Chapter 53 - Results

---Two Days Later---

The girls and I were anxiously awaiting the return of Mirajane and Erza. The tests apparently took far longer than anyone expected, but we hoped that was a good thing. Around lunchtime of the second day, the two of them returned to us looking extremely exhausted.

"Is everything okay!?", Lisanna gasped running over to Mirajane.

Stumbling past her, the two got close to me and passed out. Catching them both, I did a quick check to make sure nothing was seriously wrong. Other than being extremely exhausted, the two women were dehydrated and starving...almost like they weren't given any breaks during the tests. This level of treatment for potential S-Rank Wizards didn't sit well with me so I took them to bed, and then headed over to the Guild Hall to see Makarov.

"Hey Gramps, what the heck is the Kingdom trying pull here!?", I demanded, "Mirajane and Erza are in terrible shape, what sort of tests were these?"

"I don't know...Laxus and his friends collapsed in the Guild Hall.", Makarov replied keeping his temper in check, "The five of them are unconscious now so we will have to wait for them to wake up."

"Makarov...if they try to seriously hurt them...", I said in an ominous tone, "I will wipe the Magic Guards out."

Knowing I was serious, Makarov said to be patient and wait for one of them to wake up.

"I received word that the five of them passed the tests for S-Rank. The Kingdom will be assigning observers to the five of them when they go out on quests.", Makarov stated.

"Can't I be Mirajane and Erza's Observer? I am the Rank 1 Wizard Saint, that has to count for something.", I remarked.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't mean anything to the Kingdom in this case. They want it done their way, or not at all.", Makarov sighed.

Saying that was a stupid, I sighed and left the Guild Hall. It was clear they were keeping the Guild Masters out of the loop on purpose, it made me very curious what was going on. Returning home I sat bedside of the two sleeping women making sure they were okay. Using Ark to cure exhaustion was a double edge sword, any benefits from working this hard would be lost using it as it would only restore them their previous best state. Since mortal bodies need damaged then naturally healed to continue to grow...Ark would erase all their hard work.

Sitting there for several hours in silence, I decided to leave a body double here and head to the Avatar World. Katara, Azula, and Ty Lee were still at the Palace waiting for our journey to start, and now was as good a time as any to begin.

---Avatar World, Fire Nation Palace---

"How's it going?", I asked Katara as I walked into my bedroom.

"We haven't killed each other...yet.", she laughed.

"Isn't from lack of trying.", Azula snickered.

Looking at Ty Lee, she seemed exhausted from their bickering and trying to maintain the peace. Suggesting they get ready to go, I said we were leaving this afternoon on our journey. Pulling their bags out from underneath my bed, they said they had been ready for a while now.

"Okay then, we can leave now if you want.", I said grabbing a few items.

"Yes please, I am over sitting here waiting to leave.", Azula agreed taking her bag and heading out the door.

Katara and Ty Lee were also both happy to leave this place, both were eager to see the world and take in the sights. Grabbing their bags, the four of us headed out to Barry and got everything stowed away. Once I was happy everything was in order, we got on and headed out. Waving to people in the capital as we left, I was happy to see the rebuilding projects were progressing smoothly.

"By the way, Uncle has requested we back in six months for Lu Ten's Wedding. His nurse accepted the proposal so they are eager to marry quickly.", Azula snickered, "We all know what they want to do."

"We don't know that for sure.", Katara pointed out.

"Katara, it is a Royal's Job to sire heirs for the family. No matter how far we run, eventually we will be force to settle down and have a family.", Azula sighed, "It's one of the few things I actually dread. Don't get me wrong, I want a family with Mael...it's just once we have children a lot of freedom will be taken away."

"What do you mean?", I questioned, "Sure I get when your pregnant, but after the babies are born there is no harm in traveling around. The Air Nomads did it for hundreds of years without any ill effects. Besides, Lu Ten's children will be in line for the throne ahead me. The Council shouldn't have any problem with us traveling together."

Seeing what I was saying, Azula muttered that she hoped they had several kids so she didn't become a stay at home mother. She had watched her own mother sit around idly while her father did all the work, Azula knew that wasn't the life she wanted to lead. Azula wanted to be involved with everything, even if she was only a witness to it. I knew deep down that the reason she was like this was because she didn't want to be alone.

A few hours into our flight, I taught the girls several card games like Euchre, Blackjack, and a few other games. Their favorite games were War and Slapjack...though instead of slapping each other's hands, they slapped their faces rather aggressively. After a few games, Katara and Azula got really heated and looked like they were going to fight each other. Picking up that Ty Lee didn't want to be in the middle of their fight, I offered her a way out.

"Ty Lee, how about you switch places with me?", I suggested.

Leaping over me to take reins, Ty Lee was relieved to be out of the hot seat. Taking her spot between the two of them, I said they need to relax and unwind. Reminding them that we were eventually going to be family, I wanted them to try and be civil with each other. Leaning into me, the two of them sat back and watched the clouds roll by.

"So what exactly will Ty Lee and I be doing at the North Pole?", Azula asked.

"Well, I was thinking we'd do some exploring and hunting. Katara is a very skilled Waterbender, I doubt she will need more than a month or so to become a Master.", I said praising her.

Seeing Katara smile with approval, she seemed to be happy I thought so highly of her skills. I could see Azula wasn't thrilled with the compliment, but kept it to herself.

"Is there some cool places to go too?", Ty Lee inquired out of curiosity.

"Yep, the Northern Spirit Portal is up there. It's a literal sea of trees in the middle of an ice wasteland.", I chuckled, "From what I recall, there are a lot of Wild Spirits there that we might be able to interact with."

"That could be fun, is there anything else there?", Azula questioned.

