Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers [Parallel Quest]

by Cyrus Colter

Chapter 23: Seeds of Deception

Author's Note:

Hey, been a bit, hasn't it?

In my defense, I did say it would take awhile for these chapter to come out, though this one was not for the reason I thought.

Seriously, trying to minimize changes requires some creative liberty.

The man, Liu Kang, addressed Rota.

“It is great to see you again as well, Rota Bage. Though it is your timing that seems to be of unique serendipity,” he said. He then turned his attention to Sweetie Belle. “But that can wait for a moment. Who is your friend?”

Sweetie Belle shifted into an anthropomorphic form, with a sleeveless shirt and baggy pants like Rota, and bowed to the clearly powerful being as the Saiyan introduced her.

“This is Sweetie Belle, Alicorn and Godling of the Void.”

“The Void?” Liu Kang repeated with a look of worry. “Such a destiny is one full of trial and strife. Are you certain?”

Rota deadpanned before Sweetie herself spoke up. “I’ll be honest, I am wondering why I became a godling, but I like to think I’ll be ready for the trials ahead.”

Liu Kang smiled at her answer. “A surprisingly self-aware mindset, for one so young.” He then bowed to Sweetie Belle. “I am Liu Kang, Protector of Earthrealm, and God of Fire. Come, we have a pressing matter to discuss. Your arrival at this time is likely no accident.”

“So you need some help with something?” Sweetie Belle asked as the girls followed the Fire God into the building behind him. He spoke quietly and hurriedly as he led them to another section of the temple.

“What I am about to tell you is knowledge that must never be shared within my universe without my permission. Do you understand?” Receiving an affirmation from the Alicorn, Liu Kang continued. “This universe is a single timeline, each one crafted by a being known as the Keeper of Time.” He proceeded to explain his past, how, in the direct previous timeline, he had been mortal, but then, through a series of events Sweetie could barely keep track of properly, he became the new overseeing God of this universe, and crafted the very timeline in which they were now standing.

Sweetie Belle was more interested in the idea of an entire realm of powerful martial artists that Outworld seemed to promise. Something in the flames caught her eyes. A series of embers that formed a set of words.

Snakes wear many patterns

Why the cryptic message, Author? Sweetie thought. Liu Kang noticed the embers himself and smirked.

“Fitting advice given my worries,” he muttered into Sweetie’s ear before he continued his explanation where he’d paused, on how he’d ensured that one individual in particular, a man named Shang Tsung, would remain powerless.

But somehow, he was defying that fate.

“I will be sending a group into Outworld in order to capture Shang Tsung and bring him to me for questioning. He has likely infiltrated Outworld’s royal court so-” But he was interrupted by Rota.

“We can’t trust the authorities and we’ll need to be quick and quiet. Never did like empires, anyway. Too much chance for corruption at all levels.”

“I assure you, Outworld fares much better now than in the past. For now, let me introduce you to the three who you would be accompanying on this mission,” Liu Kang said as he brought them to a pagoda near an arch that both Sweetie and Rota could tell bore great power. In front of it were three human men in what seemed to be modified tactical gear. A brown haired man with a cocky attitude that seemed to brighten on seeing Rota, a black haired one with a red overcoat and an intense aura who rolled his eyes at the first one’s ogling, and one with a wide brimmed hat that Sweetie and Rota immediately noticed had a sharpened edge.

“Whoa-ho-ho, who is this beauty?” The cocky one asked.

“Someone who has no interest in males, PlayBoy.” Rota responded bluntly. “Also, just to get it cleared up, she’s 13,” she continued with a pointed thumb at Sweetie Belle.

“We are not bringing a child into this,” the man in the hat immediately spoke up in objection.

“Sir, would you like to see my memories of the worst thing I’ve ever had happen to me?” Sweetie Belle asked with a sweet tone that was somewhat sickening considering the question.

