Quan Chi cheated him out of his family, and out of his revenge. Everything has been stolen from Hanzo, but sometimes there's a light at the end of the tunnel that can help.
Hanzo Hasahi has been several things in his life time. An assassin, a father, a husband, and even a friend. Most recently he was a slave held in bondage by the Sorcerer Quan Chi. Bondage that was broken when he discovered the truth about who it was that slaughtered his family. In a desperate Gambit Quan Chi cast a teleporation spell on Hanzo sending him into Limbo, and hoping that the member of the Shirai Ryu clan would remain lost forever.
Little did they know who and what Hanzo would discover there, and of the new world that would await him in a land offering something he had heard stories of, but never seen, peace. Can a former assassin live in a peaceful land? Will he be able to connect with the beings there, or is he simply a damned and lost soul?
Quan Chi felt something that he rarely felt anymore. Shao Kahn might be the ruler of Outworld, but here, here in the Netherrealm he was god. He had seen the rise and fall of thousands of generations. Some questioned if he was immortal, that perhaps he and Tsang Tsung had tricked some deity into immortality, but it wasn’t like that. Tsang Tsung was a parasite. He was barely worth the skin he wore, but the old sorcerer had long since learned the value of souls. His collection kept him alive.
It was different for Quan Chi. His mastery of the Netherrealm had gifted him what could be an immortal life. The problem was that even immortals could be destroyed, and before him was an irate Scorpion, now free of the binding he had placed on his soul, and able to do bodily harm to him.
“Wait!” Quan Chi gasped as he dodged out of the way.
The living kunai screeched as Quan Chi barely dodged it. He hugged against the stone column and closed his eyes. Hanzo finding out that he was, and not Bi-Han, responsible for the death of his family had been unfortunate. Still, he trusted the bindings he had placed on Hanzo’s soul. There shouldn’t have been a way for him to escape, but now it had happened. It had happened and he was quickly running out of ideas.
He had made Hanzo’s new body as a spectre too perfect. He fed off of the energies of the Netherrealm, and not just the one here. Any Netherrealm fed him. Tartarus, Hell, and all other places of torment fed the hellfire inside of him.
“Get over here!” the familiar cry sounded out.
Once again Quan Chi dodged, and this time he threw up his hands. There was no recapturing this soul. There was no rebinding. He had to either save his own skin, or face the end of his existence. He threw a teleportation spell on Hanzo and didn’t think about where to send him. An endless loop, a trip into Limbo, and there he would be forced to remain. He could never escape, and while it wasn’t full of the torment that flooded the Netherrealm it was mostly empty. He would be completely alone, lost inside of his own head. He waited for the spell to work, to take its effect, but there was nothing. That’s when he felt it. The screeching kunai hit his chest. He felt the sharpened beak of the Kunai as it bit into him. It opened once inside and crushed down on two of his ribs. He felt them break, the bone instantly turned into shards and shoved deeper into his chest.
“I’ll kill you! You took them! You stole their lives!” Hanzo screamed.
Hellfire was escaping from the flesh mask that covered his head. His eyes had already melted and left two bright orange balls of light where they had been. Quan Chi knew what would end up coming. He felt the kunai digging deeper, the creature he had formed from Hanzo’s old weapon now was working toward his own death.
For a moment the sorcerer wondered if there was anything beyond this. If this existence was the last existence out there. To no longer exist was beyond frightening. He felt the terror overcoming his senses, and at that moment the spell began its work. It covered Hanzo, his inhuman scream echoing throughout the Netherrealm. The eldritch energies engulfed Hanzo’s form, blurring his outline here in the Netherrealm with Limbo. The looks of rage and frustration etched on his face were a light relief to the necromancer. Quan Chi fell to his knees as the last of his former servant faded from Netherrealm. His bleeding and busted chest was now a testament to how his own hubris had nearly cost him his life. He looked toward the lakes of lava, the tower of human suffering, and raised his hands. It would take days to heal himself, but he hadn’t died, he hadn’t fallen. He was still a god here. Even so, he had so very close to being ended and becoming one of the damned that roamed this dimension.
He huffed, trying to draw breath from one and a half lungs. Part of the inhale he made was filled with blood. He coughed up the ichor from his partially collapsed lung, momentarily losing consciousness. His vision faded to black for a mere fraction of second. In the world where he now reigned supreme, it would not do to be without consciousness for even a few brief seconds. Deciding that he would not entertain his ghastly court this day, he limped back back to his bedchambers to coalesce. Shortly before entering the spacious and opulent bedroom, he uttered some time honored wisdom to himself.
“You’re getting too old for this shit, Quan Chi,” he murmured, “next time, they’ll be aiming for your head.”
Then he closed his door, to not be seen for nigh onto a fortnight…
(Limbo - Princess Celestia’s Training Ground)
Twilight followed her mentor as they neared the lighter part of this strange place.
Princess… Celestia, it’s just Celestia now Twilight thought to herself, she said this was important. That I was going to learn how Luna dreamwalks, and how she is able to view all of time in here.
An anguished and awful scream echoed through the room. Both alicorn mares stopped as they heard it.
“Coward! Quan Chi you coward! You took them from me! You stole my family! You killed my clan! FACE ME COWARD!” the unknown voice roared.
In the distance, or what seemed like distance in the Realm of Limbo, was a figure, roughly pony in shape. It glowed not unlike an ember but not in any color that could be deemed natural. The figure moved around in an enraged fashion, nearly insensate to all but it’s own fury. Twilight didn’t want to admit it, but the sounds and movements of the figure frightened more than anything she had seen before. And she fought off Tirek, alone, with all the powers of her fellow alicorns. That was easily one of the most frightening experiences of her young life. Yet, this unknown being made her afraid for her very life. Twilight began to move forward, but Celestia held out a fur covered hand.
