Title: Kid Thunder
A Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Mortal Kombat/Multi-Cross
Sequel: Flying Thunder God
Dawn Summers looked around nervously as she brushed back the white lock of hair out of her face. She couldn't understand how Faith could look so calm and collected amongst the crown here. Some of those people were easily her equal in combat and one of them, the man they'd come to see, was quite possibly her better. Then again, Faith had changed since that fateful day that Xander had faced Glory.
For one, she never smiled anymore.
As jealous as Dawn had been of Xander's and Faith's relationship, she couldn't help but admire the woman who'd been Xander's one and only and her strength of will. Not only did she lose Xander that day, but it had to be a bitter pill to know that her fiancée stopped one Apocalypse by quite possibly causing another.
Not that her own situation was any better.
It wasn't long before the tournament was over and the man they'd come to find was named champion.
Steeling herself, Dawn made to prepare for herself for quite possibly the most important conversation she'd have with another being in Earthrealm, the man who was their dimension's analogue for Liu Kang.
It was some time later when he finally left the arena, still wearing his gi and red bandana and a duffle bag slung over his shoulder when he was approached by a young woman wearing all black with a white armband with the kanji for both thunder and lightning written on it in black and a young teenager wearing a white skirt and green top. Just looking at them he could tell that they were trouble.
"Hello, Mr. Ryu, I am Dawn Summers and this is my... Friend, Faith. We need to talk," the young girl said in perfect Japanese. Surprising, since they both looked American. It didn't appear that the woman spoke it at all, however.
"I speak English," he told her. "What can I do for you?"
"We need your help," Dawn said simply.
"I'm not a mercenary," Ryu warned her. "And I don't kill."
Dawn frowned. It was Faith who spoke up. "If we wanted a merc, we'd have opened with payment. As for the second part... That's just something you'll have to gonna have to get over if any of us are to survive."
Ryu raised an eyebrow at the declaration.
Dawn sighed exasperatedly. "As much as I'd like my friend to be a bit more diplomatic, she's not wrong. In any case, that being said, I hope you'll still hear us out. The very fate of our world likely rests on this very simple conversation."
Ryu looked them both over appraisingly. Faith was a zombie. Not literally, but for all intents and purposes, she was the walking dead. She was going through the motions just waiting to die. The girl was nervous, but did not appear to be lying or over-dramatizing. Whether the world was at stake was irrelevant. She actually thought it was.
"I'm listening," He told Dawn and the young girl's shoulders released some of their built up tension.
"Thanks, Xander," she whispered, almost as if she was praying to a god, but none Ryu knew of went by the name 'Xander'. "We need you to fight in a tournament, one beyond anything you've ever competed in before."
"And the fate of the world rests on this tournament," Ryu said skeptically.
"She ain't lyin' asshole!" Faith snapped. Dawn placed a calming hand on Faith's wrist and the volatile girl calmed down.
"Unfortunately, yes. Do you know anything of the supernatural world?" Dawn asked.
"A bit, but it's not exactly something that's help my interest," Ryu told her honestly. "I have fought my fair share of supernatural foes- demons and possessed fighters."
"We're from a place called Sunnydale," Dawn informed him. Ryu frowned. For some reason that place sounded familiar. "It is home to an inter-dimensional portal known as a Hellmouth, which is exactly what it sounds like: A portal to hell, or at least a hell."
"I'm following you so far," Ryu said neutrally. He'd heard of Hellmouths before. He'd even visited the one near Bison's Shadaloo Base. Though inactive, he could steel feel the foul energies it kept locked away. At times he couldn't help but wonder if that was part of what had driven Bison insane.
"I am, for all intents and purposes, a demi-goddess of lightning and thunder," Dawn told him. Ryu raised his eyebrow again at the declaration and was surprised to sense no falsehood coming from the girl. "And Faith, here, is a Slayer." Ryu's other eyebrow joined the other one in surprise. "And we're both Guardians who keep vampires and demons and other sorts of nasty things from ending the world by opening it."
"I see... But if both of you are guardians, why are you here, talking to me?" Ryu asked evenly.
"My sister, the other Slayer, long story, and some of our other mystically inclined friends are keeping an eye on things while we're gone," Dawn told him.
Ryu had, in fact, heard about the splitting of the Slayer line. The fact that these two had heard of both the Slayer legend and the splitting lead some credibility to their tale, as fantastical as it was.
"And what does this have to do with this tournament you me to fight in?" Ryu asked. Faith looked like she was about to say something, but was stopped by a gesture from Dawn.
"A Goddess from an unknown hell dimension was trapped here on Earth centuries ago. She managed to find out about a certain artifact that could take her home. The monks guarding this artifact, known as the Key of Dagon, sent it to my sister and Faith for safe keeping using strong, obscure magic to hide it even from us. The only one not fooled was our friend Xander who was immune to the spell. He managed to alter the key without any of us knowing."