“Pfft, fine. What’s the worst-” His eyes flashed and he suddenly flailed back in panic, instinctively assuming his fighting stance as Sweetie forced the memory to reenact itself like he himself had been the one to experience it. Suddenly, he didn’t seem so confident as he once more spoke up. “OK, objection withdrawn.”

Rota raised an eyebrow at the filly. “What the hell did you show him?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged as she answered, her tone suddenly slightly somber. “The first time I took a life.”

“…”

“...”

“...”

“... Well, then.” Liu Kang decided to move the conversation forward after the brief silence. “Moving on, these three are Johnny Cage”- He said gesturing to the one Rota called PlayBoy,- “Kenshi Takahashi,” -The man with the red overcoat,- “and Kung Lao,” the man in the hat.

“Hey, I’m Sweetie Belle.” The filly introduced herself with a wave.

“I’m Rota Bage,” the Saiyan followed up with.

“I have asked you all to search for Shang Tsung and bring him to me for questioning,” Liu Kang said, drawing the attention of the others. He then pulled out a small device that looked like a mystic compass. “This talisman is attuned to Shang Tsung’s chi. Follow it to him.”

Kenshi took the talisman, and Liu Kang spoke again.

“And be careful. May the Elder Gods protect you.”

---

“Are we there yet?” Johnny asked for the umpteenth time on the journey so far. He and Sweetie Belle had been alternating asking the question for the past 2 hours.

“For an action movie mega star who does his own stunts, you are complaining a lot about this trip. While I can understand the length being cut for the sake of filming, I still imagine you’ve at least been in similar-seeming treks to this one in your movies,” Rota pointed out.

“What can I say? These boots aren’t made for walking,” Johnny said.

“If that is the most pain you feel today, consider yourself lucky,” Kung Lao attempted to retort. But Johnny was exceptionally full of himself at that moment.

“Oh, I’m already lucky. I’ve got Sento strapped to my back,” he bragged.

“I will reclaim it, Cage.” Kenshi insisted determinedly.

“Got three million? It’s yours,” Johnny countered matter-of-factly.

“You know I don’t have it,” the swordsman reproached.

“I bet your Yakuza pals could come up with it. Oh, that’s right; you blew them off.” Johnny retorted smugly. “If there’s one thing Hollywood has taught me it’s to never burn bridges-UGH!” The film star was interrupted by Rota driving a crouching straight punch into his gut just above his groin.

Standing back up to look Johnny Cage in the eye, Rota Bage proceeded to scold him harshly. “If you knew the Yakuza one-fifth as well as you think you do, just because you’ve studied history, then you would’ve already given that sword to Kenshi and started finding ways to make up for the money it cost you.”

Kenshi then pulled Rota away and put his flashlight in Johnny’s face. “The Yakuza are leeches, bleeding out those too weak to resist. I grew up in that life, and I never understood it. Why my gain required others’ pain. I got out. I need my clan out too. We can’t be part of their crimes any longer.”

After a brief moment of tenseness, the talisman began to let off a subtle chiming sound. Kenshi and Rota moved on towards the direction it indicated, leaving Johnny to nurse his wound. Kung Lao and Sweetie Belle walked past the film star and looked at him disapprovingly. Johnny groaned as he followed behind them.

---

Some time later, the five found themselves on a cliff overlooking some form of settlement. A large crowd of humanoids were gathered near one cliff-face, armed guardsmen herding up what looked like spiked, fanged humanoids as if they were wild beasts.

Watching the events down below them, the group tried to keep an eye out for Shang Tsung, Sweetie Belle pulling a parchment with a drawing of his face for her own benefit.

Johnny glanced over at Kenshi while recording the events on his cellphone. “What’s your precious say?” The film star asked the swordsman.

“That Shang Tsung is among those… things,” Kenshi replied.

Johnny then started chuckling. “Oh, my fans are gonna go nuts, cosplaying them at Cage Con.”

Then the group saw another of the creatures being dragged out of the sole building by a pair of guardsmen, bringing them down to the courtyard area.

