The Displaced group found themselves on the edge of the Dragonlands. There were many lave pools and plenty of fire, rock, and ground type pokemon. Edward walked around and stretched while taking in his surroundings He hadn’t been here for quite some and he doubted that dragons would have forgotten his adventures with Flash Magnus. It was the best time to find a Ninetails as it had only been dark on the outside of chamber for around two hours. The Displaced had been in the Time Chamber for the equivalent of about a day and a half.

“Alright, guys and idea on how to track down a Ninetails?” Edward deadpanned as he plopped down on the nearest rock. “Never asked you Shang, but would you like a pokemon too?”

Bastiodon

“Yea maybe we should check out a couple of the older cave systems as a start. Thanks, Clip. Go ahead and get a lava bath girl. You’ve earned it,” Edward patted the Bastiodon and she then made its way down the path they were on to the lava pools below.

Alexis’ eyebrow rose slightly. Shang shrugged. “If one catches my eye, so be it. Otherwise, it isn't necessary,” he commented.

“Lava bath? I'm assuming certain of these… Pokèmon… can handle those sorts of temperatures?” Alexis commented as she looked around.

“Yea, some of them are actually made of lava or even eat it or produce a unique form of lava from their bodies. Look over there now,” Edward pointed out a large red slug-like pokemon coming from one of the pools below. “That's called a Slugma.”

Shang blinked in mild surprise. “Even Hanzo wouldn't be able to manage that. He's extremely resistant to fire, but not quite like that,” he commented.

“You really don’t want to mess with these guys while they’re bathing in ways. Let’s go,” Edward pointed to a large cave up ahead. “Stay on your toes guys. We don’t just have pokemon to watch out for but young Drakes as well. They tend to hang around here to act out. My relationship with the dragon youth is very rocky due to my past with their ancestors. I’m like Equus’ Boogie Man for several races.”

Alexis snickered. “Hey, as long as you don't ‘gamble with lives on the line’ I doubt it'll matter too much,” she quipped.

“The last thing that I’d ever do Alexis,” Edward said as he thought of a way to maybe find a Ninetails. “I wonder if I could use Nature Energy to find one-”

LOUDRED!

“Oh, crap,” Edward in the ‘oh come on’ gaze turned to see a giant purple and pipe organ looking creature walking to them slowly with its arms raised going in a pumping motion.

Shang cocked an eyebrow, his irises shimmering between a dull glowing white and dark brown with the slightest orange tint to them, Hanzo ‘Scorpion’ Hazashi's eyes.

“Shang I think it wants you to come over to it,” Edward scratched his head. “Here’s an Oran Berry to give it.” Edward held out a hand size blue fruit. “Be careful they’re known for their sonic abilities. It’s called a Loudred.”

Shang cocked his head warily. He took the unusual berry, glancing at it. “Something about it interests Hanzo, though I don't know what,” he said carefully, a slightly deeper, scratchier voice overlapping his own smoother voice, Hanzo's voice.

Alexis’ ears twitched, catching the sound of sharp claws and an odd, growling laugh. Her eyes narrowed, her Scan Lenses activating as she let her gaze shift, her body tensing as she dismissed the usual thermal sight and switching to an electrical sight as the lenses shifted from an amber-ruby tone to an emerald-aquamarine, allowing her to see the bioelectricity, she frowned slightly.

Shang walked up to the Loudred and held out the Oran Berry to it. The pokemon eyed the fighter up and down before taking the berry and happily munched on it. One Loudred finished its snack it looked back to Shang and the grabbed him in an immense bear hug.

Loudred. The pokemon greatly rocked the fighter back and forth before putting him down only to lick his face. Loudred. Lou.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that. Looks like you got yourself a partner Shang,” Edward said dryly raised an eyebrow as he looked to Alexis. He noticed that her eyes had shifted as he picked up the slight sound of crackling deeper in the cave. “You noticed it too.” Alexis nodded in agreement. “Any clues on what might be down there?”

“I think I’ll make it while I’m here,” Edward hummed to himself quietly as he knelt down and put his hand slightly above it as he closed his eyes. Then there was a light starting to form under his hand. With a little crackling Edward grabbed whatever he’d made and brought it up to chest level and opened his finger to reveal a small opalescent stone. Before Alexis could ask Edward pulled up his right arm and the top opened up on it. Inside was a multi-colored glowing core. Edward then dropped the stone in the compartment and it closed. “Now I can start working on some real Dragon Slayer Magic experiments.”

“There's something else back there, though I don't know what it is. The bio-electricity its body is releasing, though, is obscenely high… and it’s dissipating into some sort of bluish mist that seems to melt into the background energy,” she said cautiously, unaware she was almost perfectly describing the Aura energy employed by Riolu and Lucario, slipping deeper into the cavern before she frowned slightly, noticing it was coming from what appeared to be a collapsed tunnel.

Shang grunted a bit before he smirked slightly as his form dissolved into water before he sprang up from the steaming rocks, his form having shifted into a prismatic silver scaled form with a pale teal fading from deep amethyst body armor over a black bodysuit, his glowing pale greenish white irises with slitted pupils on the Loudred before he was engulfed in a glowing mist before Shang shifted to his natural form. “Chameleon’s abilities are rather useful,” he said quietly.

“Nice. Now move out of the way please,” Edward stepped in front of the sorcerer to the clogged cave. He clapped his hand together and placed them on the boulders and electricity flew from his hands across the rock reconstructing them into a simple door. “Let’s go.” Edward motioned for the others to follow him. “There’s something down here and I want to know what it is. Keep your eyes peeled and senses sharp. Shang, have Loudred keep its ear to the ground.”

Shang nodded slightly. Alexis’ eyes were widened slightly. “I don't know how, but whatever is emitting that bio-electrical energy is suffusing the very stones around us with some of the energy… though… eh?” she said with mild confusion, spotting a human form resolving from the dimly, to her sight, glowing stone around them.

Shang's eyes narrowed at the silver-haired male, noting that his clothes were primarily dark red, burnt orange, or black. He had materialized in a swirling gust of burning smoke. “Huh,” he muttered, unaware this man was the embodiment of Biometal Model Fefnir.

“So not a pokemon at all then,” Edward deadpanned.

Fefnir cocked an eyebrow. “What makes you so certain? Whatever's that way is radiating heat… but there are two separate sources,” he deadpanned.

“I meant you were the one generating the electricity, dumbass. I already know what’s generating one of the sources of heat,” Edward huffed. “Though to find out there’s another source is news to me.” He stroked his chin in intrigue. “We may have found something to do.”

Fefnir smirked. “I may not be who I once was, but I'm still...” he started.

“An idiot with a big ego,” Alexis finished.

“Agreed. Alexis, any clues on what to do with the jackass,” Edward deadpanned moving past Fefnir as he scowled at the alchemist who only shrugged it off. “He’s from your world by the looks of him.”