“Stay here. I am uncertain what has invaded this realm, but I must make certain that it poses no danger,” Celestia replied.
Twilight watched as her former mentor walked, the distance seeming stretching on into eternity, but then from what her mentor had said Limbo was eternity. It was never ending and it also never began. It simply existed.
Celestia breathed out the nervous feeling she had building up. She glanced back toward Twilight to ensure that she was fine, and then she focused on the shape ahead of her. She could see the glow, a glow Twilight had not seen yet, but something that had remained in her mind since the first time she had witnessed it. That thing glowed with the very flames of Tartarus. The deepest pits were only the worst, horrific, and nightmarish beings went contained the flames. Flames that always burned, always alive, and they existed for the sole reason of giving torment to those who were unfortunate enough to end up there. She stepped closer when the being stopped moving. Instead it became very still.
“Where is he?” it asked.
“Where is who?” she replied.
“Where is Quan Chi?” the figures seethed, his eerily light burning more brightly as his anger crests, “Where is that fucking coward?! He will face me for what he has done. He took my son, my wife, slaughtered them, and placed the blame at the hands of another. I will see him forced to swallow his weight in the lava lakes for what he’s done,” the figure replied, “I’ll rip out his lungs and eat them, while he lays dying and watches!!”
Celestia’s mouth scrunched up into a thin line. Hearing that this Quan Chi had done something so terrible warranted something to be done to him, but to hear the plans he had… The only one that ever came that close in being so obsessed with suffering had been Ironclaw the Gorehound. The once Emperor of the Griffin Empire had lost his cub and his bride to a botched assassination attempt. It had been done by the northern Diamond Dog tribe, and Celestia had tried to talk Ironclaw into talks of peace. Instead he slaughtered the diamond dogs, down to the nobles they had.
It was there that he made them eat their own intestines for what they had done. Shortly after the southern tribe had came and brought vengeance. They didn’t fail the assassination attempt. Celestia had to allow it. She couldn’t stand in the way of their retribution, and shortly after there was peace between the diamond dogs and the griffin empire.
This creature was like Ironclaw in his determination to make this Quan Chi suffer like Ironclaw had made the Diamond Dogs suffer.
“He isn’t here. I do not know where, or who, he is,” she replied.
“NO! I refuse to believe that! He will suffer for what he’s done! All of those who aid him will suffer for what he’s done!” he screamed.
“He isn’t here. I do not know of him, but I would not aid him in any fashion,” she replied.
He walked toward her. the glow was still bright and she could see where the flames had eaten through his face. Slowly the skin and muscle began to pull itself together, and he gave a small, and angered growl.
“Where did that coward send me?” he asked.
“This is limbo. It is a place that spans all of eternity. There is nothing that exists inside of it, and yet everything that does come here can find all they need. It touches every universe, and yet it touches nothing,” she replied.
“This is Nirvana?” he asked.
A slight smile crossed her lips. She had heard the term once. A complete stillness of the mind, and the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion had been extinguished. It was a perfect description of Limbo.
“In some regards, yes, yes it is,” she replied.
“Then, what are you? I am not Buddhist, nor am I a religious man of any sort, yet I’ve seen the Netherrealm, walked in the fires of eternity, climbed the mountains of suffering, and seen every torture ever created there. There was all manner of being there, but nothing like you,” he replied.
It was obvious he was still on the offensive. She let him circle her, the entire time she felt his eyes studying her, but not in the way she’s known some nobles, or even members of her personal guard, to study me. There was no taking in of her curves, no admiring of her beauty, but instead it was simply seeing if she was a threat. It was the way a warrior looks at another warrior. When it became apparent that she was of no threat he stopped.
“He’s cheated me…. HE’S CHEATED ME!” he roared as he fell to his knees and slammed his fists onto solid, and yet not solid, ground.
She watched him as his strikes stopped. He lifted his hands, now torn and bleeding the tortuous fire, They healed, like his face, and he stood there, looking as if the weight of the entire universe had decided to sit upon his shoulders.
“Perhaps, just perhaps, this could be a good thing. You have the potential to be free from your burden of hate,” she said.
“He killed them. I came home to find my home burned to the ground, my wife stripped naked, violated, staked down, and left to the crows, and my son… Quan Chi roasted him over a fire. I do not want to let go of my hate. I want Quan Chi to answer for his crimes. I want him to face the punishment he deserves, and then interest placed on top of it,” he growled.
“That-” Celestia started but couldn’t finish. She could understand certain measures of revenge eeking out of her ponies. Most were petty excuses or imagined slights. It had been centuries since the last great feud happened between the Hardfeilds and the Macaws. Still, the sort of vindictiveness in which this being sought out his tormentor was on par with nothing in Celestia’s long experience. The closest she could come to for that sort of unnecessary violence were the Caribou. That species was the most vile and belligerent of any creature on the planet. The most pacifistic of them made the most bellicose griffon look tame. The suffering this being had under was most egregious. Something deep in Celestia’s heart felt deeply for him, almost pitying him.
He looked less angered, but it was a far cry from peaceful. She moved closer to him, and she could see the torment in his eyes. They were tainted, much like Sombra’s had become when he gave over to the darker powers of Tartarus, but even so, there was something there Sombra didn’t have anymore. He still had a soul. She reached out and touched his shoulder. He didn’t react to it, and she assumed it was a reason to continue.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Why? You didn’t kill them. You weren’t there when she was violated, while she cried out for her husband who was gone on a mission, and you didn’t tie my son to a spit over a fire and roast him. There is no reason for you to be sorry,” he replied.
