Richard exhaled softly. "I don't know what fell amidst that storm, but we cannot allow Mumm-Ra to get his hands on it and corrupt it. I'm hoping it is not Mjölnir, to be blunt. Either way, if it's as strong as I suspect, to be sensed however far from this 'Everfree' we are, it must be secured safely from those who might misuse it," he said in a low, yet firm and powerful voice.
In the Astral Plane, Cheetara glanced at Lion-O questioningly. "You did not give him your charisma, did you?" she deadpanned. A small smirk crossed Lion-O's face. "No more than you afforded the Elder Magic Avatar your stubbornness," he drawled teasingly. "That was all him… if I'm honest, were I still breathing, with his charisma… even I would follow him. Though there's something that feels… older… about him," he commented wryly, his countenance thoughtful.
"There are other hammers of equal power and strength that it could be, there is even a mace that it could be." Ayumi commented, "What worries me more is who could have fallen. There are a few beings that might have been placed here that control the elements of the storm."
Richard tilted his head slightly. "If it is, Mumm-Ra may attempt to sway them to his side, insidiously if he must… as well as those unknown who may be allied to him other than the Lunataks. No doubt Alluro will hold a grudge against me," he commented. I do not know why, but I get the sense there is something… familiar… in the storm… from our past," he mused, unknowingly using the term 'our' in reference to his past.
Lyra blinked, noticing an odd, slight hint of a growl in his thoughts. For just an instant, she got a flash of harsh golden amber eyes inset within ebony armor within silver moonlight within her mind's eye. She gasped, unknowingly stumbling backwards into Twilight and Redheart.
"Miss Heartstrings?!" Redheart asked. "Are you all right? We know that you've been worried about your familiar's physical state ever since he passed out. Have you been eating well?"
Lyra took a deep breath before nodding slightly. "I just over-balanced for a moment," she said carefully. Her head tilted as she noticed a glint of silver, obsidian, and navy beneath the bed her Familiar was in.
"Well then, it's about time we let our resident fashionista in here to take your measurements, Richard." Ayumi said. "You only have one set of clothes, currently, and more like could give you some armor, thankfully it's on one size fits all kind of deal due to game physics, as my armor is more suited for the female form, so I don't think you would want some of it or any of it for that matter."
Richard tilted his head. "Resident fashionista? I don't get it," he commented blankly, confused. "Though anything resembling what I knew as normalcy is kinda out the window and falling into the nearest black hole," he sighed. "Though I do know leatherworking is a very underrated art… because it's possible to create some beautiful things," he commented wryly.
"Dah-arling!" Rarity said as she walked in the room. "Leather is outlawed here any Equestria cows or any other animal that you can make decent leather from are sentient!" The marshmallow mare said looking aghast at the mere mention of using animal products for clothing, before she broke down laughing. "I'm just kidding, darling. While cows and all that are sentient we do have some specific forms for leather that breeds non sentient animals that make decent leather."
"Hmmm… first animals that come to mind would be certain species of snake such as rattlesnake or crocodiles. Rattlesnakes are venomous, but a good bit of money can be made from capturing them and selling their venom for antivenom. Not to mention that their skin is quite beautiful in color, mostly browns, tans, and coppers which had been used in boots and gloves. Crocs… they can be dangerous and get damn big. Biggest gator caught, I believe, that was confirmed by multiple sources was thirteen feet, eight inches. They tend to be opportunistic predators, but can and would go after children if given the opportunity, and from the muscles on your bodies, equine facial features or not, there's no building that kind of muscle you or AJ have without meat of some sort," he deadpanned with a cocked eyebrow. He noticed Ayumi's cheeks coloring at that. "What, too many people trying to curry favor of one sort or another with ya in the past rather than a single person making a genuine observation of your beauty with no ulterior motives?" he teased.
"I was in biological stasis, remember?" Ayumi said. "Imagine NNN times 1 quintillion. You mentioning how I look, it's kind of gotten something flowing that I want to forget right now."
"But didn't Spike mention that you look good?" Twilight said curiously. "I mean, he's not your son."