“Him, I recognize… kinda hard not to recognize that ego. Makes me wonder who the others are, but then… I'm pretty certain he's used to women kicking his ass,” she deadpanned. She heard Fefnir protest, though it was cut off as she shoved off the ground hard without warning, driving a flying knee straight into Fefnir's jaw, making him stagger back as her boots flared bright bluish purple flames, allowing her to hover before she deadlifted Fefnir and power slammed him into the stony ground. She noticed him grimacing before he vanished in a surge of embers and smoke. She exhaled softly as her boots touched the ground.

“Well, that happened. Please refrain from damaging the walls in here. They’re rather thin. And you can easily go through and cause-”

*CRACK*

“A fallout,” Edward said as the ground gave way beneath them. “Damn Trapin-n-nch!”

“Which was why I kept my strike to the floor where it’s thicker… but… shi-i-i-it” Alexis started before she activated the Onyx Armor's hover boots. They weren't strong enough to allow flight, but did give her some hover time. She turned her head, seeing Edward drop into a portal with dull reddish-orange edges.

Shang smirked as the portal let Edward tumble out. He heard low crunches as Alexis stuck her head over the new gap.

“Really?” she grumbled, revealing she'd engaged the claws of her bodysuit. “Baka no Majutsu-shi,” she grumbled.

“Oh come now,” Edward said floating behind them. “You really think a hole would stop me. Ki control basic flying. Hover one o one. Now let's see where the next level goes’” Edward walked down into the new area.

Shang shrugged. He could sense numerous life energy signatures in the new area. His eyes narrowed fractionally as one was stronger than most of the others, yet very uncontrolled. The other two he sensed that truly stood out were very strong. Two felt like fire, one is more like the burning sun whilst the other was more like a wildfire. The uncontrolled one felt like the wilder open areas, to him.

“Look like you’re starting to sense the Legendary Pokèmon Groudon,” Edward smiled at Shang. “Said to be the Embodiment of the Sun in its original region.”

Shang’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I sense at least two others rivaling it. One feels uncontrolled, whilst the other feels like a wildfire if I had to put the feeling into words,” he said coolly.

“Hm. Could be a new one. I don’t have a clue on what it could be. Honestly, there’s no telling what legendaries are down here. I haven’t been to the Dragonlands in years,” Edward commented as the group walked along. “I’d prefer to leave the Legendaries alone though, as most tend to affect the environment around them in a negative manner if they’re taken or disturbed by force.”

“I suppose one of these Legendaries looks like a bird of flames? Because one’s bloody glaring at us,” Alexis commented. She could see the bird glaring at them though she guessed it was rather territorial.

“OH FUCK!” Edward yelled as he pushed Alexis and Shang to the ground taking on a full brunt of a fire blast turning the upper half of the alchemist to ash leaving only his legs and arm as the fell to the ground in a thud.

Alexis’ eyes narrowed as she instinctively engaged Fefnir's armor in a wildly swirling torrent of flames, which manifested as dark orange leggings with armored graves and boots in dark red as well as dark burgundy body armor over her torso as well as her Scan Lenses shifting to a deep slate gray with bright crimson irises. Her helm became a deep golden red, whilst her hands clenched around a pair of guns, though other than rising to her feet, made no threatening gestures.

Edward’s legs began to twitch and give off red electricity. Soon muscle and bone started to regenerate from the lower half of his remains. Slowly Edward managed to reform his upper half except for his indestructible right arm. “Geez, stupid fire chicken.” Edward rubbed the back of his new head as he got up.

RAHH!

“Well sorry for interrupting your nap. We’re not here to mess with you,” Edward deadpanned as he walked over to his arm and reattached it. “Alexis, don’t touch the firebird please,” He started to stretch.

“I'm tempted to touch it in a way it won't soon forget, though… eh? You ever, seen that before?” she said with annoyance before she seemed more intrigued by something… namely what appeared to be a Ninetails whose fur rippled with a rainbow of colors as its fur seemed to be made of normal fur yet appeared to be hairs of crystalline diamonds. Its eyes were a pale garnet-amethyst color.

Shang’s eyes narrowed before widening slightly. He sensed two separate life energies emitting from the region of the Ninetails. “A baby, or something it seeks to protect?” he thought.

“HELL NO! GET BACK! STAY AWAY FROM THAT THING!” Edward yelled in a cautioned tone. “It’s giving off Harmony magic out the wazoo. That Ninetails has power on par with an alicorn,” Edward moved ahead of the others. “Who are you, what are you, and why are you here?”

“You've forgotten me already, dear Edward? I decided to embrace life again, albeit in an obviously different form,” the Ninetails spoke. It was rather obvious the Ninetails knew Edward. “After all, I did give you my blessing to marry Luna. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Celestia follows in her younger sister's footsteps,” she said with a tinkling bark of laughter.

“You're related to… Celestia and Luna? As of what, their mother or something?” Alexis said carefully, as she was quite skeptical.

“Quite cunning and astute of you,” the Ninetails quipped, somehow looking very amused.

“Oh, shit, of all the forms you had to take. You had to choose a Ninetails,” Edward facepalmed. “You always were the troll, of course.”

“What, not exotic enough?” the Ninetails quipped, giggling.

“Alexis, Shang. Let me introduce you to my mother-in-law. Faust,” He gestured with his hand. “As a Ninetails.”

Alexis snickered. “She's funny,” she quipped.

“You know she’s technically your grandmother, even if she’s from another reality, ” Edward deadpanned.

Alexis cocked her head, her ears twitching before she saw a water balloon dropping right over Edward's head. From her link with Leviathan, she could tell the water was icy cold. “So? At least it's a grandmother with a,” she paused as the water balloon burst on impact, “sense of humor,” she finished.

“Never met my grandparents. They died when my parents were young adults before I was born,” Shang deadpanned.

“No jokes right now,” Edward froze the balloon and caught it. “We still have an angry fried chicken behind us,” he points to Moltres. “I’m also hoping to find a Heatran for my metal foundries and we still have to find a partner for Alexis. See as we found a Ninetails. Is there another pokemon you’d like because you’re not taking Faust?”

Edward looked over to the Faustails behind him. He hadn’t seen let alone seen his mother-in-law since the War of Cybertron months ago. He never expected her to reincarnate so soon, let alone as a pokemon. If she was back then something is either about to go down or she just wanted to be here for the birth of her grandchildren. More than likely the latter. Regardless, Edward was happy to be with his old friend.

“Perhaps she could take this young one as a partner, as I heard you say above,” Faust commented, shifting her tails to reveal a silver-furred Riolu. What should have been black, however, was a deep burgundy. The rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws were a silvery opalescent shade of color whilst its abdomen and chest were a pale goldenrod color. Its eyes fluttered before opening to reveal crystalline teal irises that faded to a soft lavender near the edges.

Alexis’ eyes widened slightly.

“How long has that been there?” Edward looked to the shiny Pokèmon.