She was taken aback by his words. Only one other being had spoken to her in such a blunt and straightforward fashion. But she had saved her sister, where in this entity returned home to see his family eradicated. She knew she could never equivocate the turmoil he was feeling, nor the anguish of having his vendetta wrenched away from him. She tried to think of what could be said, if anything that could make this better, and there was nothing. No words could ever truly do anything to help him.
Perhaps, perhaps there is something we can do to help him, but only if he will agree to the terms she thought.
She stood at her full height, and it became painfully obvious that she was a good half a foot taller than he was. Regardless, she took a moment and breathed in.
“I can’t undo what has been done to you. The blight this Quan Chi visited upon you is something that I can not undo. I can however offer you something else. I can offer you a life of peace. The realm, the world, I come from is one that is mostly peaceful. My kingdom is one that does not often see battle, and the most violent battles have not been seen for well over a thousand years. It will not make up for what you’ve had taken from you, but perhaps, it will help you,” she said.
“Where there is life,” the being murmured, “there is conflict. You cannot offer me what is not in your power to give.”
“I could try,” Celestia answered, “as I stated before, my kingdom is mostly peaceful. There is crime, and every now and then, little wars brew up from those with either a lust for power or a warped sense of fidelity to some deity. I think you’ll find our peace more to your liking then you can imagine.”
He looked at her, his eyes looking into her own, and after a moment he gave a nod.
“Very good, I am Princess Celestia, and may I ask your name?” she asked.
“My name was… is Hanzo Hasahi of the Shirai Ryu clan,” he said as he followed her “Perhaps Liu Kang was right, or at least perhaps it’s worth seeing if he was right.”
They walked back and Celestia could notice Twilight becoming more and more unnerved. Her former student was having a very hard time of containing the fear within herself. She knew it would most likely affect her, and seeing the effect was unsettling. Her student was practically dancing on her hooves, wringing her hands, and looking as if she had just seen a horrific nightmare up close.
“Twilight, everything is fine. I need you to calm yourself,” Celestia said as soothingly as possible.
“It feels wrong, something feels wrong, and it shouldn’t feel wrong because this place isn’t supposed to have anything that makes a pony feel wrong,” she said her hair starting to become disheveled.
The being walked toward her and Twilight let out a whimper. Celestia could see how badly it was bothering her, how Twilight was doing everything possible to keep from screaming out in terror, and she shook her head. It was hard to believe that her former student, the same mare who had faced down Tirek, Nightmare Moon, and even faced the horrors Sombra had left behind was allowing herself to be so bothered by this.
“You fear me,” Hanzo said.
Twilight’s eyes became pinpricks and she whimpered as she nodded.
“You’d do anything to no longer be around me. The idea of running in fear is flooding through you. The need to escape what you feel is overpowering, and at this moment you are fighting a losing battle with your bladder and bowels,” he said.
Twilight squeaks out a yes, wringing her hands in nervous measure and trembling, a leaf on the wind. Celestia notices this as well. She strides to her protegé, and with a wing, calms the young princess. Her smile is cautious, but optimistic, as she gives twilight a reassuring word.
“It’s alright, Twilight,” the Sun Princess tells her, “this- Oh, how rude of me. This is Hanzo Hasashi of Clan Shirai Ryu. Hanzo, this is my protegé, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
He stretched out his hand. It was a western greeting, one that had been taught to him by that fool Kano, Twilight, not fully comfortable with such a greeting, raised a hand in kind, but formed it into a fist; Hanzo’s reaction was both swift and immediate. Dropping from his lofty, “diplomatic” posture, he fell into a combat stance, palms open, knees bent and space more widely than his shoulders, eyes narrowed. The grimace on his face expressed a disconcern for inflicting bodily harm if it came to it.
“Hanzo?” Celestia called out, “What are you doing?”
“Your protegé is engaging me in battle…” the shinobi cooley stated.
Looking between the being that dropped unwittingly into her lap and her protegé still softly quivering in fear, Celestia found a certain dark humor in the situation. Tittering, she placed a genteel hand over Hanzo’s wrist, and lowered his appendage down.
“You have no reason to fear,” the Sun Princess said, “either of you. Hanzo, what Twilight is doing is called a ‘hoofbump.’ It is a common sign of greeting between ponies. Twilight, I believe Hanzo was trying to offer you a ‘handshake.’ There will no need for violence.”
He slowly rose back to his full height and looked at the now openly quivering, mare, in front of him. He curled his hand, remembering seeing one of the Earth Realm protectors, a Johnny Cage, doing this with another Earth Realm protector. He touched her quivering fist and looked into her eyes.
“I will not attack if you are not attacking. It goes against my honor to do so,” he said.
She looked at him a bit strangely.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“The Shirai Ryu are not the Lin Kuei. We attack, we kill, only when there is an aggressor. Our honor demands that we dethrone warlords who would overthrow the Emperor, who would see the world plunge into darkness. The Lin Kuei kill even those who could not protect themselves. They have no honor,” he replied.
“You kill?” her eyes once more shrinking into pinpricks. She backed away from him, her wings flaring out in a defensive manner. She looked in every direction, and finally she darted off toward the direction Celestia and she had come from.
“Twilight!” Celestia called after her.