Little sis, my Spike was my son, that's why I was able to ignore his comments," Ayumi said glaring at Twilight. "Although incest was not taboo or illegal when I ruled, it was not always looked upon with glee. Besides, even entertaining that is an Oedipus complex waiting to happen with him, plus I think that comment was more because of his transformed State allowing him a different state of mind as not a lot of people would have recognized him."
Richard rolled his eyes. "You're referring to that subtle, faint scent in the air, hai? My senses were always sharper than most, though I will admit that I wouldn't know the first thing about romance towards any of you. Such as whatever… social etiquette… would be known to this world that wouldn't be on Earth," he deadpanned. "Though I'm hoping that there isn't an equivalent of Gaia Memories in this world… or that group NEVER… ugh… they manipulated people into using Gaia Memories to turn themselves into Dopant Kaijin… which fortunately could be reversed… if someone executed a Memory Break to eject the Memory used," he sighed.
"Honestly, right now I kind of need to get out of here before I rape you." Ayumi said bluntly before disappearing in the flash of teleportation.
"That was awkward," Twilight said, embarrassed at how blunt her sister was. "I didn't think she'd actually say something like that. Sorry, Richard, it seems that right now she's more focused on relieving those needs before harming anyone than anything."
"Although my gut feeling is that putting it off or suppressing it would make it worse. And in terms of armor, wouldn't leather layered underneath steel provide a bit more defense? Admittedly, most steel and leather armors are more for appearance, on Earth, than actual use… as that sort of armor hasn't been used for close to…. six to eight hundred years. The kind of combat armor tends to be layered plate steel or woven Kevlar… both of which can block bullets… which are copper projectiles roughly half the size of your thumbnail… though some of the bigger calibers can be half as big as your thumb… accelerated to just under the speed of sound through a pipe. I won't say how nor what sizes of bullets there are on Earth," he deadpanned, his eyes narrowed on Twilight, feeling an odd heat build behind his forehead as he noted her scribbling down his words. He didn't see the mark upon his forehead shine red for a fraction of a moment before reverting to a warm golden tone dusted with silver, no more than the amount of time it took for him to blink before the notes she'd taken regarding bullets were ignited in a gust of flames.
Twilight glared at Richard. "Why did you do that? All I was doing was writing down what you said to compare with my sister. She explained what that weapon was when she mentioned nuclear fusion," Twilight header hands on her hips unknowingly emphasizing her curvy figure. "She told me it was an assault rifle, a weapon that uses bullets. Something similar to the flintlocks and black powder cannons that are used in naval warfare between Equestria and the Griffins if not far more advanced."
Rarity decided to change the subject before an argument broke out "Ayumi explained to me that gamberson's, leather and cloth armor tunics, are actually better than metallic armors for catching blades. The biggest reason why metallic armors have been in use is because of projectile weapons such as arrows, air rune-powered cannons like Pinkie Pie's and those aforementioned flintlocks. That's because the projectiles move so fast they can cut through leather and cloth far easier than a blade which can only move as fast as the strongest earth pony or Alicorn can swing. Along with that, metallic armor is better for deflecting magic whether it is enchanted to do so or is mirror-like so there is that factor as well."
"No doubt Mumm-Ra will attempt to introduce advanced weaponry even beyond what I knew on Earth and the reason I did that was because ballistic guns have caused the deaths… on Earth, in no more than a century and a half from the time of flintlocks until present… in the range of one million, three hundred and seventy thousand… and that's just from major wars, to say nothing of various criminal groups. If I can prevent the same here, good," Richard's voice was low and grim.
In another flash Ayumi reappeared, this time looking far more relieved. "He already has as some of those stragglers were equipped with laser weapons. Not on par with my best, but they were still pretty powerful." Ayumi pulled out a unique looking almost toy-like weapon.
"I have many others of this weapon in its various modifications but this is my standard laser assault rifle. I have a weaker earthborn version but this one came from a race of aliens called Zetans. They also have pistol variants that look similar to this but this is the one I use if I need to turn something to Ash immediately."
