I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.

Act I, Chapter VI

Of Buzzed and Brooding Spirits

Fireworks echoed in the distance, the starry skies obscured by the smoke from the fancy gunpowder. From the first step of the stair, his eyes were transfixed upon the beautiful dance of every colour in the rainbow and everything in between. He had been standing there for a total of two minutes, waiting for Kilamon to show up. He hadn't expected him to be late, but maybe it took forever to take off that mask. If only the ebony woman would be here, he´d feel a lot less out of his element.

He'd gotten a suspiciously fancy set of clothes a few days ago, with an invitation from the Queen herself. He found it odd, as if he'd remotely fit in with the high and mighty nobles and scheming aristocrats. Now, maybe his old history lessons gave him the wrong impression, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that a lust for power wasn't a human thing. More appropriately, it was a mortal one. He hoped he'd never get caught up in those webs of deceit.

He'd spent another five minutes pondering about other things before Kilamon showed up. He'd expected a fine coat or suit, not him in his natural outfit.

"Looking sharp, mammoth," Chronos said, to which Kilamon chuckled, "An unfortunate development of events has forced my hand," was his reply, "I'd like to be you," the dragon quipped, "I doubt it," Kilamon responded, and Chronos raised an eyebrow at his demeanour. It was awfully abrasive and blunt, "The Mistmarch has arrived much sooner than predicted, and several outposts call for aid. I answer the call."

"Should've let someone else deliver the message," the burly man suggested, but the other shrugged it off, "My transportation arrives in an hour, I'm quick enough to tell you myself," he said, "But that's not all you had to say I feel?" Chronos asked.

"Perceptive," Kilamon replied and he fished something from a pocket. It looked like an invitation, "You've gotten one as well, but your privileges have been restricted. Not royalty, not a knight, the usual," he straightened his oversized skull, "This invitation contains a little token. It gives you almost, if not all privileges I would have had."

"Like what?" Chronos inquired, "As much as your liver can handle is one of them," Kilamon didn't even finish his long list of things he could do before the dragon shushed him, "That's all I need, really. I'm not going to live through this night without a steady supply of booze," Kilamon continued listing off perks of his own invite, "Heh, unlimited supper too," Chronos lips started to salivate itself at the mention, which the mammoth noticed, "I guess you're starving."

"Haven't had a real decent bite in months," he said, "Is the Academy's food not sufficient?" Kilamon asked, and Chronos gave a quick smile, "It's enough, but I haven't had, say, delicious lobster since I came here."

"A basic need for all," Kilamon joked, "but that's really all the time for pleasantries I have to spare. The chauffeur wouldn't be pleased with latecomers."

"I'll let you save the world then," Chronos said, and the mammoth shook his head, "Don't talk me up, it inflates my ego too much," he said before leaving, but just within earshot, he heard the big man yell, "Bring me a holiday present!" to which Kilamon merely rolled his eyes, his head rolling along with.

Chronos turned around and began scaling the stairs, at eternal trip that began tearing into his hamstrings like nothing before. He never desired to climb stairs, he'd much rather take an elevator, but he supposed he hadn't much choice. After an agonising few minutes, he arrived at the top, exhausted and mildly sweating from the exertion. He looked at the entrance, and unlike many times, the iron gates into the palace were inviting and booming with people. It was a rather wonderful sight, yet not as wondrous as the woman leaning on the railing of the bridge.

With a lazy stroll, he approached the woman, which he recognised as the girl from the Arena. He'd not expected her here so soon, with Jade still recovering in the hospital. The girl didn't notice him yet, at least, until she spoke up once she saw him.

"I remember you," the blonde mentioned, feigned grudge lacing her voices, "I couldn't forget the girl I saw for two minutes that one time," he replied, earning a small smile from the girl, her green-greyish eyes skimming over his being, "You look good."