She turned to Hanzo who crossed his arms, and in an instant the fire that she had seen surrounded him. He disappeared from sight. She tried to see where he went when she heard a shrill scream in the direction Twilight had went. She lifted into the air and flew toward the direction. It was easier to fly here in Limbo. What she had said to Hanzo was true. There was nothing here, but whatever anypony needed Limbo provided. At this moment Limbo was providing magical currents for her to fly toward her student.
There, on the ground, holding her knees to her chest was Twilight. She was rocking back and forth, and Hanzo was standing off away from her.
She walked toward her former student. Twilight looked at her and remained curled into a fetal position. She knelt down to her fellow princess and former student. Gently she touched Twilight.
“Twilight, it is okay,” she said softly.
“He’s killed,” she replied in a shaky voice.
“Twilight, there are dozens of creatures on Equestria who have killed. The griffins kill their food, several beasts in the Everfree kill what they hunt. It is merely part of life, but I am certain that he will not kill while he is a guest of my kingdom, right?” she asked.
“I will not kill while in your lands, save for self preservation or preservation of those who are under my protection,” he replied.
It wasn’t a firm I won’t kill, but it was at least something. She felt Twilight start to relax.
“Perhaps we should cut our lesson short for today,” Celestia said.
“O..okay,” Twilight agreed.
She looked at Hanzo, then back at Twilight and a moment later all three of them glowed a brilliant gold before disappearing. They reappeared back in Celestia’s throne room. A moment later the idea of teleporting there instead of a safer place came to mind when several of the guards rushed forward. She started to say something when the first guard rushed in. He neared Hanzo, and before he get much closer the spear he was holding was suddenly stolen from him.
He broke it into two pieces and used one of them to knock the guard to his rump. He then placed the pointed end near the guard’s throat.
“Stand down!” Celestia shouted her wings spreading.
The guards backed away and Hanzo reluctantly backed off of the guard. The guard got to his hooves, backed away from Hanzo, and then bowed to Celestia.
“Forgive my guards,” she said.
“They attempted to protect you. There is no reason to apologise on their behalf,” he replied.
The fact that he was blunt and to the point actually made her respect him a bit more. She watched him. She could tell that he was studying everything around him, his body still prepared for an attack, and she assumed that it was his life before that had caused him to be like this. Always assuming that there was an attack coming. It had to be a lonely existence, and it was one that actually hurt to think about.
“Hanzo, tell me, would you like some time to get settled?” she asked.
He gave a slight nod. she motioned for a maid to come forward, and a light brown Earth Pony moved toward them. The pony looked at the being, and already there was a sense of unease around him. She let out a shaky breath.
“Yes your highness?” she squeaked.
“Please show Mr. Hasashi to a guest room,” she said.
“Ummm… not to question your highness, but…” the maid said before Celestia gave a slight laugh. She stood and walked down.
“It is fine my little pony, I will show him the room, but I request that you come with us,” she said.
The maid swallowed back what fear she was feeling and gave a slight nod. She followed the two of them down the hall, hearing the clopping of her princess’ hooves, but hearing nothing from the strange being walking with her. Once in the room the maid stood at the open doorway.
“Thank you for accompanying us. I will ask that you help answer his calls and requests if he has them,” Celestia said.
The maid nodded, bowed, and then left. She watched Hanzo as he looked around the room.
“I haven’t said anything yet, but I’m assuming the mask over your mouth, and the black hood are merely part of your clothing. You are welcome to show your face,” she said.
Slowly he looked at her, and then he remembered another thing that Liu Kang had said. The only way to begin peace is to give a little trust. Only members of his clan, and his own family, were ever allowed to see his face. To show his face to another was an act of absolute trust. He hesitantly reached up to his face. The flesh mask he wore was his face in life. He pulled the hood back, knowing that the last scars of his life would be clearly seen. The long gash along the side of his head was there. Healed, by the unholy flames the fueled him, but still present.
He made a small move and removed the mouth guard. It was something he hadn’t done in years. Not since his rebirth actually. Part of him wondered how the rest of his face looked. He looked toward Celestial who stepped back.
Oh Mother, Celestia thought as she saw the sunken in place on the left side of his face, and then the long pale scar on the righ where his scalp was. Such a wound, the one that was on his mouth, nothing could survive that.
That’s when it occurred to her that he didn’t survive. He had said that he ended up in the Netherrealm. She felt a flood of sorrow sweep through her. He had been through so much, seen so much, and lost everything dear to him. She stepped forward and engulfed him into a hug. Her wings wrapped around him with her arms and she held him.
“I’m sorry this was done to you,” she whispered.
He never returned the hug, instead he stood surprised, uncertain, and completely caught off guard. Rulers did not do what this ruler was doing. They did not express concern for a warrior, and especially for one not of their empire. He felt her let go and he simply stood there unable to think of anything to say.
The room provided for him reminded him of the untouched parts of Shao Kahn’s Palace in Outworld. He’d been to the temple, long ago, when he was forced to be the bodyguard of Quan Chi. It in the untouched parts of the Palace that Princess Kitana tended to visit when she believed herself to be alone.
Curiosity had made him follow her out of the more lived in parts of the palace and into a part of the palace that shined as if it was a baston of purity. It was a complete opposite of what Hanzo believed Shao Kahn’s tastes to be like. That kind of purity, innocence, and tranquility seemed to radiate in this room as well. His father had once told him, “Only a fool believes there is absolute peace. Where there is life, there is conflict. The only peace that is known is in the tombs.”
Those words were true, even in his Clan. While all members of the Shirai Ryu were equal there was the occasional squabbles between houses. Most of it was nothing more than petty arguments held over from younger rivalries. Still, all of the Shirai Ryu would come together and work as a single force. Each house knew their place, each man of age knew his duty. The Clan was always first. The Clan was family, the Clan was brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons, and daughters.