“Which do you mean, as in how long have I known what he was, or how long has he been here? The former, I figured right before he hatched. The latter? Longer than I have been here, which would be around… two and a half months, give or take a week,” she revealed.

Edward raised an eyebrow at Faust. He huffed then looked to Alexis. “Looks as if you a Shiny Riolu after all. Only if it’s willing though?”

Alexis shrugged. “It’s up to the little guy himself. I won't force him into anything,” she commented. She noticed the Riolu looking around before it spotted them as it yawned. She blinked in surprise, seeing a bit of ash kick up as it darted rapidly and suddenly, shooting between Edward's legs before using the Exploud’s shoulder as a springboard, startled as it landed almost directly in front of her, tilting his head from side to side curiously.

“Looks like it wants to go with you to me,” Edward smirked as he knew the Riolu and Lucario only accepted partners after they’ve proven themselves to be a worthy partner in mind, body and the most important of all, spirit. “Looks like it’s judged your aura worthy. But you still have to go through its physical and mental tests.”

“And what would those tests be?” Alexis cocked an eyebrow.

“You have to fight it,” Edward pointed to the Riolu and it nodded in confirmation. “It’ll be a purely physical match though. No weapons or armor. Only skills and techniques like those of pokemon attacks. So only four power attacks. Riolu can use Sword Dance, Bone Crush, Metal Claw, and of course Aura Sphere.”

‘I see your time spent with your adoptive nieces was well spent Ed. When may I meet these young ones might I ask,’ Faust asked with a snicker.

“Whenever you want Faust, just call them on my watch,” Edward deadpanned at the Ninetails.

Alexis inhaled deeply. “I already know two techniques I'll use… ‘Denjì Hadōken’ and ‘Tatsumaki’. It's a weaker form of the full strength Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku. I'm thinking of relying on a style that my birth father had shown me… ever since I gained back some of my memories from those Arm Parts… I've found during meditation, I can go back in what memories I've unlocked… and view them even if I was too young to remember them consciously,” she commented. She exhaled softly. “I still recall the motto… ‘Control yourself, let others do what they will. This does not mean you are weak. Control your heart, obey the principles of life. This does not mean others are strong’,” she said softly.

“Ever heard of the Futae no Kiwami?” Edward asked with a smirk as teleport rings formed around everyone and in flash, they were all back in the time chamber. “Figured we better have your fight here. But back to what I asked.” Edward looked to Alexis who cocked her head to the side as she shrugged. “Raa. I have a move called Nail Punch that lets me repeatedly hit objects with multiple blows but with one punch, but it’s done through muscle control. This limits my use of it to my real body but it meant for power. The Futae no Kiwami is similar but a dumbed down, more controlled version, a technique that allows the user to strike an object quickly, with only milliseconds between each attack. You can completely destroy objects, letting the first strike dissipate the natural resistance of the object and the second strike destroying the object while it is weakened. You’ll be able to use this technique with, not only his fists but also with his head, elbows, knees, and feet. The basis is you use double strikes like with your knuckles on your fingers first then the knuckles on your hand.”

Alexis shrugged. “Never heard of it, but I do know of a technique known as the Hanpatsu no Ken… the literal translation would be ‘Repulsion Fist’. It redirects the energy from strikes through the body to increase the force of your own strikes. I think my father claimed it was a blend of Akido and Drunken Fist, but from what he implied was that it was an unfinished combat style,” she said thoughtfully.

“Futae no Kiwami is translated to ‘Double Layer hit’. It’s based out of Kenpo. You could combine the techniques to finish it. Or I can teach you Nail Punch. Though you’ll be completely drained after a five times blow.” Edward said walking out to the fields with Alexis and Riolu.

Alexis tilted her head. “I'll probably stick with the weaker technique. Build up my endurance and stamina the hard way. Besides… half the fun is pushing yourself to become stronger,” she said wryly.

“All to true. So let’s spice things up.” Edward chuckled as he summoned two sets wrist and ankle weights. “These will help you. Each one was at least five hundred pounds apiece. After you get used to them you can start on the technique. Riolu will be training with you to test your resolve. Aka your mental fortitude.”

Alexis exhaled as she strapped the weights on, taking a deep breath as she was forced to flow her Aura throughout her body to move. She flicked one leg in an inside crescent kick before flicking the other in an outside crescent kick as she pushed off the ground before snapping the first leg out in a straight sidekick, then repeating the drill starting with the opposite leg. After a few repetitions, she added in a downward elbow-forearm strike before pushing off into a no-handed cartwheel to the end. A few more repetitions, then she added a spinning elbow strike followed by an uppercut.

Shang cocked his head, watching the girl with cautious eyes. “She could make for an impressive ally if this is her idea of training,” Kitana murmured softly through his mouth, her voice low. “True. If this is her training, I almost fear seeing what would happen to those who would be stupid enough to threaten her friends… or worse… her family,” he murmured in return.

“If I had to guess it would be along the lines of the same things that would happen to those who threaten Ed’s friends and family,” Faust said in concern. “My old friend has always regarded his loved ones above all else. Especially my daughters and his children. Be careful not to be rash around that young girl Sorcerer. And if you think this is her idea for training your wrong. Edward did this and he hasn’t even turned up the heat yet. I remember when he was in the other world training under his master he did this exact same thing only under much greater gravity. I hope he doesn’t push Alexis to hard as she’s still human, even if she is half alicorn. Ed can be very rough at times. He’s willing to become darkness if means pushing someone to achieve what they need to be.” Faust let out a saddening sigh. “My dear friend does what he must even at the cost of losing his friends in the process.”i]

Alexis exhaled softly as she shifted her weight, her eyes focusing on a faraway point as she shifted into a very different kata as she could feel the energy coursing through her body.

Shang's gaze shifted to Faust. “Trust that they know their limits, though if she's anything like a certain Shaolin Monk I know of, she may well push her body to the breaking point. Humans as a whole, however, are capable of both great and horrifying things. Hanzo and Kuai are both evidence of both sides of that coin,” he remarked before he noticed Alexis’ aura flaring into visibility as she moved in very powerful, fluid motions. He was surprised as a sphere of dense, almost liquid light surged from her hands before hitting one of the distant fallen ice spires close to eighty yards away which exploded with a booming crash.

“Impressive. I wonder, her aura seems to be very different from Ed’s. She seems to use her’s as on offensive style similar to how Ed uses Ki,” Faust rubbed her chin with her paw as she spoke softly. “Ed learned aura from his nephew, Adam Taurus, and they described aura as a manifestation of the soul. He said it’s mainly used for defense like a barrier of sorts and it’s also the basis of someone Semblance. Apparently, the two were working with something called Soul Wavelengths.”

“I have heard of Ansatsuken. The style emphasizes overwhelming power, yet at the same time does carry a danger of losing oneself to the darker aspects of it, as it is a style that allows one to circulate one's own energy freely through their body, yet at the risk of burning too much of one's stamina,” Shang said quietly.