"Well...there is a hot spring there I think.", I said.

"Hot Spring!?", the three shouted.

"Yeah...if memory serves it's supposed to be really good for your bending. Rumor has it that it can help improve your Chakra flow.", I replied not sure of the accuracy of that.

Suggesting we go there first, it seemed like they wanted to check it out over everything else. Since it made them happy and kept them from fighting, I was happy to go.

---North Pole Spirit Portal---

Flying through a blizzard, we ended up reaching the forest a few hours later. Having Barry touchdown in a clearing, we got off and looked around. Just standing there, I could feel the power this place had in the air. The connection to the Spirit World allowed some of the stronger Spirits to make their presence here known, but they wanted nothing to do with me.

'I guess that makes sense, I would just forcibly reincarnate their ass and be done with it.', I thought with a smirk, 'I did hate that face stealing caterpillar dude, maybe I should at least send him away.'

As I was pondering that thought, the girls were wandering around looking for the Hot Spring. It didn't take long for it to be found as Ty Lee managed to find quickly thanks to jumping through the trees in a speedy manner. Leading us over to it, the steam that rose from it had a pleasing sandalwood scent to it. Taking my clothing off, aside from my boxers, I slipped into the hot spring with a peaceful sigh. Looking back at the girls, they were looking away with embarrassment.

"You do realize we are engaged, and not only that I left my boxers. It's no different from going to the beach.", I stated.

"Still though, you shouldn't see us till we are married.", Katara refuted.

Letting out a sigh, I turned around and let them change privately. Giving me the all clear once they were changed, they wore their swimwear into the hot spring. Getting comfortable, they let out a sigh as they let their bodies relax.

"I got a question.", Ty Lee asked, "For Katara I mean."

"Sure, what is it?", Katara replied.

"Why do you have swimwear at the South Pole? Do you swim in the cold water?", Ty Lee asked.

"Huh...I didn't think about that, yeah why do you have swimwear?", Azula added.

Explaining that they sometime did swim in the cold water, she went on to say that they did have hot springs too. Saying that what she was wearing was more for the hot springs, she said they didn't have anything similar to what Ty Lee and Azula wore. Looking at their garments, it was clear Katara's was more or less just towels that they to protect the more important bits from the icy chills of the Pole Winds.

"Interesting, how do you not freeze in the water?", Azula inquired.

"Well...we will still freeze if we are in the water too long, but overall we can survive in the cold longer than people like yourself. Doesn't mean we want to swim in it everyday, we only do it if a child falls in or a boat starts floating away.", Katara answered, "A Waterbending Master won't feel it because they bend through the water, and won't get wet."

'So Chuck Norris was a Waterbending Master...the water just wanted to be around him.', I thought remembering that Chuck Norris joke.

Listening to the girls talk with each other with a while, I almost took a nap in the hot spring. After some time in the water, we got out and got dinner started. I started roasting two garlic and herb chickens while Katara and Ty Lee made side dishes. As Azula's cooking skills were none existent, she ended up rotating the chickens on the spit to prevent them from burning.

"I am surprised you don't know how to cook. It's a good way for couples to bond.", Katara jabbed, "My parents do it all the time."

"We have cooks for that, mine couldn't be bothered with it.", Azula retorted with a smirk, "Is it really that fun? This is pretty boring if you ask me."

"Well when you are married...there are other things that could...happen.", Katara said turning flush red just thinking about it.

It took a moment, but Ty Lee and Azula also turned flush red. I wanted to say they could pull off the naked apron in a few years, but I felt that was a bit too early for them. Just as I was about to suggest that we could try making a family dinner sometime, I sensed that Mirajane and Erza were waking up.

---Unknown Location, 3rd Person POV---

With a weapon securely hidden away, Shang Tsung wanted to find a powerful creature to bend to his will. He wanted something that he could create to suit his need, something that could grow under his guidance. Having gone through multiple worlds looking for something, Shang Tsung finally found something that piqued his interest. A world he had setup a laboratory on, since it had incredibly high amounts of magical power, had spawned a rather unique creature that he had been watching closely.

Shang Tsung had only noticed it when he felt a Divine Presence descend onto the world several months ago. He had been following the creature closely, and had witnessed it pull off incredible feats of strength and power. It seemed to imbue monsters with magical power, and they would in turn evolve into new creatures. What was most interesting about the creature was the fact it seemed to adapt and change depending on what it killed/ate. Every fight it had only increased it's strength and power, this is what drew his interest.

"Hmm...that blob appears to be just what I am looking for.", Shang Tsung said watching the sleeping creature.

Having overused it's magical power, the blob had fallen into a state of hibernation. Capturing it and bending it to his will was out of the question, it was far to strong at this point to do that but replicating it with his magics was an option...all he needed was a sample. Stepping through his portal, he carefully approached blob in case it awoke suddenly.

Using magic to cut a piece off of it's body, Shang Tsung was interrupt when a loud woman barged into the room.

"Who are you!?", she howled, "What are you doing with Lord Rimuru!?"

Not giving her an answer, the woman leapt forward and swung at him. Dodging her attack, he punched her in the ribs and sent her rolling across the floor. Taking the sample he needed while the woman got back up, he was impressed she shrugged the magical enhanced blow so easily. He was considering killing her, but remembered that only a month or so ago she was a completely different creature. If he could discover how they pulled it off, he could make soldiers that would far exceed anything Shao Kahn had.

"You will be coming with me!", he said as green flames wrapped around her.

"Let go!!", she howled in anger.

Jerking the chains back, he threw her through the portal as reinforcements arrived. Closing the portal as they entered, the woman's comrades saw that she had been captured and taken prisoner.