Edward was still pondering who could be using the mirror portal of Alexis’s world. It was more or less a wasted effort right now. He didn’t have enough information about her world and he didn’t have the ability to sense when the portal was active. The problem wasn’t his in the first place but he wanted to help out if he could.

Alexis had taken to practicing her sword techniques with Zero and Shadow to pass the time. She wasn’t going to pass up this chance to hone her skills under higher than normal gravity and neither were the Zero and Shadow. Edward came out to the field to see what was going on and decided to come out he had also so hit a stump and grown bored with his thoughts.

Alexis slid back, her blade shooting sparks off Shadow's armor, making him smirk as the mask was dislodged. “Better, Gaki. You're melding Zero's Iaido Style with my Hiten Mitsurugi to create a new style all your own,” he said with a hint of amusement. She smirked as she exhaled softly. “Edward… I had a troubling thought. You said these mirror portals… were created by Starswirl. On top of that, you implied that whoever is using the one I've been sensing most likely knows Starswirl's skills and knowledge extremely well… what if the one using it… was a dark counterpart to Starswirl himself?” she said, resting her kodachi against her hip and the long katana she'd formed over her shoulders.

She saw his eyes widen as if that hadn't occurred to him, though the idea itself was… disturbing. A version of Starswirl the Bearded who might have abused his knowledge or even turned to darker knowledge was highly troubling, even more so if he'd figured out how to use mirror portals freely to some extent.

“It’s possible. In one of the comics after his return from the where he was sent Starswirl picked up his mirror portal project again. He went a little portal happy and made several at once after he looked over how Twilight was able to stabilize the first. If it is Starswirl, then you have a big problem,” Edward said with a frown at the thought of his friend and mentor could be causing problems with his knowledge and power. “You need to find who this is as quickly as you can. Enjoying the extra gravity?” Edward smiled at the Reploids then he looked to Alexis sternly.

Alexis grimaced, though that had occurred to her regardless. She bounced on her feet a bit. “It makes everything more challenging. I look at it as if I can get strong enough to go my normal, full speed in these conditions, then I'll be stronger and faster under normal conditions’, essentially. I'm hoping that it isn't Starswirl, as he's obviously important to you. Though bluntly, any acolyte who trained under him, especially if they have some or all of his research… maybe just as dangerous or more so. From what I know of Starswirl, he could be confrontational, blunt, even harsh, but he was extremely skilled, to the point where he's considered a legend amongst magic-users,” she commented.

“Hm. Maybe. He did take many apprentices over his life. Especially mine since he was long-lived. I can’t say the same for your’s or others. Time varies for all Displaced’s on their Equus, so there’s no telling on what’s going on. I might be able to build a machine to detect dimensional fluctuations specifically attuned to mirror portals,” Edward grimaced as he thought back to Tia and how she’d been avoiding him but then another thought popped in his head. “What if this person or pony is monitoring your movements to track what you're doing and what progress you're making with the Biometals? The might be using the mirror portals as a sort of instant jump gate similar to a unicorn’s teleport spell but they’re using the portals for long distance travels from one location to the next.”

“To my knowledge, there’s only one mirror portal anywhere near where I tend to stay in Canterlot, and I tend to notice when people are tracking me. And if there’s one in Ponyville or the Everfree Forest, I’m unaware of them, not to mention, if you’re right and that’s specifically what I’m sensing, I’d notice if they used one that close to where I was, potentially to the point I’d turn the hunter into the hunted… and no matter what, there’s always certain weaknesses to a pony’s body that can be used to incapacitate without harming them… whether through little tricks… or extreme embarrassment,” Alexis quipped with a small smirk that just screamed of pranks just waiting to happen. “In Ponyville, I tend to keep a rather low profile. I know AJ and her family, I’ve seen but haven’t personally met both Pinkie and Rarity… though damn if that pink mare doesn’t try to catch me doing it, and I have met Fluttershy,” she commented. It was fun playing with Pinkie, namely the pink mare that seemed to be the embodiment of controlled chaos constantly trying to find her and catch her, whilst she avoided the mare.

“The only way I can keep her out of my lab, library, and other areas that are either private or should never be accessed is with a void field or to put the thing in the void itself. I can’t do that without help from Starswirl. Tia and Luna never grasped the concept of manipulating the Void’s energies as Starswirl did.” Edward crossed his arms while he closed his eyes as he walked to the field.

“What about a phase field? Bring the area slightly out of phase with the surrounding area so it's inaccessible without using a phase gate or by employing an item such as a necklace or bracer charged so it vibrates at the same frequency as the barrier?” Alexis quipped.

Edward opened one eye and looked to Alexis but then a glint of silver in the air floating behind her head caught his eye. Edward brow furrowed as his arms fell to his side. Suddenly a blade shot from his right arm and Edward then brought it up over his head and swung it forward. As he brought it down he did so in a waving twisting motion while the sword lengthened in a chain sword and shot behind Alexis’s head and cut the glint Edward had seen to shreds.

Alexis, even as the chain-blade shot past her head, slid to the side, twisting as she unsheathed her blade in one motion as a gust of prismatic silvery black flames erupted in a spinning crescent that let out an inhuman howl as it shot at a point roughly five feet to her left of the point where Edward's attack had hit.

“You're gonna regret that, ya bitch,” an Australian accented voice grunted before the air rippled, revealing a pony with quite a few tattoos and black military armor as well as long, lethal knives. A metallic eyepatch covered one eye before Alexis cocked an eyebrow. “Who are you, a Kano rip-off?” she sighed with a slight shrug, shifting her weight so the katana in her grasp was loosely gripped so the tip rested at a slight angle across her body, even with her left shoulder.

“Who are you and why are you in my world?” Edward asked annoyed as he uses the force pull on the pony to pull him in. “Depending on your answer determines what I cut off first and if you live more than five minutes.”

“Ya don't think that ye're the only one? I got contacts both noble an’ common. Ye can't do shit,” the pony snickered.

Alexis smirked slightly. “Hmmm. Could I use this idiot as a training dummy, you think? Not to mention I could take him back with me… make his little web of contacts useless,” she said thoughtfully.

“I wonder how will he’ll feel of some force lightning therapy?” Edward smirked raising his left had as it started to sparkle in blue lightning. “Metal and electricity always mix WELL!” Edward sent a few thousand volts directly at their guest. “Why and how are you here you bastard?”

“Les’ just say I recently stumbled across something disturbing… something that was able to take out one of Discord's counterparts out with ease. Discord insisted I break a vow of mine to keep Chaos and Harmony in balance,” the pony said through gritted teeth. Faint tendrils of misty green and purple tipped flames flickered as the Kano pony changed much like a Changeling might.

“Your threats mean nothing to me,” Edward stopped the lightning. “Discord does, however. Why are you trying to keep balance in a world that is balanced?”

“If I meant it as a threat, would I have shown myself? Besides, whatever took out my Discord tried to drain his Chaos Magic and claimed it wasn't the first time he'd done it,” the man, clearly another Displaced, spoke in a dry tone. “Think about it. If this threat could kill Discord effortlessly, who else could he go after? Unfortunately, I have no way of tracking him, but from what I could gather, he has the ability to create mirror-like fields of magic to cloak his presence to a disturbing extent,” he said dryly.