"So do you," he returned her gesture. It was true, his fancy blue robe with golden trim, reaching towards just above his ankles, with a double breasted white striped jacket underneath, gave him an almost irrstistable allure if it wasn't for his botched face. He'd expected to be cooked alive, but in the deep of night, the cool breeze cooled him off tremendously, to say nothing of the fine materials the clothes were made of. To his delight, the matching pants weren't constrictive, giving him a lot less of a hard time, "Thanks," was Ariana's response, and her own outfit wasn't too shabby either; a mat red dress reaching to below her knees, split at the sides to show her lean legs. The high heels matched in colour, and her cleavage plunged so deep he could take a swim in it, the small straps just barely holding up her bosom, "You're looking more than one place right?"

"I'm not too superficial," he said, with her eyelids sinking just enough to betray suspicion, "Really?" she asked, "That said, my self-restraint is being put to the test with the way you look."

"I like being the centre of attention," she stated, and his curious face drew her eyes towards him, "Like being the object of someone's affection?" he inquired, "You would be surprised what I like to do," her sultry voice was intriguing, but odd. After all, the dragon had smashed the blonde into the rocks several week prior, and to imply salacious things wasn't a befitting consequence of such events. Regardless, he didn't think too much of it afterwards.

They made their way to the palace entrance, where a few guards stood warden for the party inside. He recognised one of them, his helmet was wobbly by default, the other was harder to place, but his visage did finally ring a bell somewhere.

"Greetings, lady and gentlemen," he greeted, bowing as well, "May I see your invitations please?" he asked, and while Chronos fished his invite out with a swipe of his hand, Ariana was having a much more difficult time, "Oh no," she murmured.

"Hm?" the dragon was concise with his response, "Something wrong?" and she began feeling all over her body, "My invite's gone! Ah, it must've dropped somewhere along the way," she put her hands on the back of her head. With some quick thinking, he pulled out his original invite.

"Sorry, sir, a bit scattered the lady is," he began, with a frown from the blonde behind him, "She forgot she gave it to me," the guard eyed the invitation with careful eyes, but he eventually nodded his head, "It appears all is in order. Enjoy your evening, sir. And miss, too."

"Thank you," the big man gave a short salute before going inside the anteroom, a fairly large one at that, "Thanks for bailing me out of a sticky situation. Good thing the invites don't have any names on them," she wiped her forehead, "I would've laughed if that was the case," Chronos said, and he was met with a quick jab in the side, "You're awful," she said, and his response was as serious as her insult, "One of a kind, mind you."

They shared a laugh before marching to the throne room, which had been transformed into a dining hall, replete with tables stocked with delectable food, from very alluring steaks to even more delicious pies. Many tables were occupied, and he spotted his fellow overseers sitting at a table somewhere close to the throne itself. Naturally, a large table stood in front of the throne, the King perched atop it, with his Queen and his daughter beside him. A few others occupied the table as well, with a very dark-skinned woman and purple-clad prince asking for his attention.

"I recognise the two over there," Ariana said, pointing towards the two overseers, of which one was downing an entire pint of ale, "Might join them," she looked at Chronos, who was too attracted to chicken on the table to listen all too carefully. He did hear her however, "I'll join soon, just got to see what I can take from the table."

She left the dragon to himself, who was almost jogging towards the food. He took a plate and grabbed at least several chicken wings before moving on to anything remotely healthy, scooping several spoons of a salad to compensate for the several chunks of bacon he placed onto his plate. Some of them were eyeing him rather condescendingly, but he was much too busy to even notice. Someone, however, approached him while he was grabbing some sausages.

"Excuse me for disturbing your, eh, collection of food," a woman began, a pale complexion hiding her very few wrinkles, "but are you not Chronos?" he was restraining himself from shoving some steak into his face, "Yeees?" was all he really could muster to say.

"I believe we haven't made our acquaintance yet," she said, extending a hand towards him, "Henriette Ad-San, former minister of Foreign Affairs, it's a pleasure to meet you," he grimaced at the mention, but shaking the woman's hand, "Oh, don't worry, this isn't a third degree interrogation. It's an informal talk."

