned watched as Aku's form changed again, this time becoming a gargantuan spider which stabbed down with many legs.

"Move!" He shouted even as both he and his direwolf dove out of the way, maneuvering to avoid the spike tipped appendages which bent at unnatural angles to attack from different vectors, leaving them with little room to react beyond simply avoiding any fatal blows.

Finally, Ned was able to slice clean through one of Aku's legs by a stroke of luck. Briefly frozen in agony, the demon recoiled as Ned took advantage to take two more , putting Aku off balance and giving both direwolf and rider time to reunite and take one more leg, causing Aku to finally topple over. As he landed he morphed into a sphere which rolled after them, smashing through walls and pillars as White Fang darted through what was left of the castle.

As they came out into the throne room through a breach made in one side, White Fang shot to one side and narrowly evaded the black sphere before it unravelled to reveal a ram twice his size which slammed into the direwolf, flinging it back and separating him from Ned once more. The Lord of Winterfell rolled to his feet and brought his sword between him and the charging ram, leaping to the side at the last possible second and letting the tip of the sword graze Aku's flank, cutting a burning line down the demon's entire side from head to hind leg and making it stumble and trip, demolishing more of the ancient architecture.

At that point the Red Keep could take no further abuse. Too many load bearing walls and pillars had been destroyed in the rampage, and this battle had finally pushed it too far. Ned looked up as sections of ceiling fell around him, just narrowly avoiding being crushed by White Fang's timely return. He leapt into the saddle and urged his companion on, pursuing Aku out into the court yard before the front gate, which was little more than a twisted heap of molten metal and blackened wood.

There, Aku coiled up yet again and became an insect similar to a manticore, with an arching tail tipped with a large stinger but with a set of pincer tipped arms which snapped shut as Aku scurried forward with a vicious grin. Ned, reflexively using his newfound bond with White Fang, leapt from the saddle as his companion sailed over Aku, allowing Ned to stab downwards only to sink his blade into solid stone as the demon seemed to explode, splattering parts of the courtyard with globules resembling the black water from the Deadwood.

Ned tugged his blade free and looked around, joined by White Fang as they waited for the demon to show itself once more.

"You cannot hide." He stated, a grim frown etched upon his face. "Step into the light and die with what little honour you can muster, demon."

Behind him, one of these puddles began to move towards him, slowly turning into a snake which bared its fangs as it drew closer…

"NED!"

The snaked was crushed beneath the head of a massive hammer, but quickly reformed after relocating out from beneath it and slithered away with a disdainful hiss towards Robert Baratheon, appearing battered and bloodied but otherwise alive and hefting his old signature weapon.

"Piss off!" He hollered after the serpent as it vanished into the rubble.

"Robert!" A smile split across Ned's face at the sight of his oldest friend, racing to clasp his forearm in a quick greeting. "Thank the gods you're alive."

"Yeah, the gods." The King chuckled dryly, appearing winded. "Ned…the fuck is going on? How'd you get down here so quick? Don't take this the wrong way, always wanted one last good fight for the both of us but I'm pretty sure Winterfell isn't a leisurely stroll away."

"It's…a very long story." Ned sighed.

"Give me the short of it." Robert waved one hand impatiently, glancing to either side as the various puddles of black water began to converge on several locations around them. "Make it quick!"

"This sword can kill Aku." Ned held up the blade. "But I only have the one, and nothing you have can harm him. Go, get to safety and let me handle this."

"Even if I could," Robert hefted his hammer with one hand and snatched up a battered shield bearing the crest of his house with another, "I think you're really going to want me to stay here in a minute."

The pools of black water had converged on groups of corpses strewn about the courtyard, seeping into the armour of Goldcloaks, men-at-arms from Houses Lannister and Baratheon, knights from others houses and more. These bodies began to rise, their limbs twitching erratically as broken bones snapped back into place. And then their faces became featureless and pitch black…before every single one of them became a perfect replica of Aku's visage.