“Looks like your world is in bigger trouble than we thought Alexis,” Edward made a glass appear handing it to the man. “What’s your name son?”

“Mirror-like fields of magic? Didn’t the MCU Dr. Strange have a talent like that? But… draining magic… and from what we can guess, life with it… I don't know what to say to that,” Alexis said thoughtfully.

“Shang Tsung, at your service. I was Displaced by a Merchant who was dressed as a man in dark robes with eyes and mouth of flames. Most assumed it was a mask and voice distorter, but something felt off to me about him. I purchased several things.”

“Sounds like you into a rogue Displaced instead of a Merchant. Sorry kid. Your world was destroyed and you were powerful enough to survive but not powerful enough to stop its destruction or are you just hunting this the guy that took your Discord’s magic?” Edward looked to Shang handing him a canteen. “As for the magic drain ability, Alexis, it’s way more common than you think. I can do it with my Fairy Tail and I can even manipulate magic in immortals with my magic weaving skill that I developed. That goes for Discord to, Shang.”

“Not when the one in here recognized the specific energy signature of the draining spell… being that of a particular warmongering Emperor of Outworld,” Shang said grimly. He took a deep drink of the canteen as he paused. That was a very troubling idea… someone with the powerful mystical talents of Dr. Strange and the destructive desire and drive of Shao Khan.

“Dormammu? Is that what he’s really called?” Edward asked in worry.

Shang shrugged. “I do not know who that is. I do know that his magical residue has strong hints of Shao Khan. I do not know this… Dormammu's… magical signature, so I can't be certain,” he admitted.

“Hm. You said you recognized his signature from a spell. Who is it originating from here?” Edward looked to Alexis and then to Shang.

“Hers is close, but not identical. I do feel it, however,” Shang said bluntly, tilting his head at the young armored woman.

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. “The only foreign signature…. is Sigma's,” she said quietly.

“Hm. Maybe I need to take you to see him? As much as I don’t like the bastard, he just might have some of the answers we need,” Edward dejected as he turned around and thought a bit. Then his eyes shot open and he looked to Shang and realized who he’d been Displaced as. “Shao Khan. Does he also go by Shao Khan the Konqueror? And does he use the Wrath Hammer some times?”

Shang nodded fractionally. He knew, as did the canon Shang he could feel listening intently, that the bond between the sorcerer and the Emperor had been severed. It was one of the first things they had discovered. The canon Shang had found it highly intriguing that they had discovered crystalline totems holding the powers and skills over more than a few kombatants in his Equus, which was how he'd gained Kano's form and skills. However, to truly gain those forms and skills, he had to defeat the Kombatant in Mortal Kombat.

“So you from a Mortal Kombat based version of Equus. My memories of my world are almost all gone so it can take me a bit before I recall things I haven’t looked at in the many years I been here. Looks like you can gain the powers of your foes by beating their manifestations in a fight. After that, you absorb the soul of the one you defeated.” Edward looked at Shang then thought before looking at Alexis while speaking to Shang on the earlier events with a scowl. “You said you tracked Khan’s signature here but the only thing that’s been here other than you that’s not supposed to be here was Sigma. That's means a part of Sigma is still here. What aren’t you telling me, Alexis?”

“It was a suspicion I gained after fighting Stonekong because he managed to give me a shallow cut just above my lower back, beneath my right kidney. I suspect Sigma thinks I really am Zero, as in his Reploid form, not a human able to employ Zero's abilities. That means he may try to infect me with his Virus, but Zero is naturally resistant to it as he was the original source of said Virus, and he gave me the same resistance. However, Magma Dragoon knows the truth about me, and he assured me that he wasn't infected by Sigma. He's actually a damn decent Reploid, actually,” she said softly, a bit nervous. There was, however, one other thing she wasn't mentioning.

“Hmm. Don’t try and hide things from me, girl. I want to know everything. I know you not telling the whole truth thanks to my Sage Stone of Harmony. Now out with it. What are you not telling me?!” Edward demanded with a little force behind his unease. She could’ve sworn a slight breeze came from his direction just as he spoke up at the end of his question. Alexis rubbed her arm and looked to Edward with a little fear of the Alchemist. She was still skeptical of the older Displaced as she was sure he’d not even shown but a small fraction of his power.

Alexis grimaced, rubbing her arms. “I had intended to use it to track that motherbucker Sigma,” she muttered, forming from her nanites a sealed thermos no larger than her fist. Even sealed, a malicious hatred and cunning could be felt. “Unknown to me initially, a shard of Stonekong's sword was broken off in the wound in the muscle of my lower back. Apparently, Sigma is hedging his bets and tainted those Reploids that rely on weapons with his Virus. The Virus was strong enough for him to contact me and taunt me through my dreams, but my resistance nullified anything else he tried and I'm not stupid enough or desperate enough to take any offer from him,” she muttered. She suspected whatever ability Sigma used to invade her dreams was not a skill of his.

“Aaa… Look, I can’t help you any more than I already have as far as giving you more powers go but I can help in your physical training and with developing an antivirus if we study your and Zero’s immunity. But first,” he created a small sphere of red destruction appear above his hand and then used his thumb to flick it at Alexis’ thermos, destroying it instantly. Alexis looked to Edward in shock. “In all good conscience, I couldn’t allow it to leave this place in any way shape or form. Sorry, but I’m not taking risks for you, your world, me, or my world. The next thing we need to take care of though is Shang. What are plans wizard? I read your soul with me Seith magic and found you to have a trustworthy soul. How may I help you? If I can that is.”

Shang Tsung sighed softly. “If this threat is someone Displaced as Shao Khan, or worse and potentially more disturbing, the true Shao Khan whom could have consumed the soul of the one Displaced as him, we need to know how strong he is. I am strong, but Shao Khan has never played fair,” he said coolly.

Alexis shrugged. She had a few ideas with those Harmony magic charged nanites. “We could incorporate a vial of those into our armor if Sigma is found to be weak to them,” she murmured to the BioMetals.

“I’ll tell you two a secret. Displaced as strong as you two and with a variety of abilities can only be killed by someone as strong or stronger, usually another Displaced, the princesses or Discord. But as Displaced you have the Void on your side. That’s all I’ll say on this. Alexis, are you listening to me?” Edward shot a glare at the young girl. “I heard what you said there and it is a good idea, given we can transfer your immunity to the nanites thus creating a complete cure as well.”

Alexis acted like she wasn’t paying attention, though she was paying very keen attention. She had perfected the ‘airhead’ act and used it to utterly flummox the nobility. “Hmmm? What?” she murmured airily, blinking to sell the act.

“You can't-fool me, kid,” Edward flicked her forehead. “I’m royalty to remember and I was a king for a pretty good while as well. Minotaurs aren’t stupid here either. Even if they think more with muscle then brains. Yaks though, oi, don’t get me started.”

Alexis yelped, rubbing her forehead. “Hey, it fools the stupider nobles, of which there are too many,” she quipped.