Another man, in flowing robes with a distinct feeling Sweetie Belle got from just looking at him, soon approached the restrained creature from behind. From their perch, the group could faintly hear him say something about extracting bone marrow.

“That’s Shang Tsung!” Kung Lao exclaimed.

“Let’s jump him after he’s done,” Johnny said. He then started to reminisce about something. “In ‘Fists of Iron,’ we did this thing whe-”

“We’re not basing strategy on your movies, Cage,” Kenshi interrupted as Shang Tsung plunged the large needle in his hand into the back of the neck of the creature restrained before him, withdrawing it once it was full of marrow.

As Shang Tsung stepped back, the creature that was restrained then broke the rope binding his hands behind his back and thrust a pair of blades coming from his forearms into the chins and through the heads of the guards holding him. He then faced Shang Tsung, who prepared to defend himself. At the same time, the rest of the guards were suddenly swarmed by the rest of the creatures they were herding.

As the group watched the creature attack Shang Tsung, Johnny commented, “On second thought, this scene’s playing fine without us. *yawn* Yeah, I say we let them finish it.”

Only for him to then notice the others, starting with Sweetie Belle and Rota, had already started to run down to try to save Shang Tsung. They needed him alive, after all. With an exasperated sigh, Johnny rushed to catch up.

The creature had headbutted the sorcerer to the ground and was about to tear into him with his blades when Rota flicker-stepped between the two of them and caught the former’s forearms while Sweetie Belle wrapped some magic chains around the latter. The creature kneed Rota in the gut, trying to force the Saiyan back, to little effect. He then lifted himself into the air, using Rota’s grip as leverage, and double kicked the Saiyan into Sweetie Belle, causing the filly to accidentally dispel the chain holding Shang Tsung, Kenshi jumping onto the creature as he landed on his feet.

Shang Tsung scrambled to the edge of the crowd of creatures as their backs were turned, then, to the shock of the heroes, he turned into one of them with a flame passing over him. The shapeshifted sorcerer then growled like one of the creatures and stalked into the crowd as they closed in on the group of five.

“How did he do that?” Kung Lao asked, bewildered, before he, Johnny Cage and Sweetie Belle prepared to fight the crowd, the filly shifting into an older form of herself, sans wings as their apparent leader got Kenshi off of him and faced down the swordsman and Rota. The creatures were the first to attack, two facing each fighter at a time.

Johnny booted one of his opponents in the crotch, then punched the other in the jaw before sending the second to the ground with a spin kick to the head. He then turned his attention to the first, being forced to protect himself from their spiked arms being used like clubs, parrying one away and clocking the creature with a punch to the jaw.

Kung Lao mostly redirected his opponents blows to make them trip over themselves, occasionally lashing out with a fluid combo of strikes, or swinging his bladed hat around to ward away the creatures. A swift wheel of punches to the torso of one sent them stumbling, followed by a sharp elbow strike into a side-kick targeting the sternum of the other to send them to the ground.

Sweetie Belle used a tepe kick to halt the momentum of one of her opponents, sending them sprawling to the ground. While that one scrambled to its feet, the other one roared and swiped at Sweetie, the temporary mare blocking and deflecting the strikes with small magic shields. After a moment of this, Sweetie pulled her hands back into her right side and quickly charged an energy ball enough to send the creature flying back after releasing it. The first one then leaped at Sweetie Belle again, the anthro-pony stepping aside and slamming a back elbow into the creature's shoulder-blade, then sending it stumbling to the ground with a kick to the head.

However, the rest of the crowd closed in on them soon after, threatening them with greater numbers.

---

While that was happening, Kenshi and Rota were dealing with the lead creature.

“I would have killed him but for you,” he snarled at them. (At least, they were pretty sure this was a male.)

“I get why you’d want to, but you can’t,” Kenshi tried to reason with him, but his choice of words only further angered their already irate opposition.

