Chapter 4 - It has begun!

Haddie was experiencing a mixture of awe and horror at what she was witnessing. The horror started for her the moment she entered the room. Sprawled out all over the floor, leaning against walls, and bent over some furniture, were all the women who had been moved there. They were naked and covered in cum stains. If it weren't for the occasional stirring they made to get more comfortable, Haddie might have thought that they were dead, and this might have been the sight of some orgy sacrifice.

The next sight to scare Haddie was how, with a snap of his fingers, Nicholas had Zarina strip herself of underwear and start riding with wild abandonment, then after she passed out, Nicholas moved to Claudette. The scene had slightly confused Haddie, Nicholas went from wild, unrestrained sex with Zarina to slow, passionate sex with Claudette. He started slow by carefully removing her bra, then slowly caressing and sucking her breasts. Then, the dropping of her panties and making love in the standing position. If Haddie didn't know better, she would've thought this was a young couple experiencing their first night together.

The awe started, when instead of moving on to her, Nicholas had Adiris service him next. He took her, with her back against the wall, legs around his waist. Her mouth never stopped praising him. Whether it was in English or some language, Haddie couldn't quite understand. The next one to go was Alcina, Nicholas tore her entire outfit in one swipe. Like he was saying, 'I don't care if that was expensive, I do what I want.' Which he did, his next actions had Alcina first cleaning his cock, she did it like it was the highest of honors. Then he had her on her back, her legs resting on his shoulders. He just started to hammer away, and all the while, he roughly groped and kneaded her breasts. Alcina was also screaming his praise, but while Adiris was more like a woman being thankful to a personal hero who was fulfilling their fantasies, Alcina was more submissive. She kept using words like "Sir" or "Master." Haddie found it a sight to be held and one she couldn't look away from.

Once he finished, Nicholas's next action had left Haddie speechless. He stood up, slipped on a robe, and with a straight face asked, "Is there a reason you're still just standing there, Haddie?" She sputtered as the implications of he just said. Haddie quickly recomposed herself and said, "First! I was brought here against my will, and second... What is all this?!"

Nicholas looked at Haddie for a moment, then said, "To the first, my apologies, Adiris was a little overzealous. She should have realized that you weren't under my influence anymore, but honestly, I thought you would've left once Adiris and Alcina were incapacitated. To the second, well, the short answer is I'm the one in charge now."

Haddie looked around, the sight of her friends strewn about, with a blissful look on their faces, made it hard for Haddie to argue. She looked at Nicholas and asked, "What's the long version?"

Nicholas recounted what happened after he awoken. He told her why he was doing it, and then he asked if she had any questions.

Haddie took a deep breath, and then she asked, "Do I have questions? Yes, I have one, If you're this all-powerful supernatural force, why didn't you just take me? Why tell me any of this?"

Nicholas answered with a smile and said, "Because while I get the same nutritional benefit no matter what, your state of mind will affect everything else." Haddie gave look that said, "She wanted him to explain."

Nicholas nodded and then continued, "I learned that if I take someone while they are under the influence of my power, I get access to their most notable skill. If I take them and they have been deceived into hero worship, I get some body enhancements or weapons as well as some new skills. If I take someone against their will, at best, I will get a modest understanding of their skill set."

Nicholas stopped and gave a small chuckle before continuing, "And thanks to Anna, I learned that if they have even a small flicker of interest in me, I will receive everything they have to offer. There is also the fact that your current mindset will affect things afterward."

Haddie thought back on the behavior she had seen already. Some were treating Nicholas like he was a hero, others a stud, Alcina was acting like he was her superior. Then there was Anna, she was acting like Nicholas was her paramour, and the fact that he had other women was something to accept.

Then it clicked for Haddie. If she had still been under his influence, then she would be just another body in this sweaty pile. But, since she broke free, if he took her, then she would become almost useless to him. It was of little comfort that the only reason she wasn't being turned into some mindless sex slave was that Nicholas had little use for them.

After a quick glance at Anna, who was simply rubbing Nicholas's shoulders, Haddie asked, "What if they offered themselves willingly after they learned everything?"

Nicholas gave a thoughtful expression, then said, "I don't really know. Are you offering yourself willingly?" Haddie felt her face become warmer as Nicholas approached. As he stood right in front of her, Haddie mustered her resolve and said, "Yes." Nicholas smiled and began a combination of caressing and stripping her. She felt like she was melting into his arms as she tried to quit the voice in the back of her mind that was shouting, 'What have you done!?'

...

Nicholas laid there on his bed. Resting peacefully on his right arm was Anna and on his left Haddie. Nicholas learned that Haddie had been interested in him after their first survival round together. She found the music that would play when he was around was uplifting, and if they met somewhere else, it might have led to coffee or some other sharing of beverages.