“Now I understand why Ed had Alexis put those weights on. It was to help her acclimate better control of her power while increasing the amount of strain her body could take in using this still. He also wanted to increase her strength to allow her better control over the Futae no Kiwami.” Faust mentioned as she turned to go into the main space.

“Excellent control on that last move Alexis,” Edward clapped as Riolu nodded in agreement. “Now that you’ve got used to those weights I do believe you ready to start the next part physical training endurance portion. You two will be doing this part together.” Edward looked down at Riolu who started in show signs of nervousness. “So get those weights little fella. First I’ll have you two run through a few standard movesets. Then you’ll run an obstacle course. Finally, you’ll start sparring. You’ll keep the weights on until I say to take them off. And I’ll also steadily increase the gravity while you're both doing this. You should also note that time in the Chamber is moving at the same rate as the time outside the Chamber.”

Ra. RARA. Riolu shouted at Alexis as it balled its paws.

Alexis smirked, nodding slightly. “I'll push my body to the limits if you do… after all… Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9‭-‬12,” she said wryly.

Shang's eyebrows rose slightly. That described Harmony Magic to a very strong extent, he mused. “Very true. After all, what happened when ponies fought amongst themselves?” he murmured.

“Hahaha! Friendship is Magic after all. If you must know I’m trying to strengthen your bond while also prepping you for a very unique spell that can only be used by members of the royal family, Alexis. You don’t have to be an alicorn but just a member or someone who is recognized as a member of the royal family,” Edward smirked. He knew she understood Harmony magic even if she was young and new to her Alicorn heritage. Alexis just wasn’t physically ready for the amount of power and strain the Royal spell put on the body.

“Is there a way to compress and increase my reserves? That way, if part of my power were sealed and I'm still strong enough for whatever spell it is when unsealed, I'd be that much stronger, hai?” Alexis commented.

“Ah. Good question young lady,” Edward smirked wryly. “I’d planned on teaching you two purely offensive spells. The first spell is called Stella Magna. It’s a spell that requires the user to gather magic into a single point in the body and then force it outward in a single shot. The power of it is second only to the Elements of Harmony,” Edward walked past the duo and held up his left hand. As he did his hand began to glow in an array of color. “You must let it build until,” his band began to shake. “It has nowhere to go but forward. Stella Magna!”

Edward thrust his fist forward shooting the Harmony blast out. In the next moment, there was a bright explosion of rainbow energy sending ice chuckles and snow everywhere. Once the light show died down Alexis and Riolu stood still in awe a the massive one hundred foot deep crater that was only twenty feet away from them. Edward then turns to face the trainees once more.

“Max power is what it’s for but the second spell is the one you’re interested in. You must first learn Stella Magna’s build up first as the second spell requires the same concept of drawing magic but requires much more precision and control. It’s really the long to mid-range version of the Stella Magna but it has nowhere near the same level of destructive power.” Edward turned around again and extended his arm this time instead of a fist he extended his pointer and middle fingers. As he did he kicked three pieces of ice about the size of his fist into the air as he did he said “Harmonia Iecit!” Edward shot the ice pieces with three precise shots cause them to explode into dust. The explosion wasn’t nearly on par as with the Stella Magna but they were still fairly powerful. “Like I said before not as strong but still pretty powerful stuff. Depending on how much Harmony Magic you can build up, depending on how fast you use it and how much your body can handle are the key factors here.”

Alexis nodded slightly, her gaze focused. “So it's much like building the force of a kick… just the release point is different,” she said thoughtfully.

“Not necessarily. Remember earlier in our match when I told you of the basis of magical augmentation,” Edward raised his finger and it started to glow. “You must use this concept instead of a muscular concept. Think of it as more along the lines of how you use your aura but try feeling it with your magic instead.”

Alexis cocked her head as a faint bluish lavender aura grew around her, the markings upon her face shimmering iridescently. It grew more focused and visible as she concentrated as the bluish tone of her Time Magic faded into a deep amethyst that faded to soft lavender edges, her true natural magic’s color.

“There ya go,” Edward smiled softly. “Try focusing on your palms then try and move the magic into your fingers until it builds and has nowhere to go but out.”

Alexis clasped her hands with a sharp sound before drawing them slowly apart, a sphere the size of a golfball started forming before it grew into the size of a baseball, then a softball as small arcs of prismatic electricity arced over her body, feeding into the sphere which quickly surpassed the size of a softball and volleyball until it was roughly half again the size of a basketball as the sphere shifted colors to a bright pale lavender color that pulsed with ripples and arcs of rainbow-hued magic. A tiny orb stretched from the surface before close to two dozen bursts of rainbow-hued magic fired at high speed before two larger bursts fired off, sounding like high pitched machine gun fire before the deeper yet still high pitched roar akin to a double-barrelled shotgun going off echoed out.

Shang grunted slightly before cocking an eyebrow. The large ice spire directly in front of the girl was pitted with holes easily the size of a V6 engine, whilst the larger bursts… you could likely drive a small car through. Low cracks sounded before the spire leaned drunkenly before shattering on impact with the ground. “Damn… for a first attempt… I'd hate to have that aimed at me,” he remarked wryly.

“Not even close,” Edward deadpanned. “The point is to gather the magic through the body and perform and channel it accurately. You obviously have no problems gather magic but it seems you’re not able probably to absorb it into you. When you do it right it should look like this.”

Edward stomped his foot and four new I columns arouse from the ground. “Harmonia Geminae Lecit!” He used both hands this time and rapidly fired multiple harmony bullets one after straight through the ice clear to the other sides of each column. Once he finished everyone could see the light coming through the holes until they all heard a cracking sound. The columns started cracks and fell to chunks on the ground. “Whoops. Overdid it a little,” Edward scratched the of his head as he smiled wryly.

Alexis’ eyebrow rose. “If that's your idea of overkill with training, I'd hate to see your idea of actual, serious overkill. Besides, what my mother figured out is that I seem to absorb ambient magic passively… but when it comes to actively adding to my magical reserves, they've found that I tend to convert direct kinetic force into magical energy. Though that asshole Jet Set thought it was funny to hit me with the magical equivalent of a high powered Taser burst…. it hurt like hell… and pissed me off. I'm pretty certain I left an imprint of that arrögantè pùtà’s face in the street in front of Doughnut Joe's shop from the DDT I gave him,” she deadpanned.

Shang snorted a laugh. “Kitana did the same thing when she caught Blueballs staring at her ass. Frankly, he's lucky she didn't go through with her OTHER threat… very lucky,” he said dryly.

“Well, you get the idea and now have the knowledge of the spells at least,” Edward summoned a chair and a soda as he took his seat. “Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to focus on gathering magic while in constant motion and while conducting dodging unpredictable attacks. The main point to see how well you and Riolu are in sync, but at the same time to learn how to gather magic and attack with it while in motion. So you three will be running a death course with those weights on in twenty times gravity.” Edward evilly laughed as he then snapped his fingers and weights appeared in front of Shang who raised his eyebrows.