“*RAWR* You’re his minions. You’ll die in his place!” he roared as he sprouted blades from his forearms. Kenshi drew his sword and Rota dropped into her fighting stance as the creature charged at them, swinging his blades as he lunged and spun around, never leaving his back turned on either of them long enough to allow an advantage, when he wasn’t straight up sending the blades as projectiles at the pair. Kenshi used his katana to parry and push the arm-blades around, while Rota settled for just timing her blows and striking hard when Kenshi had his attention, one such blow to land this way being a thrust kick that sent the creature sprawling to the ground.

After scrambling back to his feet, the creature snarled, jumped at the pair, and, in blatant defiance of physics, spun like a saw blade at them! Rota and Kenshi dove to the sides to dodge the attack, but the Saiyan then found herself the target of the creature’s arm-blades, rolling out of the way of a diving attack that drove the blades into the rock beneath them. This hardly seemed to bother the creature, as he simply snapped them off and grew another set in their place, ceasing their growth just after his knuckles. He then threw a punch at Rota that she pushed aside then hit him with a punch to the jaw, causing him to tumble, but the creature recovered in the same motion as his fall with a roll. Rota followed up with a kick that was deflected, then she and the creature began an exchange of strikes, blocks and parries. The exchange ended when the Saiyan ducked beneath a spinning backhand with an arm blade and then swept one of the creature’s legs out from under him with her tail, then landed a rising hook kick to send him spiraling to the ground.

Kenshi then stepped forward while sheathing his sword. “Now please, let us explain.”

The five were soon in a circle as the creatures surrounded them. Johnny glanced back at Kenshi and Rota, saying “You got us into this, how are you getting us out?”

“I know what this looks like, but we don’t work for Shang Tsung,” Kenshi continued.

The head creature, having gotten to his feet, looked at the group suspiciously. “If not, why save him?”

“Because Liu Kang, the Protector of Earthrealm, wants to question him. He thinks Shang Tsung may be a threat to both our realms,” Kenshi answered. He then held out his hand in greeting. “My name is Kenshi Takahashi.”

The head creature gave a snarl as he glared at the offered hand. “Our kind do not shake hands.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend,” Kenshi apologized as he retracted his hand.

“Don’t you know what we are?” The leader demanded.

“I would think the answer to be an obvious ‘no, we don’t,’” Rota commented with a raised eyebrow.

The creature spread his arms wide in gesture to the crowd around them. “We are victims of Tarkat. The disease is not easily gotten, but you can’t risk more close exposure.”

The heroes looked around in shock, Sweetie Belle feeling tears begin to form in her eyes.

“It disfigures, then debilitates,” the leader continued. “In time, it will turn us all into bloodthirsty monsters.”

He then finished with a grave tone.

“Death is our only release.”

“So you weren’t always like this?” Kung Lao asked.

“I was once a rich merchant. But when I became ill, I was banished. Now I run this colony.” The infected man said. He then introduced himself.

“I am Baraka.”

“Do you know what Shang Tsung wants with your bone marrow, Baraka?” Rota asked.

“No, I don’t,” Baraka answered. “But he comes here each month to harvest it.”

“Release us and we’ll capture Shang Tsung. And we’ll find out why he’s been coming here, I promise,” Kenshi pleaded.

Baraka looked to the crowd to his left and right as he considered the proposal. He then waved an arm as he said, “Let them go.”

“Thank you. We won’t let you down.” Rota assured Baraka while Kenshi pulled out the talisman that they had been using to find Shang Tsung…

Only to find it broken.

“Damn. This was guiding us to Shang Tsung. Now we can’t find him,” he said.

A quick glance shared between Rota and Sweetie Belle confirmed that neither of them had thought to memorize Shang Tsung’s energy signature either, so they couldn’t substitute for it. However, Baraka then made an offer.

“His laboratory is near. I’ll take you.”