That was the closest thing to peace he had ever seen, and yet they were almost always under the knife’s edge. That life, the clan’s world was always a mere breath away from war, devastation, and destruction. Yet, even in that life there was happiness. He had a son, a wife, a trade. It wasn’t common knowledge, but all of the Shirai Ryu were expected to have a trade. It made the clan self reliant, and it also allowed them interact with other villages beyond being either hunters or protectors.
Hanzo thought back to his own trade. He had been a weapon smith. He held the knowledge, and skill, to make and use the weapons of his clan. While his own trade was seldom seeked outside of the clan it was still a necessary one. His kunai, before it was turned into a living extension of himself, had been his final creation. It was perfectly honed, the edges sharpened to the point that it could, without a doubt, slice a fly in half while still in air.
The weight was perfect, and it was not brittle like the older kunai used by the elders of the clan. His kunai could bend, take punishment, and still be usable. It had been a testament to his skills as a weapon smith. He scratched the palm of his hand. The feeling of the living kunai writhing inside of him was always there. It was as if the kunai was a giant worm.was trapped inside of his arm. It didn’t hinder his movement, but it was always there. It was a constant reminder of what had happened to him, what he had become, and how he had fell for Quan Chi’s deception.
He traded his independence, his mind, and his soul to seek revenge upon Bi-Han. It was vengeance that wasn’t warranted. Instead Quan Chi had collected Bi-Han’s soul, transforming it into something darker, something worse, and in the end all Hanzo had ended up doing was giving the sorceror two slaves instead of one. The moment he learned the truth, in that moment he began fighting against the hold Quan Chi had on him. The moment he was free he planned on carrying out the vengeance his family deserved, but instead he found himself here.
It was difficult to understand why he would be brought to a place full of peace. He was no friend of the Elder Gods. none of them would have seen fit to intervene and bring him here. He had heard of the fates, beings as old as the Elder Gods, but he did not believe that they would send him here either. It left this as a mere chance that he was found by the ruler of this place. He thought of her again. She… She was different.
She reminded him, slightly, of Queen Sindel. There were moments, true moments, when Sindel’s true nature would come forth. He had heard of her kindness, and he had witnessed it on a few occasions, but it was quickly stripped away from her. The last attempt at an invasion he witnessed something he never believed possible. Sindel broke free of Shao Kahn’s control, and with the aid of those who fought alongside her daughter, she had reclaimed her world from the tyrant.
Perhaps her world would become as this one. He wasn’t sure, but she would be foolish to believe that there would not be a need for warriors. Even here, in what has to be the most peaceful place he had ever seen, there were guards. Under trained as they might be, but they were there to protect. That spoke volumes about this place. Celestia had said her land was mostly peaceful.
Were it up to him the guards themselves would be trained to be as silent as a tomb. Moving as fluidly as shadows on the wall, and able to blend in with any environment they encountered. They would be an extension of one another. Knowing that all carried the same goal in a mission. Should one fall nine others would remain to finish what was started. They would be trained as he was trained.
He glanced at the bed. He could allow his body to find solace in the mattress, but it would do little for his mind. Sleep, as he remembered, was something he rarely did. When he closed his eyes, when his mind relaxed, he was treated to the sounds of his wife screaming out for him. He was gifted the sounds of his son sobbing in agony as the flames licked his skin. He was rewarded the sounds, but never the sight, of his entire world being destroyed.
His dreams, if they were dreams, were fueled by the hellfire that filled him. The torment he carried was there to feast upon his unguarded mind if he allowed it to. Thus, he discovered there was no need for sleep. There was no need to dream. The memory of testing the theory was still fresh. A day, then two, then a week, finally three months went by and not once did he nod off. Instead he was alert, ready, his mind still fresh, still fully awake.
It had remained that way for years now. He leaned against the wall, and he studied the bed in the room. It was large, larger than the bed he had shared with his wife, and it looked to be well made, but at the same time, it seemed to simply draw the attention. Looking around the room there was various articles that stood out more than the bed. Everything seemed to lean more toward decadent. It all seemed to serve a purpose.
The nightstand, the water pitcher, and the washbowl all seemed to be created to gain attention far more than the bed itself. Yet, there was something that drew his attention to soft mattress, the inviting pillow, and the peaceful rest it promised. Without realizing what was happening he moved, crawled into the bed, and felt his body relax. He felt his eyes close, and almost as instantly he was drifting into the darkness.
“PLEASE NO! HANZO! HANZO HELP ME!!!” Mai’s voice screamed in the darkness.
He ran, following the voice, trying to find her, to protect her, to keep her from the harm that she was suffering.
“HANZO!!!” she screamed out.
Each scream was followed by a wet slap. He felt his rage building, his need for vengeance climbing higher. The darkness around him began to change, to take form. It slowly peeled away until he was no longer in the darkness. He listened, but Mai’s voice was gone. Instead there was only the sobbing of a child. It wasn’t his son. It wasn’t Yoshi, but instead it sounded like a girl. He moved, silently, until he was in a different room.
It was another being like Celestia, and her former student. She was weeping, and there was a mark stretching across her back. From here he could see what had happened. He moved, slowly, toward her only to hear a whip crack again.
“Quit yer crying. Yer a proud wife of the King of the Shetland Isles! Yer a damned Queen, and a Queen does not cry!” a raspy voice said.
“I… I don’t want to be a Queen,” she whimpered.