“I’m not a stupid noble but a former king that’s also over fifteen thousand years old,” Edward pulled up his Archive and began scanning Alexis to see if he could find the source of her immunity. He then looked to Shang out of the corner of his eye. “There are two things I can do for you Shang. The first is turn you into a half Homunculus type Wrath. It gives you the Ultimate Eye to see everything, even spatial distortions. The second is the better of the two. I can give you special magic called Data Scan. It is a caster type magic used to analyze everything in the caster's range including living beings and nonliving beings. Upon the user's command, several screens appear in front of the user showing the many statistics. or properties for nonliving things, of the target as well as the type of magic and how powerful said magic is if the target is a mage. The body statistics scanned include height, weight, strength, speed, and flexibility, plus the faults and strengths of their separate body-parts, for example, their legs or shoulders. The screens are also able to show heart rate, blood pressure, brain usage, intelligence level, and much more. This magic can also be used to record events as long as the user took part in it. I can do one or the other or perhaps both.” There was a ding on Edwards display. “Bad news or good news first Alexis?”

“Surprise me. I have a feeling I'm gonna have a busy New Year and spring,” Alexis said wryly.

“Bad news is I can’t transfer your immunity to reploids via antivirus. Good news is if you integrate the Harmonized Nanites into your body they will gain the immunity. Then we can take a sample and recreate them here in the chamber. You can take them to a lab and mass produce them as a vaccine for the Reploids in your world. This goes for humans that Sigma might try and infect too,” Edward explained as he turned the holo display.

Alexis’ eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “That would be highly useful. Would it purge Sigma from those Reploids he's recreated? Not to mention if it does, we could kick his ass like Blade did Deacon Frost and potentially put his rabid ass down permanently,” she quipped. “Though that does make me curious. You said those nanites were charged with direct Harmonic Magic from the Tree of Harmony in this world. Would the one from my world have a similar frequency?” she said curiously.

“All Harmony magic resonates on the same magical frequencies in every Equus. It’s only if the planets, not Equus does it have a slight difference but only slight. It’s why I don’t have to worry about being turned to stone whenever I’m summoned to another Equus. I was killed by the elements once before and came back to life by giving up my life as a human on the Earth I came from. After I got back I merged with a piece of my old body gain immunity from the elements like when you get a flu shot. Back to your question. Yes with this you’ll be able to put Sigma down for good. The nanites have an adaptive program for not only physical adaptation but a one digital as well,” Edward started to create the lad equipment he needs to start to manufacture and mass produce the nanites after he’d get of the ones that would be bonded to Alexis. “That should do it for now. Alexis, come here please.”

Alexis came over to Edward and he pulled out an injector gun and placed a vial of the Harmonized Nanites in the end of the gun. Alexis winced at the site of the needle. “Sorry but these have to be introduced directly into the bloodstream for them to find their way through your body,” Edward held the gun up to her arm and pulled the trigger. The thick shimmering rainbow colored looking material slowly drained from its vial into Alexis' arm. She could feel the tiny robot make their way from her arm racing throughout her body. From her head to her toes Alexis glowed and could’ve been hung from the ceiling and used as a disco ball. “Should take more than a few minutes to integrate them. While we’re waiting, Shang, it’s your turn.”

“I'm fine with the Data Scan, though it sounds like a different sort than Outworld or Earthrealm magic,” Shang commented wryly.

“This is a Fairy Tail based magic with a few changes on it based off a few aspects from here and there that I altered,” Edward typed on his holo-screen as a chibi Shang with a progress bar popped up on it. “And done. You’ll be able to sense and find Shao Khan wherever, whenever. And whoever he may be. To start casting this magic simply think of it and say its name. I few screens similar to this one that is in front of me shall appear with a keyboard to input the information.”

Edward walked over to his juniors while his tone suddenly grew very dark as he looked upon both of the younger Displaced.

“Let me ask you both something.” The air grew colder with his every step as if he was draining the very air around him of its life force. “Do you know what it is to truly feel real fear, to face true terror, and stare Death in the face?” Edward was now staring down both Alexis and Shang with no light or kindness in his eyes and a stern scowl on his face. “Think carefully and answer truthfully.”

Shang's eyes narrowed fractionally. “I have the memories of Princess Kitana and Jade of Edenia plus the memories of those echoes I've gained. Hanzo Hazashi, who is likely better known by the moniker he gained in life as ‘Scorpion’. From what I can tell from the memories, the Kombatants’ souls were pulled from their Earthrealm in those moments before their deaths. I can only imagine how pissed off Quan Chi would be, realizing that those souls he was promised by Shao Khan were pulled away by someone else,” he said with the slightest smirk. What he hadn't revealed was a rather critical detail: that in his Equus…. there were portals that led to both the Netherrealm and Outworld. Fortunately, to use said portals, it took a very particular, extremely rare element.

Alexis’ eyes were narrowed. “You don't want me to answer that. My memories are fragmented, but there are some bucking things you don't want to bucking remember,” she spoke in a low, harsh tone that held just barely restrained anger. The nanites had, physically, erased almost all of her scars. However, the scars left upon one's mind and soul… were rarely so easily healed. The Onyx Armor's Arm Parts had proven that.

“So one of you has experienced real suffering while the other has experienced the suffering of others. Never forget why you suffer. No matter what if it’s for your beliefs then it doesn’t matter. If it feels right in your heart and soul then always face Death head on and survive so you can return to the ones your fight for.” Edward looked specifically to Alexis first with understanding in his eyes. “Hraa. it’s hard when you lose one close to you. Harder when you lose family or some you consider family. And even harder still when you lose a child. Luna and I adopted many of the orphans from the Minos Wars when we were younger and the died of old age but in the last summoning I lost a son. I won’t go into details but know this, protect what you love and do what you can for them. Find the person who loves you for you and stick with them till the end. I’m going for a drink.” Edward then left and headed to the kitchen area of the chamber leaving the others to think on his words.

Alexis gritted her teeth. “Trust me, if I thought alcohol would help me forget that, I’d make Bo Rai Cho look bloody sober,” she muttered. She turned and stalked towards the icy towers that had been left by Frost Walrus, dismissing her armor as well as the bodysuit, revealing she wore long dark reddish bronze shorts that stopped just below her knees as well as light bronze body armor that covered her sides and the front of her upper body, though her back was fully exposed save for the back of her neck. Bandages toned a deep gray, almost black, wound around her feet and toned calves as well as her fists and wrists.

Shang inhaled sharply, his eyes widening fractionally as his charcoal irises shimmered, paling to an icy grayish white before shifting to a deep emerald, then to a rich dark violet before paling to an icy bluish white as he could feel Hanzo, Ermac, or Jerrod, as he insisted on being called, as well as Princess Kitana and Kuai Liang all noticing what had been hidden beneath the young woman’s bodysuit: old burn scars that looked to be mostly second and third degree burns as well as what he counted to be over a hundred, possibly a hundred and fifty scars crisscrossing and overlapping each other over her back, vanishing beneath her shorts, though the burns, to his mild surprise, seemed to fade as they crawled down her legs and arms. The thinness of the scars denoted whips of some sort, potentially whips with multiple lashes. “By the Elder Gods,” he breathed.