White Fang growled, crouching low in preparation to lunge. Ned held his sword up in both hands and exchanged a nod with Robert as the hundreds of reanimated and possessed warriors around them took up arms. "I think you're right."

The army of Aku warriors began to cackle, raising their weapons high and banging blades against shields.

"Shut the fuck up!" Robert snarled, clanging his hammer against his shield. "Come at us, yah fucker!"

Sweeping forward like a tide, the army closed in around them from all sides. White Fang lunged forward and toppled a number of them under his weight, ignoring the occasional blade to sink into his hide as he cleared a hole for both Ned and Robert to follow through, striking out as they went. Ned made short work of anything to meet his blade, but Robert proved useful in keeping a vast majority of the fighters from simply encircling and stabbing him from a dozen angles by clearing them away with a mighty swing of his hammer.

With each swing, Ned caused one of Aku's puppets to fall only to burn away entirely. He didn't care to speculate on this, too caught up in the battle and only caring for the fact that they weren't going to be getting back up again.

But he had neither the time nor space to speculate, he only knew that they weren't getting back up. White Fang helped to maintain a circle beyond which most of the horde remained while only a few trickled in close enough to attack, deprived of the advantage of overwhelming numbers and unable to land more than a glancing hit before Ned cut them down. Despite this, all three fighters began to feel a building toll with each blade that slipped through, cutting into Robert's side or knocking Ned's helmet away and battering his armour.

After what felt like hours to them, the army was cut down to a fraction of its former size. The many copies of Aku no longer bore that same grin, losing confidence after witnessing their numbers being culled so easily.

They tried to change tactics, to utilize bows and arrows or to even flee, but Aku had made a severe tactical error. In his true form he was able to more easily mend damage to his own body, but by taking on many smaller forms this meant that each successful hit from Ned's blade would entirely disintegrate its target too quickly for Aku to regenerate and create more. The demon was only beginning to discover the very edge of his true potential, but now he was experiencing his present limits and found himself woefully underprepared.

Before long the courtyard was riddled with empty suits of armour containing nothing more than dust blown away in the winds. Only one last copy of Aku remained, staring agape at the trio before him.

White Fang's coat was stained in any places, black with ash and dust or red with his own blood, yet the direwolf still had fight left in him as he glared with red eyes and bared his teeth. Ned's armour had taken the worst of many hits and was falling apart in some areas, yet his own injuries proved to be minor. Robert on the other hand seemed ready to collapse, leaning heavily on his hammer with one hand and falling to one knee as he gasped heavily, yet still found it in him to keep his eyes to his enemy.

After a moment of silence, Aku turned and began to flee. His various extensions across Westeros became aware of the peril their true body faced and raced to return, converging on King's Landing as strands of black shooting in long, broad arcs through the night sky.

But they were still too slow.

"No." Ned hissed. "There is no escape."

He grasped White Fang's saddle hung off of it as the direwolf shot through the air. As they passed over the final copy Ned released his hold and roared as he plunged the sword down through the back of Aku's armour, which was the red and gold trimmed plating of a Lannister soldier, slipping the edge in between the helmet and upper armor.

Aku wailed and collapsed to his knees under Ned's weight. Every one of the false Aku's froze in mid air, the will controlling them no longer able to issue orders.

Rather than fade away, Aku's body shrank in on itself and seemed to flow into Ned's sword, filling the blade to the bring until it had turned black…with a set of eyes peering out from it. Ned held it up to examine and stared blankly at the eyes which glared furiously at him.

"Your reign has ended." He informed the imprisoned demon, sheathing the blade across his back. "And it was not short enough."

He raced back to the courtyard to find Robert finally collapsed onto the ground.

"Robert!" Ned raced to his friend's side. "Robert, hold on. I'll get you to a Maester!"

"Ned…" Robert shook his head, blood stained teeth clenched in pain. "…I'm gone."