“You gotta be kidding. Hell, I was getting bored anyway,” Shang said dryly, shedding his jacket revealing a lightly armored vest and a rather muscular toned torso, complete with a borderline eight pack. He paused at a deep bass sound that seemed to rumble before a grimace crossed his face. He shot a look at Goro, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

“What? Dragon ale tends to be rather… bubbly,” Goro said dryly.

Alexis looked disgusted. “Apparently Shokans are full of hot air to boot,” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

“HAHAHA! Nice one Goro. A little bit of indecency is needed every now and then if you asked me,” Edward laughed as he fist bumped Garo. “Nothing like a released of pent up feelings of any kind. It’s the nobles that don’t like it and you can give them the satisfaction of having their claims proven. Pass me one of those pints Garo.”

“With pleasure,” Garo handed Edward a large mug of Dragon Ale.

“Oh, you have Dragon Ale,” Faust sang as she came bounding out of nowhere. “I would love some as well.”

“At your own risk Faust,” Edward deadpanned. “You're a pokemon now, so there’s no telling how it’ll affect you.”

“Agreed, but I haven’t had anything to drink in seven thousand years. Give or take a few hundred,” Faust smirked dryly. “And I’m not about to pass up on drinking Dragon Ale with an actual dragon and me son-in-law either.”

“Ooooh… I just had an idea for a prank…. What if we took the concentrated gas… bottled it… and lobbed it in front of nobles? It’d be funny as hell…” Alexis said with a giggle. “Though… if I’m honest, I have no idea how Equus would see the drinking age. I know I was nineteen when I was at that ‘Con… and my mother seemed confused when I said so since in her words, I looked fifteen or sixteen,” she said wryly.

Shang snorted softly. “I was twenty-three… so technically, since you’ve had…” he said, pausing

“Around… eight months in my Equus, so far,” Alexis supplied.

“About six in mine, so technically, going by Earth time, it would depend on how far past your nineteenth it was,” Shang deadpanned.

Alexis shrugged. “Give or take… two or three weeks.

“See if you have a Destiny Mark, honey,” Faust quipped, looking somewhat amused.

“A what?” Alexis said with confusion. “Like those… ‘Cutie Marks’?” she said cautiously. She wasn’t sure where they’d show up on a human… if they would at all. She was unaware the most common places were either the upper or outer thigh close to the hip, or the upper arm near the shoulder.

“You’re part pony after all,” Faust deadpanned taking a swig from her mug. “Cutie marks, Destiny marks, or whatever you wanna call them. In some realities, they’re even called talent marks. Check everywhere on your body. Sometimes they end up on the back of the hand or on either side of the upper chest or back.”

“True. Luna and Tia both have theirs on their upper back shoulders. Luna’s mark is on her right and Tia’s is on her right,” Edward smirked.

Alexis exhaled softly, dismissing her armor to show her clothes were quite wrinkled, though she shifted uncertainly before she shed the vest, half turning, unaware her Destiny Mark was directly between her shoulder blades.

“Never seen one like that before,” Faust walked closer to see the mark. “What do you make of it Ed?”

“Well marks are supposed to be unique to ponies and Alexis is uniques among ponies even among alicorns,” Edward added. “But then again she has a lot of varying factors in her upbringing, lineage, family, and magic. Here a picture for you Alexis.”

The mark was a golden sunburst casting light over two moons resting back-to-back in front of it. The one facing towards Alexis' front was silver, representing Luna, the other, facing opposite, will be dark purple, representing Nightmare Moon. Surrounding the mark was be a ring of tiny silvery sparkling points that shimmer with every color of the rainbow with every small flex of motion.

Alexis blinked, frowning a bit as she cocked her head. “Huh… there's something… flickering at the edges of my mind… not a dream, yet…. not quite a memory,” she said softly, her tone soft but thoughtful.

‘Left it with… she…. use its power… ways…. we…. never thought of,’ a male accented voice spoke from the speaker on her wrist, the voice clearly speaking to someone, though what it was referring to, nobody knew as it was obviously part of a fragmented memory.

“You look like you just had an epiphany there, kid,” Edward raised an eyebrow. “That or one hell of an important memory surfaced. Need some help with it cause I got Memory Control.”

Alexis inhaled as a thought crossed her mind that made her eyes widen fractionally. “We’ve been operating under the assumption that my father was human. What if he wasn't human but appeared to be one? I mean… if Alicorns, Pokèmon, sorcerers, gassy Shokans… unicorns… Displaced… and obviously from your Celestia's comment, Cybertronians more commonly known as ‘Transformers’ and, from my own experience, Reploids, all exist… what if… other creatures…. say from other games… demons or devils… actually, exist? I mean… it wouldn't be that difficult to cast a spell on oneself to look different, at least from my own studies,” she said quickly, almost in one breath. She wasn't quite sure why specifically ‘devils’ and ‘demons’ came to mind.

“Why do you think you said ‘Devils’ and ‘Demon’ Alexis?” Edward asked seriously as he got up from his seat and set down his mug. “Why did you want God Slayer Magic in the first place?”

Alexis shrugged. “Traditionally speaking, Devils… are… well… if religion is to be believed… corruptive and evil, essentially darkness and chaos given form… which, from what I'm almost certain of… is the opposite of what Harmony Magic is. So… what if part of the energy within me that could be blocking my natural Alicorn abilities… were… related to something assumed to be its opposite? I mean… there are things out there, no doubt in my mind… more dangerous than Sigma,” she said softly.

*BURRP!*

“You could also be a descendant of a roaming Discord, Hun,’ Faust added with a slight flush to her face. “He has been known to travel the multiverse on occasion. He might be you great grandfather or something along those lines.”

Alexis frowned slightly. “Perhaps, but that voice…. was my father's. If I'm right… whatever that fragment of memory is… is related specifically to him,” she said softly, scratching her hairline near her right temple…. revealing that the dark crimson-auburn tone of her hair… was in truth… hair dye… because of her absent scratching… revealed bright silvery white hair distinctive of a very particular pair of brothers who just couldn't get along.

“Alexis, you dye your hair?” Edward asked curiously. “Why?”

Alexis blinked a few times. “I did when I was younger… my aunt insisted I ‘look normal’ never mind that a deep auburn almost like fresh blood is almost as distinctive as….” she said absently before her voice trailed off, her eyes widening fractionally, “bright silver hair,” she whispered, as she'd never thought about it at the time as she'd only recently ‘moved in’ with her aunt and uncle at the time.

“Part demon, part human, and half alicorn. A set of events that just so happened to create a powerful being such as yourself. You’re also Displaced on top of everything else,” Edward deadpanned. “I wonder which one of the brothers your father is?” Edward’s gate opened up and two swords shot out. A katana and a claymore. “Check them out. Whichever you have the best reaction from that’s who your father was. If you don’t have a reaction to those then there is the other sword as well.”