"Why'd you want to talk to me?" he asked, simultaneously picking up some potatoes, "Word has been circulating around that the great and admired heir to Jerrod´s throne has been given a proper trashing by what was rumoured to be a peasant," she sized him up, "I would have not expected to bask in the presence of such an astonishingly large man."

"People always think I'm smaller until they've met me," he said, and she chuckled at the mention, "You aren't the largest person I've met in my life, but you do rank high up on my list," she adjusted her fur boa, "I'd like to take a seat, you have somewhere we can chat?"

"You'd mind if we sit at that table?" he pointed at the overseers and Ariana, who seemed to be having an intense discussion, "Not at all," Henriette said as they made their way to the table, where within earshot, Aszara was clearly outspoken in her opinion, "You shut it girl, apple and caramel pie is connoisseur's choice when choosing a pie, or a cake, it makes no difference!" Ariana strongly disagreed it seems, "No, strawberry and raspberry pie topped off with cream and chocolate is much better!"

"Ma'am?' Chronos said, pulling up one of the free seats of the table, "Ma'am? So old already?" she joked, "I'm just formal, is all," was the dragon's response. She took her seat, while Chronos picked the one next in between her and Ariana. Their discussion had come to a halt with the entrance of the stranger, "Who's that?" Aszara asked, a bit too blunt.

"Henriette Ad-San, former minister of Foreign Affairs, now a passionate poet and purveyor of fine art," Tau'Gir said, "Pleasure to see you again, Henriette," she accepted his hand, "Likewise, Tau'Gir," she reciprocated the gesture.

"Hey, hold up, how'd you know her?" Aszara asked, and Tau'gir straightened his collar, "I was an administrative assistant for miss Henriette for a couple of years before being transferred here. The Academy was in need of someone organised," he explained, "I thought you only became a pencil pusher after joining the Academy?" Aszara took another swig of her ale, "I appreciate your opinion, Aszara, but you're wrong in that regard."

"Well, you talk like, never, so it isn't a surprise I'm misinformed," her pint of ale swung around so much some was spilled across Chronos plate half-full of food, which didn't stop him from eating, "That sounds like you, Tau'Gir," Henriette noted, before turning her attention to the eating man, "I must wonder, how did you adjust so well? This world differs greatly from your own," she waited in anticipation for an answer from Chronos, who was finishing his food. His plate was nearly empty, she noticed.

"Well, it wouldn't have ended so well without a collection of fortunate coincidences, or unfortunate," he stole Aszara's pint and took a sip, "Depends on who you ask, really," Henriette leaned in closer, "Who then?" the dragon straightened his posture, "Well, I think Kilamon won't fret about harbouring me in the Academy, and I feel my companions over here don't thoroughly dislike me," to which Tau'Gir nodded, while Aszara stuck up her thumb, "But at least half of the Royal Family has a grudge against me, I feel. One's not surprising, though."

"Yes, I've heard about your first encounter with the tempered Princess," she said, signing a waiter with a platter full of drinks to come by, "It wasn't pretty," Chronos huffed, "That's an understatement," he took one of the drinks from the platter, "But it's the source of the reason why I'm not six feet below," a puzzled look adorned almost all at the table, "That means I'm not in a coffin," an audible ah came from Ariana, who had grabbed her own glass as well.

"Say, about her, the blueberry woman, she's staring at out table a lot," Ariana mentioned, and nearly all of them simultaneously looked over at the royal table to see the Princess stare with fury at them, and it looked like the purple-clad prince was vying for her attention, "Guess the whole trashing hasn't reduced her anger for you," Chronos shrugged his shoulders, "Not my problem any more," he said. Henriette was contemplating the situation, which brought her at what was for her a fairly reasonable assumption.

"Maybe there's something bigger troubling her," she suggested, much to the surprise of the now hammered woman, "Pffff, her? Come on, she's a daddy's girl, born with a silver spoon in her mouth," she tried to take another swig, but Tau'Gir disarmed her, which earned him a stern look, "Look, she's isn't exactly scraping by, what's could possibly be troubling her so deep to occupy herself with him?" she pointed at Chronos, who was about to go for a second round of food, "I mean, I did beat her pretty badly," he thought about it for a second, "You know, Henriette may have a point," and the woman in question nodded.