"No, you're not." Ned shook his head and attempted to lift him up as White Fang approached. "Just- fuck!" He ended up dropping his fiend and collapsing next to him, sucking in breaths as his heart pounded against his ribs and his limbs ached from the prolonged strain of combat. "Just…hang on…please…"

Robert managed to smile. "Ah Ned…this is how…I wanted to go after…after she died." He confessed. "Just…doing what I was best at, not dying fat and old."

"Shut up." Ned groaned, managing to sit up. "Shut up, Robert. You're going to die old, fat, toothless and…" He strained to lift Robert up onto White Fang. "…surrounded by…grandchildren!"

"Heh, bet they'd all be blonde too." Robert coughed. "Ned, just stop- stop!" He shoved himself free from Ned and collapsed against a wall. "It's too late…it…I've had it bad even before you showed up with your fancy sword."

He ripped is tunic open to reveal a growing blotch of darkened skin over his ribs. "Fucker got me, Ned." He murmured. "Hit me here bloody hard and…I think I'm bleedin' in there, bone must've…poked something."

Ned finally dropped to his knees next to the King, head hanging. "Gods…I'm sorry Robert. This is…this is all my fault. I caused this, this thing was…it was the Deadwood. I trusted those damn fire priests and this happened."

"Eh," Robert shrugged. "I know you, Ned. You'd never loose this thing on anyone, no matter how much they deserve it. Honourable and all that."

"But I did, Robert." Ned released a sob. "I brought this death down on all of us."

"Maybe." Robert nodded.

"It should be me dying today," Ned whispered, "not you."

In spite of his fading condition, Robert managed a smile and tapped one finger against his temple. "The thought…crossed my mind, Stark."

Unbeknownst to either of them, the city had not remained idle during the climactic battle. Upon Aku's disappearance into the Red Keep many smallfolk who had sought to hide began to come out and see the destruction wrought…and yet no sign of the cause of it. Many took the opportunity to flee, including the Kingsguard and Royal retinue, but a small were drawn by curiosity towards the sounds of battle in the Red Keep.

Barristan Selmy and Jaime Lannister, easily the most capable of the surviving Kingsguard, had seen the Royal Family to safety of a company of riders from the Crownlands Houses who had rode hard in response to the sudden flood of refugees. Afterwards the Lord-Commander resolved to return and see to Robert's safety or die facing the demon, a task which he was joined in by Ser Jaime despite protests of the Queen.

It was they who stepped foot through the twisted remains of the gate to find the aftermath and the sight of their king slumped against a wall and bleeding from many wounds…and the form of a gargantuan wolf and unknown warrior in unfamiliar armour.

"Your Grace!" Barristan had his sword halfway out before recognizing the face of the man at Robert's side. "Lord Stark?"

Ned held up a hand to White Fang, who had bared his teeth at the pair. "It is I, Ser Barristan."

"A long way from Winterfell." Jaime sheathed his sword, having stepped in armed and ready. "Where is the demon?"

"Nevermind that," Ned waved an arm. "Get a Maester-"

"No Maester." Robert murmured.

"-and some water!"

"Fuck water, bring me wine." Robert commanded, and was provided a flask by Jaime himself which he consumed nearly half the contents of before stopping. "Ser Barristan, Kingslayer, listen to me and hear the last mandate of your king."

"We shall, Your Grace." Barristan knelt and tucked his helmet under one arm as others crept through the gate, mainly Gold Cloaks and the few men-at-arms or knights to survive to see the sun begin to rise in the horizon.

"The king!"

"Gods, what is that thing?!"

"It's a freak."

"SILENCE!" Ser Barristan thundered, his calm veneer returning a moment later. "The King speaks. Bear witness in silence or leave."

The small but growing congregation became silent as the grave. Then Robert began to speak so that all would hear his final command.

Once it was done, they departed from the courtyard, carrying the King's body and led at the front by a direwolf larger than any horse, quickly parting the crowd amassing out in the ruined streets.

It was not long before word spread throughout the city.

The King was dead.

The demon was vanquished.

And Eddard Stark, named Regent by the King's final breath, was the one who had struck the final blow and saved all of Westeros.

Xxx

End of Chapter