---

As the morning sun rose over the nearby forest, the group of heroes followed Baraka to a large structure on the other side of a river, a pair of water wheels turning with the flow of the current. A bridge connected the tower to the shore of the other side of the river.

"Any idea what's waiting for us?" Johnny Cage asked.

"No. I've never been inside," Baraka answered.

"Stay here," Kenshi said, speaking to Baraka and the girls. "We'll check it out."

With that, Kenshi, Johnny, and Kung Lao proceeded towards the bridge leading to the entrance of the laboratory. To pass the time while they waited, Rota decided to meditate while Sweetie Belle decided to talk to Baraka.

Or at least she tried, as any attempt at starting a conversation died on the pony’s lips before she could speak up when a throwing star suddenly came whizzing out of the brush behind them and nearly embedded itself into her eye, Sweetie Belle leaning ever so slightly back to avoid it. The shuriken, slightly aglow with energy, then hit the back of Rota's head as if she'd been shot by a 10 gauge shotgun slug before falling to the ground. That, in and of itself, just annoyed her, but she then suddenly felt herself grow woozy and sluggish. It didn't take long for her to realize what happened.

"Rota!" Sweetie Belle came to the Saiyan's side as she near drunkenly stumbled to her feet. "What was that?"

Baraka gave a snarl as another voice answered her question. "A simple enchantment to enhance impact. That much is standard training." As the pair turned to where the voice was coming from, they saw that they were no longer alone. A set of what seemed to be soldiers like they saw at Shang Tsung's side at the colony came out of the brush. Most of them seemed human, save for two who stood slightly taller than the rest.

One was a four armed humanoid that looked part dragon, to Sweetie Belle's eyes. It stood with a threatening pose that already told the filly it knew how to use it's four arms to great effect.

The other was looked more like a dragon in humanoid form, standing a good half a head taller than the four-armed humanoid at his side. His head was adorned by horns that curled up and behind him, and in his left hand, he held a massive battle-axe

The one who spoke was a human-seeming man at the latter's side opposite the four armed humanoid.

"The toxin it's laced with, on the other hand, is a power suppressing tranquilizer that I've had to source myself," he said with a proud yet slightly sadistic tone to his voice. "Well worth the effort for it's effectiveness in dealing with Saiyans."

At that, Rota fell to her knees, groaning as her head and stomach started throbbing, spots filling her vision. The soldiers also began to surround them, threatening impalement on their spears should either charge.

Baraka gave a slight snarl as he, reluctantly, raised his arms in surrender, Sweetie Belle, following suit. It seemed like the safest thing to do was give up.

At that moment, a snarling roar was heard from the building across from them. The soldiers looked in shock at the sound, only for the horned humanoid with the axe to bellow out some orders.

"Reiko, keep these three detained. Goro, with me."

"Yes, General Shao," the two at his side responded immediately. The human, Reiko, closed the circle with his fellow soldiers, his arms crossed as if he were standing around casually, as opposed to capturing prisoners, while the four armed humanoid, Goro, followed the General.

It didn't take too long for Sweetie Belle to decide that she didn't like Shao.

After a few minutes, they hadn't moved an inch and Sweetie was starting to get suspicious.

This is gonna be a cliffhanger, isn't it?

As she thought that, something caught Reiko's eye that made him smirk. Turning to see what he had noticed and the filly saw the General approaching again.

The General then spoke.

"Take them to Shang Tsung's facility for him to deal with. No loose ends."

Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, noticed a set of chains in the trees above arranged in the shape of a set of words.

Just play possum.

Turning back to General Shao, she was suddenly struck in the jaw by Reiko, despite him still being a good foot further than his arms length from her. Falling to the ground in shock, Sweetie Belle made a decision as she saw Rota finally lose consciousness.

You better not get me killed, Author.

Comments

[Lucar]

The villains know about the Saiyans, but they have no idea what kind of wolf they are bringing into their den with Sweetie Belle.

[Cyrus Colter]

11904790
Things may end up getting revealed way before intended... still haven't decided yet.