"You could always ask," she said, "and right now is your chance, I'd say," her eyes looked behind him, and Chronos turned around to see the Princess leaving somewhere. He was awfully torn between talking to her and getting something to eat. It's a good thing Ariana was next to her, "Look, if it's anything, she's got no one to talk to besides her parents, after you put Jade in the infirmary," the dragon looked at her, "The least you could do is compromise," he shook his head, "That's never really been my style," and Aszara interjected, "I mean, you're standing here. Without some compromise, you'd have been dragged to the gallows."

He pondered the thought, "You people are moral white knights," both Ariana and Aszara smiled, while Henriette nodded. Tau'Gir kept mostly silent and passive throughout, "But I am taking a drink before I go," the poet gave a giggle before replying, "Suit yourself."

He quickly jogged over to the table chock full of drinks, grabbed a glass, poured it to the brim, drank it in a single go and poured another one before leaving. He scoured some of the corridors and rooms. In particular, he went to the kitchen to ask about Kitana, assuming the possibility of being poisoned by her. When that trail went dead, he scoured some more, asked around, but apparently the blue-clad Edenian had turned into a ghost, haunting the grounds. By then, he'd emptied his glass, and it was convenient it happened near the kitchen.

He arrived at the garden, where it became clear the weather had turned sour in the short while he was in the palace. He couldn't hear any fireworks, the splats of water on the marble drowning out the faint chatter from the throne room. The garden was fantastic in every sense, with outlandish flora that he wouldn't have imagined. He was inclined to strut through the garden, lit up with torches cleverly placed underneath overhangs to keep the garden visible.

He finally stepped out in the open, staying out of the rain, taking a breath of chilling, fresh air to counteract his weary mind. His pace was slow, admiring the tall flowers and neatly trimmed hedges, busts representing all members of the Royal Family. His strut sent him down a couple of steps, slowly descending to what looked like an enormous empty field, save for a few trees scattered about. The torrential downpour had turned into a meagre drizzle, and the light from behind gave the whole sight something eerily calm and peaceful. In this silent admiration, he could hear someone swallow behind him.

A swift turn of his head revealed the sapphire heir to sit on one of the benches, a bottle of liquor in one hand, completely drenched because of the weather. Dressed in what looked like a plain dress, reaching to her ankles, modest for what he'd seen from such notorious people, a shiny blue, naturally, and her hair flowed to the middle of her back, her tiara propped up neatly on her head. He approached slowly, and the Princess' eyes shot up and an instant grimace befell her face.

"I suppose you came to relish in my misery," she said, and he was too prideful to swallow his ego, "You brought it upon yourself," her eyes turned more furious, "Huh, I am to blame solely for your transgressions? For your hand in accidents?" he gave a minor chuckle, "You know, it's unhealthy to hold grudges," and the Princess stood up, almost launching herself from the bench.

"I know that all your words are cleverly constructed insults to provoke my ire," she stood close to him, attempting to stand taller with audacity alone, "I dare say you're a coward for hiding your real intentions," his nostrils flared, not out of anger, more out of humour, "Then you know me poorly," she huffed at his remark, striding to the end of the garden, leaning on the balustrade, watching over the empty field.

"As if you know me so well," she stated, taking a swig from her bottle. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, "I would bet my own personal wealth on your inability to guess my favourite colour," there was a relatively long silence, which had given her hope that he might leave, that he might just give up, at long last winning an altercation with the man, albeit small. Yet his response came quicker than expected, "Green."