Two distant bellowing roars echoed as Richard's ears twitched. His eyes narrowed at the sound, a soft, wary breath escaping him. He didn't notice the embers of flame rising from his right forearm as electricity danced over his left forearm. "That didn't sound like Lizards," he commented cautiously.
"They're not. That sounded like Outworld Centaur war cries. Though whom they may have found has me more troubled," Pinkie said quietly, her tone wary.
"Okay, I guess we're not going to ignore the obvious threat anymore,"Ayumi stood up, switching to her original outfit in a flash of light. "Armor up everyone, including you, as we need to go out and take care of this." Ayumi said morosely. "Redheart, prepare the ER, just in case we get injured as it's going to most likely happen."
The nurse nodded and headed out to warn the doctors of impending patients.
Richard nodded as he slid out of the bed, uncaring at that moment that he was wearing naught but boxers. He noted that Rarity had been taking measurements even as everyone was preparing. He blinked as he saw her hands rise, a soft translucent cornflower blue aura engulfing her hands and wrists, coiling around her forearms before he blinked away the glare before blinking in mild surprise. It was only after that he noticed the bolo whip hanging from Rarity's hip.
The group left the hospital. "What do you think is drawing the raw power and enemies?" Twilight asked. "It has to be something very powerful to create such a large storm and bring in centaurs from Tartarus."
Richard rolled his shoulders. "No idea. If it's Mjölnir, or some counterpart to it, that could explain it, though… call it a gut feeling, but I don't think it'll just be a 'what' but also a 'who'," he commented carefully. He couldn't explain what he was sensing, but it felt very…. familiar. His eyes drifted half-lidded before snapping open as his fingers curled inward. His eyes narrowed as his legs tensed before he shot forward. Unknown to him, for no more than a tenth of a second, ghostly dark golden wings edged in prismatic silver flared out from his shoulders before fading into smoky embers.
Lyra's eyes widened slightly upon seeing the wings, thinking of the recurring dream that her Familiar had been tormented by whilst unconscious. Her head bowed slightly as she hadn't told anypony about those dreams… because she was almost certain that they weren't dreams… but memories. She missed AJ and Fluttershy watching her from the corner of their eyes, oblivious to the subtle dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Something has Lyra troubled, Twilight, though she hides it really well," Fluttershy whispered to Twilight. "What it is, I can't guess," she murmured quietly.
"He's powerful, little sis." Ayumi said Via her familiar link. "He may not realize it, but the longer he's here, the more powerful he'll get. I barely had to do anything by the time the sun went down the first day to heal him when he should have been bedridden for that entire week with me completely focused on healing him the whole entire time to make sure that his ribs wouldn't shatter under the strain of them forcibly healing so quickly."
AJ saw Twilight shoot the older Alicorn an incredulous look, almost tripping as a result as they darted out of the guild hall.
"Makes sense that they would mistake Outworld for whatever this 'Tartarus' place is. Presumably, they're both home to demonic denizens, though no doubt Outworld would have more varied demonkyn… though we can only hope that Shao Khan or Onaga are not at the reins of the realm… both of them could be considered warmongers," Richard muttered to himself aloud. He didn't realize 8he was humming a slow, almost tribal beat as his booted feet pounded the ground.
Lyra cocked her head as she could just see her Familiar in the flashes of lightning as it reflected off the buckles upon his armor. She didn't realize she was unconsciously matching his quick, loping stride. For an instant, she got an image of men and women dressed in shades of tan and browns with black veils hiding all but their eyes wielding short but broad bladed combat spears. She noted that they employed the same fluid hunting stride.
"Tartarus is a portal to all hell dimensions in most Equestrias," Ayumi sent Richard. "It's ruled over by centaurs, so Outworld most likely has a natural connection to Tartarus. Honestly I hope it's Ko'atal for Kitana that we're dealing with, not Shao or Onaga. If I'm being honest I hope even more we're not dealing with Gods from those realms, Kronika most especially."