Alexis exhaled softly, her eyes narrowing on both blades. She recognized them immediately. “The Rebellion and the Yamato… very powerful blades… though I did notice when Fefnir showed himself… he looked like and acted like Dante,” she remarked, noticing both blades reacted with a burning crimson-orange aura and an icy blue-navy aura respectively when she mentioned their names. Her gaze flicked to the Yamato, whose aura was faint, yet to her senses, it was practically screaming to be used. The Rebellion seemed to almost be vibrating where it hovered with an eagerness to act, its aura pulsing like a banked fire. She tilted her head. “What other blade were you referring to?” she said innocently.

“The Sparda,” Edward said as he reached into the gate, this time to pull out the sword himself this time. As he did the amount of demonic power started to overflow as the massive single-edged sword was pulled from the gate. Edward stabbed the blade in the ground in front of Alexis. “Have a go at it. Know that you can’t have these swords even if they react to you but it’s because your world has the version you’re meant to have.”

Alexis shivered, feeling something reacting deep inside her. She squeezed her eyes closed as she could feel an itching burn within her right arm, not noticing the skin shifting to a deep gray, almost black scaly flesh whilst her palm and sharpened fingernails were a pale, almost silvery white, though the vents that formed gained a prismatic bluish indigo flame. “I can see both the Rebellion and Yamato reacting noticeably to me… the former more obviously than the latter. The Sparda… not so much… at least not noticeably,” she said as her eyes opened before she took a half step back in surprise at the ghostly human form of the Dark Knight himself staring at her, his hand resting on his large single-edged blade. “Okay… guess I was wrong,” she amended.

“Ooo. Sparda. Long time, no see,” Faust said as she set her mug that she’d had in her one of her tails. “I should’ve guessed it was you from the beginning. You got sick after you hid the swords didn’t you?”

“I bonded the Rebellion to Dante and the Yamato to Vergil. However… their sister blade… the Aevitèrnus… I left for another,” Sparda revealed.

“So she’s half Demon and half Alicorn,” Faust smirked at her old friend. “Clever. And now I can see what drew Luna and Nightmare to you in the first place. It was your good looks and then it was your personality the made them fall in love with you.”

Alexis blinked once, then twice. “You gotta be shitting me. I'm related… to the Dark Knight Sparda?” she said incredulously.

“What part of Luna and Nightmare fell in love with him didn’t you hear. Back to the demon half and the sword,” Edward mention seriously. “It seems he tied one of the swords to you to Alexis and that you also have two brothers. Your power will be incomplete until you have your sword.”

“As far as the world knew on Earth… Devil May Cry… was nothing more than an extremely famous video game series… who would think something like that would be real? But then… I never quite felt… whole… like part of me was never quite awake, even now,” Alexis admitted.

“Dear, this is a world based off a TV show from perhaps many different versions of whoever knows how many realities. Why wouldn’t there be a world based off of a video game? I’m a Harmony Ninetails even if I wasn’t one originally,” Faust deadpanned. “More Ale please Goro.”

Alexis snickered, seeing the Shokan refill the Harmony Ninetails’ drink, noticing a waiters costume on the large Kombatant though he apparently hadn't noticed it. “Touchè,” she admitted wryly. She turned her head, noticing yellow eyes with red irises staring at her whilst a long face held a crooked grin. The draconequus was staring at her as her hand instinctively flashed over her shoulder, pulling free a hilt free that looked like the hilt of a Roman Gladius before the blade, which looked closer to that of a medieval broadsword, revealed itself.

“No you don’t,” Edward quickly shot strings of antimagic wire wrapping up Discord. “Why are you here and where are you from. My Discord is at Fluttershy’s right now. Everyone knows he can’t sleep unless he’s there.”

Discord pouted before he blinked, spotting Sparda’s fading shade. “You could say that I felt a chaotic tremor… being trapped in stone is so dull,” he sighed, drawing out the last two words.

Alexis snorted.

“Those are mine,” Edward snapped and the other swords faded away. “Now. Where are you from and hurry up before I drain your magic.”

“You’re that strange statue in the garden, aren’t you?” Alexis deadpanned. Discord grinned.

“Disy, Good to see you.” Faust waved a paw. “How are things? Wait you don’t know me in this reality. Nevermind, still good to see you.”

Discord grinned. “Still as beautiful as ever, Queen Faust… you haven't forgotten we do have a Council of Chaos, have you? After all, even Chaos has to have just a tiny bit of order to it… chaotic and random order… but still order,” he quipped.

Alexis rolled her eyes. “I can't tell what's more random, having a ‘God of Chaos’ apparently astral projecting himself or the apparent strangeness of realizing that I'm apparently a Demon-Alicorn hybrid and the sibling to two brothers who seem to enjoy trying to kill each other,” she sighed. “I've already decided I’m going to slap the Hell out of both of them when I see them,” she said dryly.

“That’s earned you a pint of Ale I’d say,” Edward chuckled as he fixed Alexis a mug of her own. “Here ya go. You want one Discord?”

Discord cocked his head. “What is it?” he said with interest.

Alexis took a sip of the Ale before coughing a bit. “Huh. Never tried a drink that was warming, fizzy, spicy, and slightly sour with a sweet aftertaste before,” she said thoughtfully.

“Dragon Ale Discord. Very hard to get in any world,” Faust said as she drank another mug. “What you think of it Goro?”

“Unless you're Shokan… or Shokan Friend,” Goro commented. “I have heard of Dragon Ale, but never had it. My father knows of the recipe for it, but claims that even what he knows is incomplete,” he revealed.

“Then whoever does have the full recipe must have quite a knowledge of both the Multiverse and Brewing… what do you bet that it's a certain Drunken Master Kombatant?” Alexis remarked with a smirk.

“Wouldn’t put it past the old bastard. We do have someone who could check. Unless you haven’t found his crystal yet,” Edward held at a mug to Discord. “Take it, dummy.”

Discord wriggled in the anti-magic wires. “I would, but I’m kinda…” he quipped with a smirk.

“If you say ‘tied up’, I'm going to slap you so hard, your head will double as a helicopter propeller,” Alexis deadpanned.

“Oops. Forget I did that,” Edward raised and flexed his right hand causing the wires to fall off the Draconequus. “There you go. Now your drink.” Edward handed the mug over to Discord.

“Always the one for the corny half-witted jokes,” Faust chuckled but her gaze quickly turns sad as she put down her drink and looked at Discord in deep concern. “But that’s who you are. No matter the situation you were always able to to make those around you smile. But that’s why I don’t understand why you turned on the ponies who you protected for all those years. They loved your jokes and pranks and the love being with. Why’d you, change? What happened Dissy?”

Discord exhaled softly. “Someone arrived. Claimed he was a ‘true deity of freedom’ though I rather doubted it. He was strong, but not in magic. In fact, magic can’t even touch him… even mine,” he muttered before he took a deep pull of his ale.