A long two seconds passed, a silent, tension-inflating two seconds that seemed to conjure new clouds, a massive downpour washing over them, before the sapphire woman tossed the bottle to his head with superb accuracy, and Chronos caught it expertly, taking his own sip from the bottle as the woman stomped up to him, her fists pounding on his chest, tears flying off of her cheeks, "I hate you!" her shouting was filled with hatred and pent-up frustrations, "I hate you!" her voice grew softer, "I hate you…" her voice became a whimper, her face buried in his chest, arms slung around his shoulders for support. He did not react, instead letting the Princess cry her heart out, "I hate…you…"

She had spent all of her energy within those ten seconds, and her laboured breathing warmed his wet form, "Are you done?" she nodded, "Come then, sit," he guided her to a bench out of the rain. He plopped down on it, while she slowly took a seat. He took a sip from the bottle. It tasted like orange, "Why are you so angry with me?" no big words, no complicated questions, "I… I don't know," she said, and he let the liquor in his bottle roll around.

"You know, back home, my mum and dad were gone for months at end some times," he took a swig, "and my brother Aaron wasn't around much either. If I was around him, it was because he was wasted at a bar somewhere and needed a ride home," from the corners of her eyes she looked at him, "but when they were not around, my girlfriend was with me in hard times, and my tutor was around to motivate me," he tried to take another sip, but the bottle was empty, "they helped me in my darkest times, whatever that entailed."

He looked at the sad girl, "Now, I'd like to know why you hate me," she took a deep breath before beginning, "For so long, I've been told that the future of this world balances upon the palms of my hand," she couldn't stop fidgeting with her feet, "That a strong ruler is mandatory to guide this realm into continued prosperity," she almost fell over, but caught herself with a supporting hand, "Years of my life I have dedicated and spent to honing my skills, perfecting my abilities," she stared at him, an odd fury in her eyes, but that fury shot past him, "and then you show up from nowhere, a future none knows about, rummaging through a world he barely knows something of and putting my years of hard work to shame. Twice," her voice hitched, "For all my life, I prepared to lead. But if some peasant from nowhere could outstrip my skills, how can I possibly lead an entire realm to everlasting peace and prosperity?"

He looked behind him to see a waiter standing awkwardly at the doorway. Chronos held up his bottle, signalling the waiter to get another one, and he nodded, "I…my friend…" he shushed her, "Look, I'm not going to tell you how to feel or what to do with all this. I don't know you, remember?" she laughed softly, "But if there's anything I can help you with, it's what I'm best at," she sniggered, "Help me?" and he continued, "How many times have you been told something is insufficient or lacking during, say, training with someone?" she shrugged, "I thought so. Now what I'm about to suggest is far below your status, I know, but you have to listen, even if you're damn near wasted," her nod was heavy.

"The day after tomorrow, you and I are going to train, wherever you wish, and we're going to evaluate you strengths and weaknesses as quick as possible," the waiter had returned with a bottle, and he accepted, "Do you agree?" a long while, he spent in anticipation, the Princess occupied with weighing the pros and cons in her head, before finally making a decision, "Yes, I agree," and he gave a warm smile, his pearly whites entrancing her, "Good," he stood up, and she attempted to follow, but was too tired and drunk to stand properly. It was fortunate the dragon was around to keep her balanced on her feet, "Where's your bedroom?" the Princess was concise, "Right, stairs, second floor, left corridor, third door on the left," and he began dragging hammered royalty to her bedroom, but not before setting his nearly full bottle of booze down.

A few people passed by, some just looked, others asked what was wrong, to which Chronos simply said the sapphire princess was feeling tired. All that asked did not pry any further, and the trip to her room was uneventful. He pushed her door open to reveal a brilliant room, one candle lit on a cupboard near her canopy bed, which was so large it could fit four people, navy blue curtains and bedsheets adorning it. There was some furniture here and there, but the room was so dark he couldn't make much of it beside their general shape.

He carefully pulled aside the curtains and laid the princess in her bed, on top of her bedsheets. It appeared she was fast asleep, her mind catching up with her body. In the dim light, he could see her dried up mascara plastered on her cheeks, her shaky breathing from the cold of the rain. He pulled the sheets from underneath her and draped them over the cold girl, now snuggling into the sheets. He looked around a bit more, noticing a painting of her family before leaving her room. With a quick pace, he found himself back in the throne room, where the amount of guests had considerably decreased, yet his original table was still fully occupied.