“Hm, if alcohol helped then I’d always have it with me Shang, but booze has no effect on me at all so there’s really no point in even trying to get drunk,” Edward took a swig from a bottle he’d brought back with him. “If it wasn’t for my healing abilities then I guarantee you I’d have more than my fair share of scars; mainly on my neck and back. I did get one that will never fully heal after my return to Equus though.” Edward held his hand to his chest while he offered the bottle to Shang. “Just be careful Shang. I’m old but I can tell you there are those out there like my master who have experienced much more than I. To live without pain though, well that’s not life or living. When we feel that’s when we realize we’re still human at our core.”

Shang sighed softly. “It’s better than that bastard Ishmael… he didn’t just try to live without pain specifically for himself… he preferred to make sure everyone around him felt as much agony as possible,” he muttered as he took a drink himself. He rolled his shoulders, revealing a scar that ran from the lower part of the left side of his chest to just above the middle right part of his sternum as his shirt opened slightly, revealing toned muscles beneath. He didn’t mention what had happened in his Equus before Ishmael had tapped into what he’d called ‘the One Power’ and heavily damaged the world in a single attack, killing many in the process. He took a soft breath.

“Is your Equus gone our did you leave?” Edward took the bottle back.

“Considering that Ishmael did something… it was like a liquid beam of light that inverted colors for a matter of seconds… yet utterly destroyed what it touched… and literally cut the top third of the mountain that Canterlot was attached to off, I’m pretty certain that those who survived wished they hadn’t. I know that Luna survived, but lost part of her foreleg and a wing,” he said quietly. He knew that Twilight had survived only because she’d left Canterlot mere minutes before the incident but he knew she did have mental scars as she had seen what followed as the top third of the mountain had slid off… as whatever Ishmael had used… he’d termed it as balefire… had carried the entire city of Canterlot with it… and crushed roughly two-thirds of the city on impact with the ground.

“Sound like most of them didn’t make it. I once flew into a blind rage at the end of the Minos Wars because a village was being burned down just for fun,” Edward took a long drag on the bottle and handed it to Shang. “If you need my help when you go back just call me,” Edward pulled out an odd looking pocket watch and handed to Shang. “My token. It also acts as a video caller to anyone else that has one. As a new feature, you can also send small objects through what I call a Transfer Link to whoever it is you’re speaking to.”

Shang Tsung looked thoughtful before he tugged out something from behind his cloak that rested over his shoulders. “My own Token,” he said quietly.

“I am the Ghost of Outworld and the Spectre of Earthrealm. Those who seek Darkness for power’s sake will find me a lethal foe. Those who walk the path of Light for the sake of others will find me a strong Ally.” it intoned.

“Thanks. But you still haven’t answered my other question. How are you here in my world? Your definitely not strong enough to be a full-fledged Void Dweller yet. Even if you are one,” Edward cocked an eyebrow.

“I had no choice but to consume Discord’s soul. He insisted on it. Claimed that without him or someone like him to reign in the Chaos Magic, it would take on more dangerous, lethal forms. Apparently, the Chaos Magic thinks I should warn Discord’s counterparts of this threat that killed my Discord, though how he did it, I have no idea. It was similar to Shao Khan’s soul-draining magic, yet… something about it felt… off, like the draining magic had been broken and reformed in some wrong manner. The magic felt… strange… unnatural,” Shang revealed. Frankly, the idea that Discord had given his life to protect ponies when most of the time he’d driven them crazy in one way or another was mildly surprising, yet it showed what sort of effect they’d had in reforming him.

“Not surprising there. There were a lot of theories on Discord and his magic and what he is. So it makes sense that it might feel broken or strange. Especially, if it's transferred to another who doesn’t have it. One theory was that Discord used a form of recycled magic,” Edward reached into his Re-equip stash and pulled out a glowing red and yellow stone. “Here. This will help compensate for whatever Chaos magic you’re missing. It’s the Sage Stone of Chaos.”

“Hmmm. It’s odd, but I’m sensing something resonating with this… Sage Stone. It feels like the Kombatant Crystals that I’ve been finding. It isn’t from the girl, I can definitely tell that, but it isn’t far away, either. Do you know of one of these crystals? They tend to use the colors and sometimes the form of a Kombatant,” he said carefully.

“Hm. Anyone, in particular, you’re looking?” Edward asked as he thought. “As for the Stone, it’s made of concentrated Chaos Magic. That’s why it’s resonating with you.” Edward explained.

“From Shang’s memories, I know there are hidden Saurians… some call them Raptors or Zaterrans. These Saurians were able to absorb ambient kombat energy from others, gaining the ability to mimic their abilities. The stone may be also picking up on that chaotic energy, most likely. I am not very well versed in Chaos Magic nor Order Magic. I know of Blood Magic as well as Necromancy, but I do not indulge in those,” Shang said quietly. He tightened his grip on the stone, feeling his magical power surge within him as his senses sharpened. He knew there were two of these ‘hidden Raptors’, as he preferred to think of them. The video game series knew them as Chameleon and Khameleon.

“Give me a minute,” Edward sat down and began to meditate. “I found these,” he got up and held out his hand and floating above it were two greenish glowing crystal. “Strange energy signature. Definitely not from here. Souls are in each one.”

Shang cocked his head, focusing. He could feel the resonance within them. “They are the two Shang’s memories mention. Supposedly, they keep Caizal in balance, as well as male Raptors tend to have more… dangerous sides of themselves hence why their species were matriarchal rather than patriarchal as I suspect that if the males were dominant, they’d have ended up killing themselves off from Kombat pride,” he said wryly. He doubted the Alchemist recognized the name of ‘Caizal’, though he did instinctively as he had fought the Raptor… better known as Reptile.

“Will these are yours to do with them what you well,” Edward gave Shang the soul gems. “Don’t do it here though. Looks like Alexis is done venting,” Edward looked to see the girl coming back to join them. “Shang you can go fight those soul projections out there in the ice fields. It should give you an edge in your fights. I’m going to speak with Alexis one on one while you do that.”

Alexis exhaled, knowing her knuckles and shins were bloody as she hadn’t been employing her armor to get rid of the anxious energy from those very dark memories. She didn't notice initially, that several of the large, several stories tall ice spires Frost Walrus had formed were either fractured or flat out shattered from her strikes, even unarmed. Dark purplish-black flames were flickering off of her skin and embers of it were rising from her skin as she was breathing a bit hard before she drove one last kick into one of the shards, which were easily twice her size and as thick as three SUVs set side by side. She was mildly startled as the shard fractured from the blow before she grunted, pushing energy into her aerial roundhouse kick as the cracks widened, flickering with the Flame God Slayer Flames before the shard exploded violently with an echoing boom, hurling her backward as she twisted, wincing as she was forced to somersault several times, blood trailing each time her right leg touched the icy ground even lightly.

“Enough kid. You’ll end up permanently damaging your body if keep that up. This ice is magically reinforced and looked at what you did with mostly physical strength. Hold still,” he said as red circles started to move up and down Alexis’ body. “There you go. Geez, it looks like the God Slayer magic ended up burning your muscle fibers on the cellular level. The nanites are doing what they can but you’ll be down for the next thirty minutes. Try not to overdo it.”