Zero’s eyes narrowed as he quietly materialized. “Lumine…. So he did survive even after we kicked his ass,” he muttered. His dark green eyes were flickering between deep emerald and a deep oceanic blue. His right fist clenched before a deep crimson aura flared around it… but what so many assumed was a Virus that had been implanted in him… was something else… something with a dangerous intelligence even older than Sigma. “He did what those two did… Kurama,” he whispered. He stiffened as a hand touched his shoulder before he spotted his holder, looking at him in concern.

“You’re him… aren’t you… or more precisely, a version of him that likely became a blademaster,” she murmured. Alexis smirked slightly as his gaze shifted before widening fractionally at the sight of the large blade over her shoulder. It was a couple of inches longer than a katana, but it wasn’t a nodachi either. The balance of the blade, to his eyes, was almost perfect.

“Enough,” Edward said sternly as he stepped in front of Zero. “Instead of jumping the gun like a lot of people and ponies, for that matter, do. Let’s let Discord finish his story first and then we’ll judge him.”

“Ed’s right young man. I know you’ve had it rough in the past but please be patient. I was a disembodied spirit for over the last seven thousand years and that means I’ve met with many different versions of my old friend. As he said they even have a Council,” Faust set her own drink down and walked over to Zero and eyed Discord. “You have nothing to fear right now, as I know Edward is on guard and so am I. Please continue Dissy.”

Zero exhaled softly, dismissing his faceguard. “You have no idea how rough I’ve had it,” was all he said as his hair fell in wild waves over his now dark oceanic blue eyes.

“We’ll take care of him, as I have little doubt if this Lumine manipulated Sigma, Sigma would want vengeance, and it would make sense if this guy created Mavericks… if nothing else, it’s potentially possible the old, honorable Sigma came back, I dunno,” Alexis murmured to Zero, who snorted.

“This guy started taking ponies, I tried to use my Chaos Magic to create a barrier that he couldn’t cross. Since my magic couldn’t touch him and I’m not by habit a ‘physical’ combatant, I couldn’t do more than distract the ponies from the potential trouble with this guy… I mean… yeah, I did get drunk on a bit of my own power, admittedly, but I really don’t like the idea of this guy potentially kidnapping and doing who knows what to ponies, griffons, minotaurs, etcetera,” Discord said dryly. “This guy even tried to go after the sisters… though he didn’t realize that in our reality… it’s not a duo, but a trio… suffice to say Nightmare wasn’t amused. She’s dangerous with that attack magic of hers. Hers is more spirit based, magically, where Celestia’s is skill is in celestial magick and Luna’s leans more towards the illusion and mental magicks,” he said idly, thoughtful. “Nightmare’s magic, surprisingly, did have some effect on him. Not a heavy duty effect, but enough to keep him at bay. I forced them to use the Elements whilst restraining the guy with my own body… of course, it had the side effect of petrifying us both, but before I was fully petrified within my own null magic shell, I managed to teleport this guy away. Not sure where he ended up,” he finished.

“Dissy that was very foolish of you. I know how you didn’t a lot of options but you should’ve gone to the girls instead of playing the part of a power tyrant.,” Faust shook her head.

“That’s the problem, Faustie… this guy had spies… someone was telling him things he shouldn’t have known… things that would have embarrassed the girls and made them look bad in front of other ponies, on top of him claiming he could ‘take out those weak fools calling themselves sisters’ anytime he desired. I couldn’t risk that, so I had to act the part of the crazy tyrant to not only throw his spies off but him as well,” Discord said grimly, his tone controlled. “As magick, even the strongest we could muster had weak effects on him, I had to call in… other favors,” he muttered.

“I understand why you did what you did Discord,” Edward said in a soft tone. “You said Nightmare’s magic was the most effective on him. It would make sense as she wields a rare form of Celestial Magic called Eclipse Magic or Black Sun Magic. It’s extremely hard to control and even rarer to be born with. But we have someone here that has it as well.” Edward looked to Alexis. “Seeing as she is one of your mothers. Eclipse magic is unique that it is solely maternal. Meaning only mothers can pass it to their children. Seeing as how you’re a girl you now can access it.” Edward paused to think a bit. “Males can obtain it via teaching, but cannot draw upon its full potential in the same way.”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed slightly. “Did one of these… favors… come from a Merchant?” she said to Discord, who grimaced, but nodded slightly. “Hmm… frankly, though I would like to pull the rest of my family to me, even if it’s only to smack the ever-lovin’ hell out of them, I wouldn’t have known any of this had I not run across that Merchant,” she muttered wryly.

“I don’t think it was a merchant that sent you to Equus, Alexis,” Edward interrupted. “Now, I actually think it was one of your brothers. You said he wore a cloak. I think he actually had a merchant’s item that he stole or had on hand for the right time.”

Alexis cocked her head. “The only weapon that has that ability… is the Yamato… you’re saying Vergil did it? I mean… wait… what if Discord called in a favor from a Merchant, who passed it onto Vergil? But… how would he know the right person? Unless… my body was radiating energy that I was unaware of that someone like Vergil might know to look for,” she said softly. She paused, noticing that her arm had become a Devil Bringer.

“A half alicorn, half demon giving off a special energy. Who would have ever heard of such a thing,” Faust deadpanned. “Hun, you can really be narrow-minded sometimes can’t you. Yes, it was Vergil that sent you to your mothers’ homeworld and it was Discord that called a favor to the merchant in order to give the means to fight.”

“Stop being the troll Faust,” Edward cut off his mother-in-law with a quick chop to the head.

Alexis snorted. “You try living a life without magic, then being abruptly told A… you have had magic all your life… B… that your mother was magical whom you barely remember… and C… finding out you had family that could have helped you and protected you. So yeah, I’m entitled to be a bit ‘narrow-minded’ as I didn’t know any of this existed. That’s on top of having an aunt and uncle that took me in and did everything short of intimately abusing me,” she said sarcastically, forgetting Faust didn’t know about that detail. She didn’t notice that the Fire God Slayer Magic was flickering intermittently around her, flickering between dark amethyst, crystalline navy, and its natural ebony color. However, the very slightest crimson tone flickered randomly through the magic, a dangerous sign to those who knew of the Ansatsuken and its darker side.

“Calm down, Alexis. Faust didn’t know about that. Look at your flames,” Edward pointed out. “I don’t want darkness to get its hooks into you. Especially right now.”

Alexis sighed softly, glancing down at her hands, noticing the burning aura wreathing them. “I assume that the Fire reacts to strong emotions, hence why it seems to… protect me?” she said wryly. “And just because I feel darker emotions doesn’t mean I shouldn’t vent them… after all… better to let out anger or darker emotions in some way than letting them fester, right?” she said rhetorically. “And I didn’t mean to lash out at you, Grandma,” she said softly. She noticed Faust’s eyes widen at that comment, making her giggle a bit.

“Enough emotional crap. You three have an obstacle course to run and Faust and I have times to catch-up on. Discord and Goro can just be our drinking buddies,” Edward deadpanned.