“Don’t… You little tart! Our marriage was not up to either of us! Do ye think I wanted to be saddled with ye! I wanted a go at that sister of yer’s, but instead I am stuck with yer ungrateful arse!” the whip struck out again, but it didn’t reach her.
She turned, and saw the pony like creature standing there. There was fire slowly leaking from his eyes, and with a strong pull she saw her former husband pulled into the light. He was just as she remembered him. Grizzled, angry, and smelling of whiskey. The Pegasus looked at the would be intruder.
“Ye think ye can come into ma house and stop me from disciplining ma wife?!” he shouted, “I’ll show ye! I’ll show ye and then I’ll treat ye like a we filly who just learned what it means to have ‘er backside buggered!”
The larger male rushed toward him, his weight and muscle would have been a concern, if it hadn’t been that he had no ability. Hanzo side stepped him, kicked out as he ran past, and caught him in the back of his knee. The larger male fell to the ground, and before he could get up the whip was firmly in Hanzo’s hand.
“To treat a wife as such is a disgrace,” he said before he struck out with the whip
The larger male screamed in agony as it caught his back and ripped flesh from it. Another lash found its place among his back before the larger male turned over. He was greated with one that stripped across his chest. He screamed out, and then the room changed. The young female became older, her features more pronounced, and she slowly circled him. Her eyes studying him as he studied others.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I would ask the same question,” he replied.
“I am Princess Luna, Keeper of the nights, protector of dreams, and half of the diarchy which rules Equestria,” she replied.
“I am Hanzo Hasashi of the Shirai Ryu,” he replied.
“Neighpanese?” she asked.
He looked at her, trying to understand exactly what she had asked. Slowly, it clicked. She asked if he was Japanese. The addition of the Neigh made little sense until he stopped to consider it. They appeared to be of Equine origins. Celestia had referred to herself, and her subjects, as a pony. Thus, the realization of the phrasing made sense. He looked around them. The room, while different, was similar to what he had seen earlier.
“You notice, do you not?” she asked.
“It appears… differently,” he said.
A sad smile crossed her face.
“It is the same room, as it looks now. That night… was well over a thousand years ago. Ship Breaker, the stallion you stopped, was my first husband,” she breathed out slowly as she clenched her hands into fists, “He was an insufferable bully, a terrible stallion, but he was a fair and decent ruler to all of those that lived under him. He worked hard, very hard, to ensure that they were all treated fairly. His descendants do the same now.”
He looked to see another female with similar markings to the female was he talking to. She was walking into the room, her face set in determination, and her eyes focused on window leading to the outside.
“She looks like you,” he said.
“She is the last of my line, and it is her duty, as the ruler of the Shetland Isles, to find a Prince Consort to help rule and continue the line. It is a duty I fear she has no desire in fulfilling,” she said.
“Desire has no place in it,” he replied.
She looked at him.
“As a member of the Shirai Ryu Clan I understand duty and desire very well. Our duty, was to the clan first. Our families, our loves, our children, were part of the clan, so it was only natural that we would want to serve and protect it. Yet, if an elder of the clan said that in order to prove loyalty you must be willing to destroy all you hold dear, you would do so. You would do so knowing that it was the will of the Clan to do so. The desire you might have fell second to the duty you did have. If she is a good ruler she will understand this, and she will do what must be done,” he said.
The room disappeared completely, leaving them standing in what appeared to be a very long hallway covered in mist. He noticed that here, here he could see the fight of the hellfire escaping him. It illuminated the area around him, showing rippling pools of light that looked almost… door shaped. Luna moved, and he followed. The two of them walked until they reached a door that was shaped differently from the others. Luna touched it and she pulled back.
She reached out, gently touching it again and he head Mai. Her screaming, her wailing, and the sounds that always happened while she was screaming. He watched as she pushed into the door, and he found himself once again in the darkness. Only now there was a beacon of light. It glowed brighter, and brighter until everything was lit.
He saw Mai, backed into the corner. Her eyes full of fear, and before her was Quan Chi. The sorcerer chuckled, darkly, as dark green energy formed around his hand. He started to strike out against her only to stop and look down at a Kunai sticking out of his chest.
“GET OVER HERE!” he roared.
Quan Chi started to chant but a sai rammed through his chin, exiting the crown of his head. Hanzo looked the Sorcerer in his eyes and slammed him hard against the wooden wall
“Had I known that it was you sorcerer, Had I known what you had done to my wife, to my son, to my entire clan! Sorcerer, what you face now is nothing, nothing compared to what you will face when we really meet again,” he said before he broke his neck letting the dead body fall to the ground.
He looked at Mai who was weeping, trying to hide herself from her husband.
“Mai,” he said softly.
“I am soiled!” she screamed
“You are my cherry blossom. My perfect cherry blossom. You could never be soiled,” he whispered.
Taking her into his arms he felt her hug him back. She buried her face in his chest.
“Thank you,” she said through her tears.
“I could do no less for you,” he replied.
He looked at her to see her form changed. She was no longer beaten, scared, or upset. Instead her form was more ethereal. She kissed his cheek and moved back.
“You’ve freed us. You’ve stopped the curse Quan Chi placed upon us. Hanzo, please, do not let your hate consume you. I do not wish to be separated from you for all eternity,” she said before she disappeared.
The room changed. There was a mist around him once more, but it wasn’t the hallway either.
“I believe that your body is preparing to awaken. I am certain that my sister has already welcomed you, but Hanzo, welcome to Equestria. Please, attempt to find the peace here that was denied you before,” she said.
Slowly his eyes opened he looked at the ceiling. He sat up, looked at the wall, and then stood. Walking to the door he opened it to see one of the maids cleaning the wall.