Because of this, Haddie, like Anna, was fully self-aware and could go multiple rounds. Nicholas had a decision to make on how to proceed. He could hold up here and send out snares. He would be safe, but the risk of the girls running dry to the point of no return was high. The other choice was to go and actively catch new girls. He would never have to worry about any of the girls getting used up, but he would run the risk of another supernatural force noticing and eliminating him. Nicholas thought about it and decided there was no choice. He was not patient enough to wait for fresh blood, so he began to focus on the relevant information.

The first thing he learned was that he couldn't control where the door connected to, only that it would be relatively close to a major event. The second thing was that once he left a world, while he could revisit, every time he did, he ran the increasing risk of the local powers tracking him and following him back to his realm.

The third and final thing was that each world would restrict him differently, and he wouldn't know how until after he arrived. Nicholas got up and got dressed. The flow of time would mean that nobody here would realize that he ever left.

Standing outside, Nicholas focused for a moment, and the door appeared in front of him. The door had an old rickety look, like you would see on an old style ship. With only a shrug, Nicholas stepped through.

The next moment, Nicholas was on the deck of a really old looking ship. At first, Nicholas was concerned that he might stand out, but those worries were quickly put to rest when he saw a drunk guy in a suit, completely making an ass of himself. Nicholas pondered for a moment. The drunk seemed familiar for some reason. Suddenly, energy could not only be felt, but seen it was quite the show. Nicholas heard what sounded like an old haggard voice yelled, "It has begun!" Nicholas was thinking that this was really familiar.

Nicholas began to check on how he was restricted. It became apparent that while he was here, he could summon his unaltered killers. He had access to the weapons, and the skills he had already acquired were still his to use, and he still had knowledge of things about himself. Also, while he was out, his need to feed would be lessened significantly. Nicholas then reviewed the methods of acquisition.

First, he could mark their soul. It was subtle. No one would notice unless they checked the afterlife. The soul would be in the same condition as it was in when it was tagged, knowledge included. That meant if he tagged them when they were strangers, no matter what happened after, they would have no memories of him when they arrived in his realm.

Second, he could use remote snares or gates, like the one he got caught by in first place. It would be the fastest, but it was the easiest way for others to notice something was up.

Finally, the third way, he could seduce his target. This method led to his targets being bound to him the same way Anna and Haddie were. He would be fed by this method, but people might grow suspicious if the personality change was too drastic. Nicholas took a deep breath as he understood that no method was perfect.

After the ship made port, Nicholas followed everyone else, up a flight of stairs to an ancient looking temple. Once he passed the front gates, he felt a spear touch his back, a rather coarse voice demanded to who he was.

A camotion was caused, and suddenly, Nicholas found himself standing on a slightly elevated fighting platform. An old man was asking questions, like how he managed to sneak in and who was sheltering me. The old man was dressed in a rather regal attire. He was balding. What hair he had was long and gray. Nicholas could have sworn that he had seen this old man before. The answer to why was made apparent when another individual spoke up defending Nicholas. The man had milk-white eyes, a booming voice, and was wearing a white outfit, with a blue vest and a straw hat.

Nicholas realized instantly that the two individuals in front of him were Shang Tsung and Raiden. This was the world of Mortal Kombat.

...

Shang Tsung was sitting on his throne. In Outworld, he had to bow to Shao Kahn, but here on this island, he was king. So, this intruder was an annoyance. Raiden had intervened on this stranger's behalf. So, for the sake of making this tournament seem fair. Shang Tsung had to give this man a chance to defend himself.

It was a simple matter. This man would fight in the opener. If this Nicholas won, he would join Earthrealm's team of defenders. If he didn't, well, people do die in this tournament all the time.

He had taken a little extra precaution by arranging for Nicholas to fight a Tarkatan. Shang Tsung began to smile a thought of the other fighters being intimated by the sight of slaughter.

Shang Tsung gave his speech and had those two move into position. The Tarkatan was ready to begin. He was practically foaming at the mouth. While the other one was relaxed. It was slightly annoying for Shang Tsung, who was hopping to see looks of terror or dispare. Shang Tsung signaled the fight to begin.

The Tarkatan began aggressively throwing a flurry of punches and kicks, but nothing was landing. In frustration, the Tarkatan extended its blades from its wrists. Some of the spectators got a nervous look, while Shang Tsung noticed that something was off with this man. Most get a look of surprise the first time they see Tarkatan blades, but this man was still calm. Shang Tsung understood why when a broad ax materialized in that man's hands. The Tarkatan tried to defend himself, but with a single swing, Nicholas had broken that defense and lobbed off the Tarkatan's head.

The ax disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, and Shang Tsung left with a very big problem.