Shang snorted, chuckling a bit with amusement as Alexis grinned.

“Emotional crap my ass… ya big softy,” she teased.

“I said get going!” Edward slammed his fist into the ground causing it to give way underneath Shang, Alexis, and Riolu’s feet. “Bye, and so you know I increased the gravity to twenty times. See ya in a few hours.” Edward waved as the trio fell into the training course he’d prepped for them as they’d been talking.

Shang managed to fire Hanzo’s serrated kunai and arrest his momentum, though he swung a bit before landing. He noticed Alexis landing with ease, though Riolu had latched himself onto her back. He smirked as he retracted the chain, letting it fade into his Aura. He cocked his head as he saw the course, which apparently ran over a magma lake. “Hmmm. Looks like a fun course,” he remarked wryly.

“I know, right?” Alexis quipped, grinning as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She didn’t notice that the dry heat was causing the dark auburn-crimson hair dye to fall away in flakes much like ash slowly but surely, revealing the bright Sparda silvery white hair with streaks of bright gold, copper, navy, and palest amber.

Edward’s voice rang out in an echo from all directions. “You’ll find all sorts of wonderful things in here. Ranging from small mountains to freezing seas. There are puzzles to be solved and locks to be picked. Weapons can be forged and fights must be won. Good luck you three. Oh, and there are creatures and golems along the course too.”

As Edward's voice faded, his eyes closed as Shang focused a pulse that would pick up on Kombatant Soul Crystals. “Curious. I sense no less than seven Soul Crystals. I notice for certain Baraka, Sindel, and a certain asshole wraith,” he stated bluntly.

“Your Kombatants’ power levels have been augmented with my magic. Thus they won’t be your typical selves, Shang. There are several pokemon for Riolu to face with too, most are fire types which is are primarily strong against steel types like him. For you Alexis there are several high-level demons and Artificial Celestial Spirits to slay. Try and awaken your Eclipse Magic.” Edward’s voice reverberated through the course with a snide chuckle. “One more thing for your Alexis,” Edward words rang out as a red bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling. As the smoke cleared it revealed an odd katana. The handle had a brass kashira that was slanted downward when the tip of the blade was pointed up with a red and black ito that tied into an intricate brass and red four-point star-like tsuba. The habki was red but unlike normal katana, it reached up and curved slightly about a fourth of the mune. The edge also had a bit of a recurve to it. “That is an Onimusha blade. Be careful as the power of the Oni resides in this sword. It was endowed in this power from the clan member that wielded it, he who was called the ‘Red Demon’.”

Shang grinned. “Good. You don’t end up with Kombatants of the caliber I’m stuck with without the fire of a warrior within yourself, and Noob is one wraith I really want to beat on. Better if he doesn't make it easy. Hell, Chameleon and Khameleon had me beat them specifically using Reptile's form,” he deadpanned. He had also sensed both Jade and Mileena in his Spectral Pulse as well.

Alexis cocked her head as she gripped the hilt firmly, feeling the energy of the Oni within the blade surge through her mind before receding. A feral grin flashed over her face. “Let's rock!!” she barked as she drew the blade, an arcing flare of crimson lightning and deep amethyst flames erupting from the blade.

“Wath out foe twaps,” Faust stumbled out. “WOOGOO! Comf on Afwexis! Makes granthma pwoud!”

“Give me the mic. Five pints and you're smashed.” Edward growled at the drunken Ninetails.

“No, I wanth to sheer on Af *hic* is!” Faust shot back.

“HAHAHA! Come on do more this is hilarious!” Goro laughed maniacally along with Discord in the background.

“I agree!” Discord laughed out.

BREEEEEEEEP!

“Sorry, you three. Ignore her guys.” Edward said dryly. “Oh gods no, Faust don’t!”

“BRWAAAA!”

“Ecth! It’s everywhere!” Discord shuddered.

“Even I find this most unsettling,” Goro added in disgust.

“You're very lucky I'm well versed in Drunkese,” Alexis said wryly.

“Birdies *hic*!” Faust sang in the background.

THOOMP!

“Damn it! Discord, get the ropes!” Edward yelled as he dropped the mic. “Goro help me catch the drunken fox. No Faust! OW! FUCKING HELL THAT HURT! GIVE ME BACK MY ARM!”

SMACK!

“Faust, did you did you just bitch slap me with Edward’s arm?” deadpanned Discord.

*Hic* “Catch me Goro!” Faust sang.

“NO MORE RAINBOWS!” yelled the distraught Shokan.

Alexis sighed as she shook her head. “Portal me through, Baka Majutsu,” she sighed before she charged her boots, the greaves glowing with tendrils of amethyst flame as Shang opened a portal. She shot through the portal, shooting upward and catching Faust in mid-leap before flipping before overloading her thrusters and shooting through the hallway before sliding through the doorway into the bath, dropping Faust into a cool bath, though it wasn't an icy bath. She exhaled softly, noticing her boots were steaming from the heat overload before she stepped into the bath to cool them off. Steam surged from the contact as she lifted them out, spotting the ‘hover thrusters’ which looked similar to the blades of ice skates. She also noticed two rows of three thrusters on the outside of the hover thrusters, apparently ‘flight thrusters’ though it was obvious they were not intended for sustained flight.

“S-s-s-o-o-o-o c-c-c-c-o-o-l-l-ld-d-d-d,” The drunken pokemon stuttered.

“Thanks, Alexis,” Edward said shaking his head. “I’ll get Tia in here to help me with her. You get back to the training course.” Edward opened teleported her Alexis back down to course. “Man she’s gonna flip when she finds out her mother came back and as a pokemon no less.” He then placed his fingers to his head.

‘Tia, come in please.’- Ed spoke via Telepathy.

‘Nyahf. Ed what? It’s not time to raise the sun yet. What do you need?”- Celestia answered groggily.

‘I need your help down here and be prepared for a shock and a lot of, ah. Just a lot okay,’ Edward warned in a worried tone.

‘Fine. see you in a few. Let me get dressed then I’ll be right there,’ Celestia said annoyed.

‘No rush Tia. Just take your time and see you when you get here,’- Edward commented still worried.

“I sure hope the other three are enjoying themselves.” Edward sighed as he watched Faust do backstrokes. “Now I remember why the king and myself stopped drinking with you.” Faust tried to splash him but Edward managed to dodge it. He was about to sit down on the nearest chair when he heard the sound of paper in his hood. He reached and around and pulled out a note from Alexis. He read it. “Oh come on Alexis! Why?” Edward hung his head down. “Never gonna live this down.

Alexis wondered if Edward had noticed the note she'd passed him. ‘Take a picture of Tia's face when she sees Grandma. - AETS’ She stumbled a bit, giggling slightly. She saw Shang's raised eyebrow as well as Riolu's confused countenance. “Trust me, you’ll see,” she chuckled.

Next Chapter: Personal Problems and Obstacle Courses Estimated time remaining: 31 Hours, 33 Minutes