“Oh, you’ve…” she stopped as her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. She nervously wrung her hands and looked around.
“Ummm… I… I…” she stuttered.
“I wish to speak to Princess Celestia,” he said.
“O….Okay,” she whimpered.
“I do not know how to find her,” he replied.
“okay,” she whimpered again.
“I need for you to either lead me to her, or direct me where to go,”
A barely audible squeak came from her before she fainted.
Moving quickly he caught her, lifted her upon his shoulder, and looked around. Perhaps finding a guard would be easier, at least when asking for directions. He moved down the hall, uncertain of what to do with the honey colored coated mare which was draped over his shoulder. He considered passing her off to another, but quickly decided that if he was to do so it most likely should be a guard. They, at least, hadn’t seemed frightened of him to the point this female, or Celestia’s ex student had been.
He found a set of doors, opened them, and stepped through. There was the sound of laughter coming from down the hall, and he moved, silently, toward the sound until he saw two males. They appeared to be guards, but they were different. Their wings appeared to be that of a bat, and their eyes were slitted. He moved toward them, and one of them stopped, studied him, and prepared his weapon.
“Identify yourself,” the guard said.
“Stand down Sergeant wing. He is a guest of my sister, and of myself,” a familiar voice said.
“Of course Princess Luna,” he said.
She stepped out. The flowing dress she wore hugged her, much like in the dream, and her eyebrow lifted.
Walking beside the same Princess that had been within his dream Hanzo felt uncertain. It was obvious that she was gifted in magic, but she held herself differently from her sister. She had a warrior’s walk. She carried herself as one that had personally seen the death of their enemies at her own hands. In a way it was refreshing to find someone who understood what it was like to be prepared to attack at a moment’s notice.
“Would you prefer for me to take her?”
He looked at her, at Luna, and could see the slight smile creeping upon her muzzle. It hadn’t occurred to him what his carrying the maid might imply. Nodding, he felt a slight tingle as magic surrounded her, and she was lifted off of his shoulder. He could see her fully now, and to be honest she appeared to be of smaller stock than he would have guessed. Going by the guards, the princesses, including the former princess that had been frightened of him, his expectation was that most of them were his height or taller.
Then again, he did have memories of shorter members of his clan. Members that became scouts, deadly members that could take stock of the enemy, never be seen, and strike a blow to the outer lying patrols before anyone could ever know they were there. This maid obviously wasn’t trained as such, but it did silence that question. As they walked he could see the uneasiness of those around him. The hellfire that fueled him, that made his entire being possible was having the effect that he knew it would.
In many ways it was a blessing. He didn’t have to deal with many outside of what his purpose had been corrupted into while he was under Quan Chi’s power, but now, now that blessing was quickly becoming troublesome. The fact that others could feel his presence bothered him. He was meant to be silent as the grave itself. He was to give no indicator that he was even present, and yet here he was announcing to the world that he existed.
It did him so little good to have the abilities that the hellfire gave him. Others would know he was there. They would feel his presence, and that was a problem. He preferred to hide in the shadows, to not be seen until it was time to strike. His training, everything his father taught him, the ways of his clan, it all depended upon being able to work in secrecy. Because of the hellfire he could never conceal himself again.
The walk, and the thought of how he stood out soon came to an end when they reached a large door with the markings of a sun upon them. Luna, effortlessly, opened the door with her magic while carrying the maid. They stepped through and Celestia saw them. The Princess of the Sun was upon her throne, listening to one of her subjects, and from the sounds of it the subject was a spoiled insolent, and undisciplined whelp.
Hanzo neared them, watching the mare’s formerly prideful, and defiant stance, become one of fear and subjugation. She began to cower as Hanzo neared her.
“Th… That’s why I demand… I demand that all servants’ pay be converted over to room and board only…”
“Upper Crust, this isn’t the first time you’ve come to me with this complaint. I’m sorry my little pony, but servants are ponies as well. They deserve a fair wage for the work they provide. Giving them a spare room, and a uniform, while generous, is not a fair trade. I would suggest, if you are finding yourself in a financial hardship, to perhaps allowing some of your servants to find employment elsewhere.”
Having an overwhelming feeling of dread all Upper Crust could do was nod, turn, and run out of the room. Hanzo watched her, and felt that perhaps in this instance the hellfire had proved beneficial. Even in his clan those who worked for, and served, the clan elders were paid. They knew more a simple room and the robes they wore.
“Sister, speaking of servants, I believe that one of your maids was unable to withstand our new guest’s charm.”
A soft yellow glow covered the maid, and she floated over to Celestia. She carefully floated her near the throne, and propped her up so that she could be somewhat comfortable. She then smiled at Hanzo, stood, and walked toward him. She was still taller than him, by about a head, and she seemed more than happy to walk toward him.
“Guards, I have pressing business to conduct, and for that reason the rest of the Sun court shall be placed on hold. If they wish to still be seen they may present themselves for the Night Court.”
Luna glared at her balefully, “Sister, truly, why would you send the nobles to me? They are but spoiled children, nobles in name only, and yet you would wish for me to watch over them as the mere children they are?”
Celestia tittered slightly and nodded, “It will be good practice for you, and besides, you are overdue for listening to the nobles complain about the affordable housing project Twilight has instituted. Lowered Real Estate prices indeed.”
Luna rolled her eyes, watching her sister walk off with the being that had came to her rescue in her dream. She glanced at her sister’s now empty court room, and let out a yawn, “I shall head toward my chambers. I wish not to be disturbed.”
“Of course Princess.”
She nodded to the two day guards, and walked toward her own room. Her sleep, for what it was, would be sweet, and perhaps this night she would dream of something far more pleasant than that of her former husband.