Aszara noticed him first, her pale green eyes tracking him across the room, with the others following suit. Henriette stood up and approached him, smirking all the while, "You had a good conversation with the princess?" he cast his look downward for a moment before looking into her intense blue eyes, "I guess you were right," she closed her eyes, "Of course I was," Aszara joined them, while Tau'Gir and Ariana were having their own conversation at their table, "So, you made up with the hot-tempered heir?" Chronos nodded in acknowledgement, "Great, she might actually not be a bitch for once," she stared upward into nothing before looking at the dragon, "Hey, I visited Jade today and she told me to pick something up for the Princess. I was nice enough to, but you might need the extra goodwill more than me," she grabbed a card from somewhere in her clothes, had a waiter fetch a quill and ink from somewhere and started writing, "The package is in the lobby, designated 'For my dearest friend, Kitana'," she handed him the note, "Make sure she gets it."

Chronos took the note from her hands and nodded before leaving to the lobby. Once he got there, a single guard stood post, and it wasn't the bumbling one, "Ah, overseer Chronos, may I help you?" he approached the guard, "That package behind you," the guard took a peek behind him, "I need to bring it personally," the guard stared wearily, but didn't protest, "So long as you don't rouse the guards, I'll let you wander the halls, but be swift. Strolling through the corridors at night evokes suspicion," the dragon gave a quick pat on the guard's shoulder plate before snatching the package from the cupboard. He once again made his way to the sapphire woman's chambers, opening the door quietly. She was fast asleep still, and he set down the package on the cupboard beside the bed.

It was good a single small candle still burned so he could see what his female overseer had written for him, and suffice to say, it's lewdness seeped through the parchment, "Dear Princess, I hope to warm your bed someday, yours truly, Chronos," and he stuffed it in a pocket before scouring her room for new parchment. After a minute, he had all he needed to write something new, and he placed the note upon the package before leaving the Princess' room again. He remembered he left a bottle in the garden, so he took a small detour to pick it up. He found it, the glass a bit foggy and cool.

"You're quite good at making amends," a voice came from behind. Chronos was spooked slightly, but the mysterious man revealed himself to be Caine, his voice still quite cool, his mask still firmly attached to his head, "First the foreign girl, and now royalty. You should consider being a mediator," Chronos snickered, "My short fuse wouldn't help me," he looked at the bottle, "Why weren't you at the party, Caine?" and his eldritch mask seemed to move with the man's expression firmly hidden behind it, "Some experiments kept me from attending, and these could be vital to the progress of my research," he didn't divulge more about it, "I was to deliver something here, and I expected a more illustrious event," he straightened himself out, "I was mistaken."

"A shame," Chronos said half-heartedly, "The party was a lot better at the start," and Caine laughed, "I believe it was," Chronos looked at his bottle for a moment, "See you around, Chronos," he said, and when the dragon looked up, the man had disappeared into nothingness. He stared at his bottle, thinking it might be stronger than he imagines.

"My head hurts," she thought to herself, the rays of sunlight stinging in her eyes. With a groan, she manages to lift herself from her bed, sheets sliding off. She didn't remember too much, but a look in the mirror revealed that she at least had a rough night. She spotted a box on her cupboard with what looked like two notes, one on the side, one placed on top. She walked over and picked up the box, removing the note from the top, opening the one on the side, and it read, "To my dearest friend, Kitana," and it warmed her heart. She opened the box to reveal a blueberry pie, and a breathy laugh escaped her throat. She also took a look at the other note, and while its calligraphy was exceptional, the words suddenly slingshot a memory back into her mind, and she sighed at her own idiocy.

"Training starts next sunrise."

bilbo swaggins

Hey y'alls, trying out a new format, hope it doesn't give you permanent blindness. Also, no EPIC battle sequence this time, felt it would drag out the chapter for too long. As always, R&R or I'll have a friendly discussion with you about my shortcomings.

- The Coolest Penguin on the South Pole