Alexis sighed softly, shaking her head slightly. “Trust me, if you knew what one of those sets of foster parents did to me after I tried running away… after my birth parents were deemed incompetent to raise me considering…. Ugh… it’s just difficult to get past, what they did,” she muttered.

“Alexis I understand. You had a difficult life growing up. I had the King of the Minos threat to beat and rape Tia and Luna. Took the bastard’s head for it. We all have darkness but the fact that you overcame it means that you're stronger for it. I’m not saying what happened should be forgiven either.”

Alexis grimaced. “I may be stronger for it, but I’m not sure I did overcome it… they beat me with a cat-o-nine-tails in a way I doubt the Romans would have done… then they bucking set me on fire with a bloody Molotov cocktail and used me to light their damned cigars!!” she burst out, as she hadn’t forgotten the horrifying nightmares of it. She swore she woke up smelling cooked meat from time to time despite her mother managing to wake her from them, though she hadn’t told Celestia what the nightmares were about, exactly, only that they were memories she didn’t want to talk about.

“Want to see something that I only show to those I know who can keep it to themselves?” Edward asked in an understanding tone.

Alexis could feel the Embodiments of the Biometals being remarkably silent before she noticed a new presence in her mindscape. “Well… shit… how did I miss Fefnir waking up?” she muttered to herself. “What are you talking about?” she said with a soft sigh, directing the question to the Alchemist.

Edward took off his shirt to reveal a large scar running from his right shoulder all the way to his waist. He then placed his left hand in front of the scar making a fist with his pointer and middle fingers stand straight up. Edward dropped it as a large singular eye opened in the scar. “This is the representation of hatred from myself and the souls in my body. The Eye of Malice and the start of my true form.”

Alexis cocked her head, staring at the eye, noticing it stared back. “From your tone, it sounds like you’re resigned to hating yourself to some extent. I assume it’s for actions you didn’t quite control or regrets you wish you could have stopped,” she observed. “Trust me, I know self-hatred. I still have the scars of what they did to me, and if there was one emotion I felt after that night… it was self-hatred. Not hatred of them for what they did, but hatred of myself for allowing it, knowing what they did to me or would do to me and not seeking help when I could have, thinking I could handle the mess by myself. I mean… who does shit like that to an eight, almost nine-year-old kid?” she said softly, a slight frown on her face as she exhaled.

Edwards body started to reveal more scars as they blacked with more eyes and shadows. He started to grow as red twisted armor wrapped itself around him until he stood twice his height at twelve feet tall. Eyes and shadows leaked from the cracks in his armor. Edward also gained a long armored tail similar to a dragon’s and a cape of eyes and shadow. None of the eyes on his form were gold but the instead were either crimson or had the Ouroboros in them. “This is my true form, my friend. The Embodiment of Sin. And your right when you say your foster parents shouldn’t have done what they did, but you’re wrong for your self-hatred. You were young and scared of what might happen to you as any kids your age would be. All you sought was to be loved. If I could I’d go skin those assholes for you. But I think now I understand why you choose to remain in your female form.”

“Suffice to say, I doubt they found it so funny when the authorities found out what they did. They might have found it amusing to do everything short of torture me when they could keep it secret… but burning a kid over 77% of their body… is kinda hard to hide,” Alexis said in a low, soft voice. She kept those memories locked away in the deepest, darkest part of her mind for that very reason. She could feel all of the Embodiments in her mindscape agreeing with Edward to some extent. She shivered slightly, making sure she didn’t listen too closely to their very imaginative threats. “Trust me, if you knew what they were coming up with, it’d make those hateful souls in ya cringe… I mean… they’re considering skinning them alive, then rolling them in sea salt, and rinsing them off in the ocean… just to kick them up a beach of broken glass… just for starters,” she said softly, shivering slightly.

“Alexis. I’m still dissecting the bitch that killed my son over and over again. While she’s conscious. Then when I’m done I heal her and start it over again,” Edward said as he shrank back down. “I know what torture is through my travels. What it’s like to have whole organs removed from my body. To be studied like an animal.”

Alexis winced at that. “And here I was thinking what an intravenous drip of liquid nitrogen would do to someone’s body… talk about frigid in places that would prove very painful,” she murmured softly. When it came to people she didn’t like, she tended to avoid them, unless they heavily annoyed her, in which case she tended to prank them. Outright torture, she rarely considered, unless they put someone she held dear in danger, then she could get very creative in sometimes disturbing ways.

“She took my son from me. She won’t die until I say she’s paid with every bit of her soul,” Edward said in a dark tone. “Enough of this. Let’s head to the main area for you to some food and get cleaned up. I think a hot bath would feel pretty good right now. Shang needs the field for his fights.”

Alexis glanced at the other Displaced, not immediately recognizing him. “Huh, he doesn’t look like the video game version of Shang Tsung… closer to the movie version, but from what I overheard, it seems he has the memories of, I assume, the MKX version of the sorcerer,” she commented. Her eyes narrowed slightly before they widened as she noticed a semi-transparent form of a ninja in black and dark gold and copper with pale gray eyes staring at her, seemingly from his back. “Shit, that’s creepy,” she muttered as she saw the form of the Hellspawn Wraith fade into the Displaced sorcerer.

“Seen worse. Looks like I’m out of my poison joke wine.” Edward looked to the empty bottle in his hand.

Alexis cocked an eyebrow. “Poison Joke Wine? If I didn’t know what you were talking about, I’d guess you were taking something from a Joker Displaced,” she said with a giggle before she snickered. She had, of course, encountered Poison Joke, so she knew what it was.

“It’s a wine my grandson slash assistant made. Took him months to get it right. I’d say he’s a genius if he didn’t test his stuff on himself have the time Stunk up my lad the morning he perfected this stuff. In my Equus, you can only drink if you’re a royal with a royal or have your own still and the means to fund it.” Edward laughed as he thought of the nobles. “Stupid nobles think we don’t know of the secret stores. Need to bust them on it but it would end up throwing the court in disarray if they were arrested. Are you even old enough to drink?”

“I was 24 when I was Displaced by that idjit Merchant. My memories are still fragmented, but I remember bits and pieces that are useful… though the migraines from finding those parts of the Onyx Armor are one hell of a bitch, especially the Arms… damn useful, but the memories… especially those memories, I could have done without,” she said wryly, grimacing.

“Bathroom all the way in the back,” Edward pointed to the hallway. “I do understand Alexis but just go have a long relaxing soak. It’s pretty much a natural mountain hot spring in their so you can swim if you like. If you want a swimsuit then they're in the changing room. I’m going to do some reading in the meantime.” Edward pulled a book from his stash and took a seat in the living area.

Alexis exhaled softly as she strode cautiously along, her eyes flicking around despite knowing there weren't any threats. She didn't realize that her stride and aura felt more like that of a predator than a human. She distantly sensed approval, most likely from Phantom. She rolled her shoulders twice, her eyebrow rising slightly at the sight of a very large ornate door. Her eyes narrowed a bit, cautious despite herself.