Outside, Celestia and Hanzo stopped and she watched as he studied the guard and their training. He seemed to study them, their fighting technique, and after a moment he shook his head, “They are poorly trained.”
She took no insult to his words. So far she had learned that he was honest and blunt with his words. She agreed that her guards were not trained offensively, and the defensive training they had rested mainly with the Unicorns and their magic. Magic shielding seemed to be the bread and butter of her guards. Their offensive training, for what it was, seemed to be more for a show of strength than anything else.
“Tell me, what would you change?” Celestia asked.
“The bowmen, they need to be trained hand to hand combat, but they need to learn to hold more than one arrow at a time. Three or four arrows are acceptable, and firing a single one while holding the others is a learnable skill. The swordsmen, their strikes are ceremonial, none of them are strikes that would remove an opponent from battle. and the magic users seem to only create defensive shields. Train them to project the same construct at a much smaller scale, and at greater speeds.”
Smiling, she pointed to the stairs, and the two of them walked toward the guards. She stopped once they were close enough, and she watched as they stopped their training.
“Your highness, what may we do for you?”
She turned toward the Unicorn guard that had asked the question and then looked them all over, “I wish to change your training.”
“Your highness?”
The question was more than the two words, and she knew it. They were asking her why she would want to change what had become tradition, but while the ceremonial parts would be kept for ceremonial reasons, the simple fact was that having them trained for a situation that could use their help would be a fantastic idea. She looked to Hanzo who seemed to be studying them more.
“Hanzo, you have spoken to me of your clan, of how they trained you, trained their young, and created an entire community of warriors. Could you teach my guard how to fight as you do?”
If the question caught him off guard he didn’t show it. He simply looked at her, and then back at them. He walked toward them, studying each member of the guard, and then finally he nodded.
“I shall do as you ask, but do I have free reign to train them as I see fit?”
She nodded.
“I wish to start with a smaller number. Eight perhaps, that I may train and see if they are able to perform to the standards of the training I will put them through.”
Several of the guards looked at him with disbelief. They were trained to be guards, put through the toughest training that Cloudsdale, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire could put them through. For several of them it was more than just a statement it was an insult that cut deep.
“I doubt there’s anything you can teach us.”
The stallion’s voice was clear, his intention known, and Hanzo turned toward him.
“Pick up your weapon and attack me.”
He looked at him, and then at the princess, “Your highness?”
“Do as he says.”
Shrugging he grabbed his sword, rushed toward Hanzo with the sword over his head, a very stylized, and ceremonial, attack, and one that had no real potential to do any harm. He began to strike, swinging his arm with power, and Hanzo caught it, pulling him toward him, stretching out his leg, catching the guard’s, taking the sword from him, pinning him to the ground, and held the sword behind his neck.
“If I would have been an enemy you would be dead. Your fighting is ceremonial at best. It is meant to be viewed, to be performed, and it is not meant to used against enemies,” he said as he slammed the sword down beside the stallion’s head, “What I will teach those of you I choose to teach will be how to fight correctly starting with your arms, legs, hands, and hooves. You will learn how to be silent, deadly, and precise.”
He moved away and the stallion slowly stood. Looking over them Hanzo could see that most of the guard was similar to the stallion. Believing that their training unbeatable, and that was their undoing. His father taught him their clan’s fighting method, and then he taught him other styles he’d learned. Over the years Hanzo had learned multiple methods from dozens of sensais.
One of the other ponies, one without wings or a horn, walked toward him.
“I’m willing to learn if you’re willing to teach me.”
Hanzo nodded, allowing the stallion to a place near him. More, similar that stallion, moved toward him, offering the same. Most of the winged ones, the Pegasi, seemed to rebuke his offer. He had wounded their pride, proving that their training was next to useless, and they instead chose to teach themselves. Most, but not all, of the Pegasi were like that. A smaller one, with batwings, walked toward him. She had a lithe body, and she was dressed in darker armor than the others.
“I want to learn.”
She was small, smaller than the maid he had carried earlier. She came up to his chest, her body seemed to be built for speed and agility. Some of the stallions, even those that wished to learn from him, snickered at her.
“What is your name?”
She stood up straight, looked at him, and showed no fear, “I am Night Star, a Cadet in Luna’s Lunar Guard.”
She had the same look his son, Akio, had in his eyes. She was a warrior waiting to be formed. He nodded at her, “Very well, we begin now.”
He walked, knowing that they were following him, knowing that each step they took he was leading them toward becoming better trained, becoming the kind of protectors that his own clan would be proud of, and becoming more than they could believe they were able to achieve. He stopped, looked toward them, and saw the Eight chosen before him.
“Before we can begin I must see what you are capable of doing,” he pointed to a large stallion, “attack me.”
The tan colored stallion rushed toward him, thrusting his fist, and telegraphing where he planned on hitting. His technique was sloppy, he was relying too much on power and not enough on speed. Hanzo moved his head, causing the fist to hit empty air, grabbed the arm of the stallion, turned, and flipped him onto the ground. He dropped his knee on the stallion’s neck cutting off air and circulation.
“It takes less than two pounds of pressure to pierce the skin and draw blood with a weapon, all strength can be redirected, and only a fool tells his enemy where he is going to strike.”
He got up and the stallion coughed while he laid on the ground trying to breath.
“I do not train fools. You will be taught, you will learn, and you will respect my word as law. When we are finished you will be able to hide in plain sight, you will be able to step more silent than a tomb, and you will have the ability to take down an enemy well before they know you are there.”