Richard tilted his head as he slowed. "Eh? I'm picking up on something in the flashes of lightning. Looks… like a twisted battle axe… black on a red background." His eyes narrowed, unaware his irises were a rippling golden color. "That's not an Outworld sigil…. too chaotic," he muttered, unaware that gave a big hint.
"Well then, DISCORD!" Ayumi shouted both out loud and through her mind. "They're the best source of answers for chaotic items and they will have been drawn to this weapon, one that I don't recognize."
An ember of rippling magical power that happened to be constantly shifting in color formed before erupting in a burst of rippling smoke. "It is so tiring to be sealed in your own plane, only able to observe save for when I'm summoned," a masculine voice sighed. "Eh? Where did you find a Demonic Combat Axe of Chaosrealm? Most of the time, only high ranking Clerics would have those… and they'd never leave them lying around," the voice commented with mild interest before his voice shifted to grim wariness.
Richard cocked an eyebrow as the smoke obscured the speaker.
Fluttershy and Ayumi rushed in and hugged the creature. "Dissy!" The Pegasus said as she giggled. "It's been too long!"
"Ah… the reborn Daughter of Magic and the Daughter of Nature… Hmmm, curious little slingshots you have," the commenter spoke again. Richard's ears twitched at low grumbling babbles that made no sense to him, and again at chuffing growls before he half turned, his eyes narrowing warily in the oncoming storm before he noticed something flying end over end in the air before his eyes widened slightly at a distant spark of emerald electricity flickering.
"Old friend," Ayumi said with tears visible in her eyes. "I failed you, I'm so sorry."
"You know Discord?" Twilight asked nervously. "While not evil, he's not a good person. Why did you say you failed him?"
"It's from my past, my world. Let's just say I lost everyone and leave it at that, it's too painful to remember anything else right now." Ayumi said, barely able to push the words out through her near sobbing. "In truth I've been keeping myself from breaking down out of sheer force of will and sense of duty."
Richard's head tilted as, unknown to him, the marking upon his forehead was rapidly pulsing between a bright emerald green and muted golden bronze. He crouched, not noticing the foggy emerald energy gathering around his feet before he pushed off into what most acrobats or free runners would have called a Flash Kick or Half Inverted Gainer respectively. However, the resonant metallic clang gave away that his kick knocked something away before a female voice yelled distantly.
"Waga shugo Mokusei yo! Arashi wo okose! Kumo wo yobe! Ikazuchi wo furaseyo! Mokusei Hekireki Teikiatsu!" before a maelstrom of faintly glowing rose petals blew up before bright arcs of emerald electricity surged, revealing three Chaosrealm Clerics convulsing as surging volts of electricity paralyzed them and gave away their position.
"Thank you, now I don't have to worry about things!" Ayumi said as she summoned her sword. "I can kill again!" Quickly the mayor rushed forward bisecting each paralyzed cleric in a swift strike, each of them dissipating into smoke. "New tricks, looks like these things work more like Shadow clones able to take a hit but not something lethal!"
"Either that or something is manifesting them. Meaning that while they have a physical form they're not really here." Twilight said. "We really could use Rainbow Dash right now. This storm is interfering with my ability to see magic. Her presence would stabilize the area thanks to her immense Pegasus magic influencing the air."
"The Gaia Memory of Metal could well draw any static electricity out of the storm and ground it through its staff... though doing so, well… it would take split second timing and an opposite charge from the storm to draw it. If it's anything like the storms on Earth, the top of the storm cloud will be positively charged, with the bottom nearest the ground negatively charged… and other than drawing the charge… I'd have to ground the staff milliseconds before the storm's charge hits it and get the hell away so I don't get fried," he commented with wary eyes. "And I know you're there, Mako-chan. Get over here," he barked sharply.
"Who is Mako?" Rarity asked, looking around not seeing anyone. "These clouds are making it incredibly hard to see but I can tell that no one is here."
"Anata wa kidzuite imasen ka?" a mildly annoyed voice commented as an emerald glow faded away. A young human woman, seventeen years of age with long brown hair held in a high ponytail and emerald eyes in a ripped brown skirt with a ripped white blouse.