“I know ridiculously tacky right,” a voice came from behind Alexis. She wheeled around pulling out the Z-saber which was met with a spear made of magic. Alexis looked to see a mid-size well-built earth pony with a solid black mane and tail wearing a blue sleeveless shirt, black cargo pants, heavy boots, and a white hooded sleeveless hoodie hold the spear. “Woah there. Didn’t mean to startle you there Miss. Names Polearm Aries. You must be a Displaced that Edward summoned.”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. “So you’re the Poison Joke Wino,” she deadpanned, smirking fractionally as she flicked her wrists to break the weapon clash, letting the blade drift around the haft in a tactic before the tip of the blade hovered just shy of the hoodie as she held the blade loosely with one hand gripping Polearm's forearm just above the wrist, keeping the spear angled away from her.

“Sorry for the scare Miss. I came to pick up my daughter. We were training earlier and she likes to use the bath in here. Could you please put that sword away?” Polearm arm winced at the blade in front of him. “It’s really hard to make a spear for me as is let alone one made of pure magic. Being an earth pony doesn’t make it any easier either.”

Alexis tilted her head, withdrawing the Zeta Saber before sheathing it. “Trust me, I know the feeling, as it took me almost two and a half months to even sense the magic I gained and another two to manifest it enough for one flicker. I can't tell ye how many times I went to bed so exhausted that I didn't wake in time for breakfast the following day,” she commented. “Though it doesn't help that my adrenaline is ebbing and my forearms, knees, elbows, and shins are feeling the results. Muay Thai may harden the body, but it still hurts like hell, and ice isn't any more forgiving than concrete,” she commented with a grimace. Blood trickled over the tops of her feet from her shins and coated the outsides of her forearms and knuckles.

Polearm cocked his head to the side. “You’re just lucky you don’t have Ed as a teacher. You should get in there and let the water hits your wounds. They close right away.” The doors opened and outran a little filly with a pair of black wings and horn with a dark purple mane. She was wearing jeans and a purple top with purple sandals. “Daddy I’m finished. Who’s the bloody lady?”

Alexis snickered. “Nope, I’ve got my mother teaching me, and Princess Celestia isn’t much of one to let me slack,” she quipped. She cocked an eyebrow at the filly. “Name's Alexis… or Zero. Doesn't matter which,” she quipped.

“Alexis Zero? That’s a cool name!” The filly said bouncing up and down in excitement. “It’s nice to meet you Ms. Zero my name’s Nyx Nocte Caelum. Nice to meet you this is my daddy Polearm Aries and although she not here my mommy’s name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Okay, Nyx, calm down. You know what Rarity says about a lady being overexcited,” Polearm picked up the filly. “Sorry to bother you. We’ll be heading home now.”

Alexis rolled her eyes. “Who said anything about being a bother? Besides, with Eddie out there, I need some way to unwind,” she sighed. She tilted her head as she felt the dull burning starting to fade away. “I'm gonna incorporate the rest of those Harmony nanites whilst my body relaxes. I have a feeling it'll accelerate my healing,” she decided.

“Miss, why are you so sparkly with Harmony magic?” Nyx asked tilting her head. “It looks like there’s your own Spirit of Harmony surrounding you. Uncle Ed told me I have magic eyes that let’s me see that kind of stuff and that it has something to do with being an alicorn.”

Alexis smirked. “Here's a secret… so do I… but mine is unique because I can activate it with my mind,” she quipped as she blinked, her sclera shifting to a pale amber whilst her irises became a deep golden amber rather than a pale opalescent white with deep aquamarine-teal irises. Pale golden red rings radiated inward from the edges of her irises to her pupils.

“So cool. Can you teach me how to do that?” Nyx asked jumping down from her father’s arms.

“Sorry, Nyx but we have to go home now. I have patrol duty this evening and Twilight wants you home to go over your magic lessons,” Polearm interjected.

Alexis smirked a bit before blinking again, the scanning lenses seemingly vanishing. “I may try to sneak away from Taskmaster Eddie to learn some magic too. Although most of my talent, magically, is more elemental in nature. But with practice, I can learn other styles. Hang on, I think I have something in my ear,” she quipped before she focused, pulling out of her ear what appeared to be a woven bracelet of red, amber, copper, blue, pale green, and deep amethyst with a latch that looked like a starburst that locked into a crescent moon. “Huh, look at that,” she quipped, smirking at Nyx's astonished look. A small golden ring with an emerald in the center clung to the bracelet.

“So awesome. I wish I could do super detailed stuff like that,” Nyx jumped with joy before looking down in embarrassment. “I have a hard time controlling my magic when I cast complex or on the spot spells. I turned my Aunt Fluttershy into a tree not to long ago. But it was my Aunt Pinkie’s idea first. I thought Princess Celestia would send me to the moon for it but mommy was able to fix her.”

“It’s all about focus and visualization. For example, paintings come from watching things like sunsets, the ocean, or the beach. Sometimes it's people, often people we hold close to our hearts. Maybe this can help you focus,” Alexis said softly, handing her the bracelet. “I wish my foster parents had been half as nice as yours. They weren't very nice to me, as my birth father got sick while my birth mother… had a bad accident,” she said softly.

“Thank you.,” Nyx put the bracelet on but started to rub her arm and then She looked to Polearm and then to Alexis. “You said foster parents Ms. Zero. I’m sorry but I don’t know what that means. I heard from Uncle Ed that I was born from a spell that used mommy’s blood making me her daughter by default in a way. To me daddy has always been was my daddy since he gave me my middle and last name. They”re all I’ve ever known as mommy and daddy since I was found in the Everfree.

“You’re right Nyx. I loved you since the first time I saw you and no matter what any ponies says your my little girl. No matter what anypony else says, thinks, or does. I’ll be there for you and I’ll always love you,” Polearm smiled as he knelt down and hugged his daughter.

“I also have a dragon as an uncle who’s been dating my Aunt Rarity and she’s teaching me how to be a proper lady while Uncle Spike is teaching me to cook.” Nyx chirped with a smile before looking down in sorrow again. “Uncle Shining and Princess Celestia don’t really like being around me too much or near me, but Auntie Cadence is really nice to me and Auntie Luna likes to spend time with me when I come to Canterlot for my checkups.”

“That makes no sense to me. I mean, I could see Celestia being overprotective. Hmmm. That gives me an idea. Next time you see Princess Celestia, tap that emerald twice, then I can ask her a question that I suspect will get her thinking differently. If I'm right, I think I may have an idea that will make Princess Celestia much nicer and, no doubt, if my guess is right, will explain a fair bit,” she commented. She had a strong suspicion that Ed's Princess Celestia saw her Twilight as a daughter, yet had never admitted it. She had noticed the fondness that her adoptive mother had looked at her adoptive sister with. “And Polearm? Celestia needs to let go of whatever antagonism she has towards Nyx. I know whom she came from, but if Celestia isn't careful Nyx will notice the antagonistic mannerisms and we don't want that rubbing off on a young mare that could be quite impressionable. Tell her that ‘anger leads to hate and hatred turns us into someone we often don't recognize until it is too late’,” she said quietly.

“Why don’t you tell me yourself Ms. Alexis,” Celestia stood at the end of the hallway looking at the trio with a little annoyance in her eyes. “I came to talk with Edward but did see either of you. I felt Edward presence out in the fields and was heading that way until I heard voices coming from the hallway. Care to explain.”