Ryu was watching them carefully as their story became more and more unbelievable. However, he knew of the Monks of Dagon and how they'd been viciously slaughtered, though none could ever figure out why. He also sensed that Dawn was leaving things out of her story, though not with any ill-intent. Smart of her as he was still an unknown. Ryu also noticed how Faith's body tensed at the mention of their odd friend Xander.
As fantastic as their story seemed, he believed them.
"Unfortunately, despite everything, Glorificus still managed to get her hands on the Key and activated it," Dawn further informed him. Faith's body language was even tenser. "In a desperate gambit, Xander was able to level the playing field for us, challenging the Goddess in Mortal Kombat and defeated her."
Ryu's eyes darted to Faith. "I assume this doesn't have a happy ending."
Dawn shook her head. She was fighting back tears. "Even though Glory was gone, the portal was still open and like most things in our line of work, in order to close the portal we needed blood and a life. It was supposed to be me, but my sister tried to be that sacrifice in my place. Xander, on the other hand, had other plans and incapacitated both Buffy and Faith before bestowing me with a fraction of his power and then closed to portal."
"And then he died," Ryu stated.
Dawn's gaze cut to Faith for a moment. The woman was like a statue. "We-we're not entirely sure."
"Because he was a divine being," Ryu said.
Dawn slowly nodded. "God of Thunder and Lightning. He practically adopted me as his daughter."
It was at that point that the remaining blocks fell into place for Ryu, but he chose to remain silent about this newly gained knowledge.
"Our friends are trying to figure out what happened to him while we prepare for the Tournament. You see, Xander's defeat of Glory may have only postponed the inevitable," Dawn explained. "When he challenged her in Mortal Kombat, he weakened the barriers between dimensions, opening us up to invasions from other dimensions, so long as they follow the rules of Mortal Kombat. Five Champions from each dimension fight it out to decide the fate of the defending dimension. Should we be victorious, we should be immune to attack from that dimension for a generation. Unfortunately, like everything else, there are always loopholes that could be exploited."
"How many Champions have you recruited?" Ryu asked.
"Including you? Two. Both you and my sister," Dawn replied.
"But neither of you two?"
Dawn shook her head as Faith grit her teeth. "I was banned from fighting." The Slayer said reluctantly.
"Considering what I've observed, that's likely a good thing, since you still haven't grieved for the loss of your lover," Ryu commented. He then looked to Dawn. "What about you?"
Dawn shook her head. "I'm not experienced enough with my powers yet. I'd be a liability, no matter how much I want to fight."
"Very wise of you," Ryu complimented her.
"Thanks, but I can't claim to be the wise one. Both me and Faith had to be 'talked' into not fighting. In the end, we agreed not to fight so long as we could help recruit the other fighters." Dawn said.
"Do you need aid in that quest as well?" Ryu inquired.
"Thanks, but we already considered and rejected many of your known acquaintances: Ken Masters, Chun-Li, Edmond Honda, Sagat and Michael Bison, just to name a few," Dawn replied. "We don't want to over specialize on a certain type of combat style."
They'd done their homework.
"So what all would you like me to do?" Ryu asked.
"Represent and lead the team of Earthrealm fighters we recruit," Dawn informed him.
"A tall order since we have no idea who else you might recruit," Ryu pointed out.
"We'll have dossiers prepared on several of our prospects for you to look at should you agree to join us," Dawn replied.
Ryu nodded. "I don't kill."
Dawn looked a bit uncomfortable. "Slayers don't kill humans if they can help it, but there is a very real chance that Buffy or you may have to kill one should the other team recruit any to their cause. The other team will more likely than not try to kill you. Mortal Kombat doesn't have to end in a fatality, but more often than not, the matches will."
"Who else do you have in mind?" Ryu asked.
"Kuai Liang, the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei ninja clan is our top prospect after you and who we're going to see next. He specializes in the use of bladed weapons and ice manipulation. We also have a hermit named Shujinko on our short list. A few years ago, he defeated and killed the Dragon King, Onaga, who he'd accidentally released as a teenager. The biggest drawback with him, however, is his age. We also want to try and recruit the son of the Demon King Piccolo, the biggest problem with him though is finding him." Dawn informed him. "My sister, who is already a part of the team, is a general combat specialist- able to rapidly learn several forms of combat, is supernaturally strong and fast, improvises insanely well and uses the environment to her advantage and is a master in pretty much any form of weaponry she picks up."
"Any others?" Ryu asked.
"A few," Dawn told him. "We came to you first because you are our top prospect."
"I'm in," Ryu told them. "But I won't kill if I don't have to."
Dawn smiled. "Don't worry, we're a bit uncomfortable with the idea ourselves even if some of the people we want to recruit don't."
"Don't hesitate," Faith added. "I've met the guy behind this thing a couple times. He's a real piece of work and wants to kill or enslave everyone in this entire dimension and I can bet that neither he or his goons will hesitate to kill any of us because we stand in their way getting' what they want."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ryu said.
"You're welcome to come with us to meet with the Lin Kuei or you can go to Sunnydale where the others are," Dawn told him.
"I'll stick with you guys. I want to meet my potential teammates in person," Ryu replied.