Richard snorted a laugh at Makoto's wry comment. He could tell from Rarity's expression, she didn't recognize Makoto's comment was actually a slight to her observation skills.
"Nehelenia watashitachi o samazamana basho ni chirabara semashita. Soko no purisshī wa usagi no yō ni fukai ni miemasu," she continued, making Richard's eyes narrow before he snorted a laugh at her comment about Rarity. He hummed thoughtfully as Rarity, to the untrained eye, a bit dense and slightly oblivious. He wasn't fooled, however.
"Oh dear darling!" Rarity said finally recognizing the language. "Watashi wa anata no hōgen o kanzen ni wa rikai shite inai kamo shiremasenga, anata no fuku wa shūri ga hitsuyōdearu koto o shitte imasu."
Makoto blinked as she glanced down at herself. She took a deep breath before shrugging. "Rei, Minako, usagi, ami, soshite watashi wa min'na chirabatte imasu," she sighed. "Autā senshi ga bakufū ni mimawa reta ka dō ka wa wakarimasen... Watashi wa nozonde imasen," she sighed before dragging a hand down her face, grimacing at how soaked her clothes were.
"Essentially, she's saying her friends and herself were scattered by what I'm assuming was a magical explosion, though I'm guessing you all landed in different places, hai?" Richard translated for the benefit of the others. He noticed Rarity used an older form of Japanese than Makoto. Clearly, they were able to somewhat understand each other, however.
"Let me." Ayumi said as the scout's wand glowed purple momentarily. "I activated the universal translator function of all sailor scout wands. It works similar to a Plumber badge or Lantern ring." She explained. "As a goddess of magic I can pretty much modify anything that is magical in nature although technomagic is harder for me to do. Still very easy considering my experience, but because of the mixture of technology and magic harder than straight up magical items."
Makoto coughed before she shivered, making Richard aware that on top of her clothing being very battered and torn, were soaking wet. "I did find something in that storm," she said slowly.
In response to this the flaming meteor landed in front of the group. "That would be me." A younger male voice said.
"My name is Cole. I'm a descendant of Hanzo Hasashi also known as Scorpion. My armor allows me to call upon his Spirit whenever I need but also connects me to him meaning that since he lives currently as an Arigami in Outworld he has some inside knowledge. He contacted me and told me that Outworld threatens a world outside of the realms of Mortal Kombat. A place where he is not allowed to venture not without an anchor."
Richard blinked. He cocked his head. "Cole Young?" he said bluntly. His eyes narrowed fractionally before he hissed softly, his hand dropping to his right thigh as he twisted. His shift in weight was fortunate as a sai shot right where his head had been seconds before.
His head snapped up, his eyes widened slightly as the sai had missed Twilight's hoof by inches. What caught his attention, however, was the woman highlighted in the flashes of lightning.
His head tilted fractionally as he straightened, feeling the Void form in his mind, unaware the feel of his energy had gone from amicable to that of a predator. His irises were glowing a soft greenish aquamarine as he exhaled softly. "Bakayaro," he breathed. His wrist twisted as he felt the latch release as a weapon he suspected Cole would recognize dropped into his grasp.
"Arcana!" Cole shouted as blades formed from the wrists of his armor. "Hello Mileena." The fighter said as he and Ayumi shifted to a horse stance. "It seems we have a fight on our hands."
While surprised, Twilight quickly reached down and grabbed the weapon, wielding it as if she had been trained in its use. "It's never smart to throw your weapon at trained fighters who can use it against you."
Richard tilted his head fractionally, seemingly unaware of her comment. "Who said I was going to throw it at her? My target is that thing skulking in the shadows. Smells like a serpent, almost," his tone was a deadpan, oblivious to the fact he'd revealed that his senses had been steadily growing keener since finding the Sword of Omens. His gaze, the entire time as he spoke, was tracking slowly to his right yet never shifted to Twilight before a glob of slightly glowing green slime shot through the air. He drew and slashed downward with the Sword of Omens, a momentary arc of electricity scattering the slime, which steamed despite the rain pelting down, revealing its acidic nature. A faint shift in the air gave away the presence of something.