Alexis took a soft breath. “It's very simple. I’m almost sure you see Twilight as more than just a student. I'll admit that I do not know Twilight's past here, but from what I've heard of your reaction to a certain incident, you obviously see Twilight, if my guess is correct, as a daughter. If that's the case, and Nyx, however it occurred, is Twilight's daughter, then you shouldn't avoid her or act like you dislike her, since as young as she is, she could interpret things in a way you might prefer to see avoided. Best way to avoid that is to make sure that Nyx holds you in just as high a regard as her own mother, in which case she would do her best to make you proud,” the young woman said bluntly. “Trust me, I have dealt with parents that despised me in ways that no parent should… and I haven't forgotten the price in literal blood and tears I paid, not to mention the agonizing recovery,” she said as she turned her back, revealing the somewhat faded burn scars and the many, many slicing scars upon her back. One could only imagine, as distinct as they were, how horrible they had been when they happened. “The best way to avoid the darkness is to make the light more appealing, don't you think? If you knew the nightmares I have, you could imagine me choosing the darkness. See, experiencing the worst life can cause as I did, as Edward did, we tend to make one of two choices…. spread our pain to others by causing more pain… or stand strong against the pain and take it so innocent people… like Nyx… don't have to. Which side do you fall on? Endure… or create?” she said quietly.

“Nyx has been doing very well so far but I am still not convinced that she is not Nightmare Moon. Except for an extremely high magical output for her age, she is a normal filly enjoying a normal life as Edward had suggested. I do prefer her to stay where I can keep an eye on her and away from Twilight who I do see as a daughter but I can’t separate them as you said it would only cause more pain for those I truly care for.” Celestia paused and took in a deep breath dropping her ruler mask. “As much as I don’t want to see her as a threat, Alexis I just can’t. I truly wish to see Nyx as my granddaughter but I can’t move past her appearance and my own memories of losing my sister. I bear no hatred but I can’t take any chances of her turning into what she was or might be.” She looked to the little one hiding behind her father. “Next time you come and I’m not busy we can try and learn some magic or maybe you’ll at least like to read a book with me Nyx. I’m sorry if I made you feel unwanted.” Celestia smiled to Nyx who smiles back and ran over to giving her surrogate grandmother a hug.

“I’ll be over tomorrow evening. I want to watch you lower the sun and Uncle Ed raise the moon.” Nyx smiled at Celestia as a few tears fill from their eyes.

Alexis exhaled softly. “You said it yourself. She's a ‘normal filly living a normal life’ so the best way to keep your fears of what could be from becoming true is to make sure she has no reason to turn into anything remotely similar. Lord knows I wish I had that in my darkest times… because when they did what they did…. it nearly broke me,” she said quietly, despair and loneliness in her voice. She very carefully didn't reveal precisely what had happened although she knew Edward knew.

“Thank you for your help with the Princess, Alexis,” Polearm whispered as he passed. “Come on Nyx. Mommy will start to worry if we’re even thirty seconds late. I bet she has a lot of new spell books and other books for you.”

“Yea and no let’s not be late. Mommy is really scary when we’re late. I swear I saw her mane turned into fire last time.” Nyx shook in fear a bit. “ Bye Princess. Bye, Ms. Zero!” Nyx follows her father out of the chamber.

Alexis rested a hand lightly on the door to the bathing chamber. Her eyes were almost closed as she tried to block those dark memories trying to creep up on her. “Ever since I found those Arm Parts for the Onyx Armor, those memories won't stop replaying in my mind like a constant nightmare. I was stuck with them for thirteen months,” she whispered.

“Are you alright Alexis?” Celestia asked looking to the young woman before her. “You look like you could really use a bath in the Oasis. I came to get Edward to lower the moon but he was passed out in his chair with a book over his face. I think I can take my time while in here for a bit though. Would you mind if I joined you in the bath? I would like to speak with you a bit more. ”

“I don’t mind. On the plus side, I awoke another of the BioMetals that I have… though I think I might have pushed myself harder than intended as certain memories that I wish had stayed forgotten… made me rather reckless… I'm pretty sure I'm going to have some pretty nasty bruises. But then… punching solid ice… or as Edward put it… magically reinforced ice… with naught but physical force and power… I guess I might have found my inner Earth Pony,” she said wryly.

“Can you not magically augment your body to increase your durability?” Celestia asked opened the door to an open-air bath that was built in the side of a mountain. “How they did this I will never know. Come along Alexis. The changing rooms are this way.” Celestia walked off to the right to an area with shelves and baskets.

Alexis rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh… I haven't learned how to do that yet, actually,” she said sheepishly. “Although I do know how that feels. My adoptive mother… has a physical challenge course built into the inside of Canterlot Mountain, though she hasn't told me how she did it. If I didn't know better, I'd say she built it with her own hooves,” she sighed. She followed Princess Celestia, exhaling softly. “I'll probably never know why they did it,” she muttered. Her fingers trailed over her forearms, remembering the long hours of physical rehabilitation.

Celestia began to look at the bathing suit then looked to Alexis. “If it’s like the one I built then it was probably for the same reason but then again maybe not. I built mine to help keep up my physical form and to have some fun every now and then. It was also my escape from the nobles complaining. Ah here’s a nice one,” Celestia took out a golden one piece. “Modesty is still something I like to have even around Edward.”

Alexis giggled. “That sounds about right. The ‘Noble’ ponies are exhausting… and very annoying. More than once, I was tempted to prank them… though it was rather funny to glue Jet Set to his chair and hit him with a paint and glitter balloon. He tried everything to clean it off to no success… until I let it slip they hadn't tried mineral oil,” she giggled. She tilted her head, looking over the bathing suits before one that was a deep grayish blue with silvery lines caught her eye.

“I can’t help but ask. Did Edward happen to talk to you about what else has been going on between us?” Celestia asked in a worried tone as she steps behind a curtain into a change booth. “A lot has happened lately and I’m guessing you already know I’ve been avoiding him as much as possible and I’m sure he’s told you why.” Celestia came out and looked to Alexis.

Alexis tilted her head. “Nope. He said you had been avoiding him and might have implied you might have a crush on him, but not much else,” she said honestly. She wasn't very interested in romantic endeavors and didn't pay that much attention to it. “Besides. I may look like a young woman right this moment, but mentally, I'm still what I've always been… a guy. Though admittedly I can see the appeal in feminine clothes more readily now, and I’ve always had an instinctive grasp of colors tones,” she commented as she slid behind a screen, shedding her clothes before changing into the swimsuit, very aware of the faded burn scars upon her body.

“You’re horrible at telling half-truths. I did wield the elements once too. I’ll be heading to the bath,” Celestia move out of the changing room.

“Funny… but I was being truthful in that I only heard that much… or more precisely, I only paid attention to that much. The rest didn't concern me so I ignored it,” she muttered wryly.

Celestia had been standing just inside the chamber earlier is what no one had realized. She wants to keep an eye on Luna who’d stayed after she left. She didn’t want to face Edward for the reason he’d call her out on her hidden feelings. Now there was no more she could do but avoid him. She thought on her feelings as she floated in the water.

‘Why is this so hard? For the last seven thousand years, I was able to keep this to myself. Now all I can do is run.”

Alexis stepped out of the changing room before she grimaced, wincing as she dropped to one knee. “Not now. This is the last thing we need… though Harpuia did warn there was a slim possibility of this the stronger I become… something about a strange genetic marker,” she thought, a low whine of pain escaping her as she could feel the cloth straining just above the middle of her back, the deep gray satin fabric becoming a dark red before she heard the cloth give a sharp ripping sound. Her initial set of wings were roughly six, almost six and a half feet wide on either side. The new set, however, was just under five feet wide on either side. “Fuck, that bloody hurt,” she panted, noticing that the new set of wings were coated in her blood.

“Oh, my gods. Alexis are you alright in there?” Celestia said in shock as she pulled back the screen. “What the? We need to get you into the spring now you’ve lost a lot of blood. Let me support you.”

Alexis grimaced, wincing as she tried to stand shakily. “This is the second time… first time knocked me out for almost ten hours and hurt a lot more,” she managed. “First time tore through muscle and regenerated them rapidly, which hurt almost as much… feels like a really sore overworked muscle, though that could be because the nerves are overwhelmed by the new connections,” she said breathlessly.

The doors to the entrance flew open and in walked Edward. “Told you, you should’ve been in the bath. No had to stop and chat but I’m glad you did. Polearm woke me before he left. Tia, get her under the right and I got the left.” Edward and Celestia managed to get Alexis into the bathing area laying her on her back as the enchanted water washed over Alexis and immediately started to close all her minor injuries. “Stay in their and float for at least thirty minutes okay.”

Alexis felt her upper wings emerge instinctively. “You probably noticed that same genetic marker Harpuia did. She didn't recognize what it meant, but I have a small suspicion of what it is,” she said wryly, grimacing.

“Alexis, what is this? Why do you have wings? Edward, what’s going on?” Celestia asked frantically looking back and forth between the Displaced.

“You can explain it to her Alexis. I’m going to go change. No sense in staying in wet clothes in a bath and while we’ll be here for a bit,” Edward walked off to the changing room.

“Balls… ugh…. essentially, I'm like Edward, though my abilities are very different. As for the wings… my adoptive mother is trying to figure that out as well. However, I have a theory about it… and it involves my birth parents. My birth father was murdered when I was six years old. My mother, though she hid it well, didn't take it well… a few months later, her car was found crashed in a ravine. Her body was ever found,” Alexis said softly.

“I already knew you were a Displaced. I was there when Edward summoned you, remember,” Celestia pointed out. “But those wings…”

“I can tell you exactly what those wings are. But only if you want me to Alexis,” Edward came back from the changing room in swim shorts. He sat down on the edge of the spring and placed his feet in the water and interlaced his fingers in front of his mouth. “The stronger you get the more they’ll emerge until they’re finished developing.”

Alexis sighed softly. That was something that she'd already suspected. “She wasn't Human, was she?” she directed the question at Edward.

Edward nodded his head slightly. “Yes. Your father was human but your mother wasn’t. She wasn’t even from your dimension.”

Somehow, that didn't surprise her. “So, what, she was some sort of angel or fallen angel?” she muttered.

Edward looked to Celestia who looked back to him and then to Alexis. “She was like Tia. An alicorn. From where I can’t say. Is she still alive? Most definitely.” Edward stood up, “It explains why you had such a hard transition as a Displaced and why you lost most of your memories. The Displaced and alicorn energies clashed when that Merchant or Rogue Displaced give you the Biometals. I think he might have actually been a Shadow Fragment.”

Alexis’ eyes widened fractionally. That, she hadn't seen coming. “He was dressed as that merchant from Resident Evil 4… hold on… Shang mentioned someone called Ishmael… with burning eyes and a burning mouth? I remember seeing someone cosplaying that character… Ishmael also uses the name Ba'alzamon… a name often translated as The Heart of the Dark or The Heart of The Shadow,” she said, her eyes narrowing. She knew that the character's reputation was EXTREMELY DARK in a way Stephen King would probably enjoy. “And what exactly is a ‘Shadow Fragment’?” she said cautiously.

“A Shadow Fragment is exactly what it sounds like,” Celestia said looking into her reflection with a downtrodden gaze. “The entities that seek out alicorns to corrupt and take hold of them are the shadows. Like any being, they must all start out in some form of new life. These are what are called shadow fragments. Once they find a host they burrow into the host’s mind and corrupt them. This is what happened to Luna. Shadows evolve and change to suit their needs in order to find the proper host. I suspect this Sigma was once a Shadow Fragment itself or at least it a fragment found the virus and it evolves into the Shadow known as Sigma.”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. That, she mused, wouldn’t surprise her. “About that. The Virus that originally infected Sigma was part of Zero, hence his strong resistance to it. Supposedly, it was developed by a doctor who had hoped to take over Zero's world, but he grew too old for that. It's possible a Shadow Fragment could well have melded with the Virus, making it into what it became known as the Maverick Virus. Sigma himself was infected by said Virus, but he was able to turn it into a virus that benefited only him,” she explained.

“And he's been a pain in the ass ever since. We destroyed his body no less than fourteen times, each time thinking he's gone permanently,” Zero deadpanned, leaning against the wall. “That's the problem, Z… you guys always destroyed the hardware… a Virus, especially a computer Virus, like what Sigma has become is rarely pure hardware. More often than not, you destroy the software… the Virus loses anything to attach to, and by extension… no way to survive,” Alexis cut in.

“You don’t get it, do you, kid. Sigma isn’t a virus at all. Sure it acts like one but is really a shadow and as soon as your aunt is free it’ll have the perfect host,” Edward deadpanned.

Alexis cocked an eyebrow. “She will be free. And we'll make damn certain Sigma sees the light,” she said quietly.

Edward fell back into the water with a splash. “First things first. You need to get stronger and also find your mother. Not many alicorns exist that can traverse the dimensional barriers. You need to fully awaken your alicorn half before you face Nightmare Moon. Let alone Sigma. Only then will you know who you truly are.” Edward stood up and walked to the edge of the bath and looked out. “I’ll help you if you want and you won’t like what you have to face. But you must find those answers.”

Alexis tilted her head. “If my mother is an Alicorn… and she can traverse the dimensional barriers, then her energy signature would likely be very unique and distinctive, hence easy to track, right?” she said cautiously.

“Yes and no. She will have a unique signature but she could be anywhere in your world as she is an alicorn. If she remains in your world as well. She might have returned to your earth to look for you. Alicorns can only remain outside their world via spell for so long. No matter how strong they are,” Celestia interjected. “She will have an energy signature similar to your own.” Celestia had made her over to Edward and whispered to him. “I’m sorry for avoiding you Ed. Can we talk on personal matters later?”

She looked at Edward who continued to look out but still slightly nodded. Celestia smiled and sat down on the seat under the water and looked at the view under them with the alchemist. They remained silent gazing out as everything between them had been settled for the time being.

“What is my energy signature?” Alexis considered. She wasn't sure what her energy signature was, nor had she really thought about it.

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