Chapter 48 - Elder Gods

---Orario, Next Day---

Meeting several Deities and their bodyguards in Babel, we were waiting for Apollo to show up. As usual he was running on his time, which was at least thirty minutes behind everyone else. Waiting patiently for him, I glanced over at Aqua who had been unusually distant from me since I came home last night.

'Did I do something to upset her, or did Ishtar do something?', I thought looking over to the Goddess in question.

She was talking with Loki, Freya, and Astraea about upcoming training plans their Familias had. It was nice to see them getting along, but I did admit she looked out of place talking to Freya so casually. I was used to the disgusted look on her face when she spoke with her, right now though that face wasn't there which made the scene unsettling.

'I bet she told Freya and Aqua...', I thought, 'That has to be it, Aqua doesn't know how to react given our existing relationship. I will need to sort things out with her after this.'

Just as I was about to go and drag Apollo here, the man of the hour showed up.

"Sorry everyone, I am here now.", Apollo said as he walked into the room with a smile.

"About time your lazy ass showed up.", Loki snickered, "9am is 9am, you realize this is a big deal right?"

"I am still not convinced the people we are meeting with are really that important.", Apollo stated looking over at me.

"Listen Apollo...", I spoke up as I moved to stand right in front of him, "A very dear friend of mine was injured, and was almost killed by people from the world we are going too. I am trying to give them a chance to correct their mistake. If you don't want me to give them a chance, how about I kill you right now?"

"Wh...what!?", he shrieked backing away.

"Don't think I am not aware of what your Familia has been doing. Falsifying injuries to get other Familias in trouble, stealing from others in card games, and moreover...forcing smaller Familias to hand over Adventurers.", I said grabbing him by the shirt, "Since you don't believe in giving someone a second chance, that means you are all out of chances."

"WAIT!!", he screamed like a little girl, "I am sorry!! Let's give them another chance!!"

"I am glad you see it my way.", I told him as I let go of his shirt, "Now then, Zeus and Apollo...there are several females among the Elder Gods. Do not try and flirt with them...I will not stop them from removing your manhood."

Hearing several Goddess shout out that they didn't have any manhood to lose, the Goddesses present started laughing. Seeing Freya and Ishtar glance over to me, they gave me a wink confirming my suspicion Ishtar told them. Noticing that Aqua was trying to do the same thing, she apparently couldn't do it under pressure as she just blinked forcefully. Opening a portal to Earthrealm, I made sure the two Gods had their Arcanums before stepping through.

---Earthrealm---

Stepping into a bustling park, it was refreshing to see some of the modern conveniences I had been missing around me. While it was refreshing, I knew this world was actually a lot worse off than my original world was. Every generation this world had to fight for its survival all while the majority of the populace was none the wiser.

"What is this place!?", Apollo gasped, "What are those metal boxes people are riding in!?"

"I smell something delicious!", Zeus said.

Getting them ice cream and hot dogs to try, the two Gods were left speechless. Nothing in their universe was even remotely similar to these items which made it all the more exciting for them. Finishing their snacks, the two of them immediately wanted to go to a bar or whorehouse...all in the name of experiencing the culture of this world. Smacking them upside the head, I let out a sigh of frustration.

"Not happening...I am not your ticket to bedding women.", I replied, 'I am also not taking the chance they can have kids here. The last thing I need is for this Zeus to make his own Kratos...'

As I was trying to decide the easiest way to locate Raiden, several military vehicles pulled up in a hurry. Before uttering a word, dozens of armed men surrounded us like we were criminals. Pointing their guns at us, Apollo and Zeus looked confused as they had never seen a gun before.

"Never seen these three before.", Jax said stepping in front of the men, "How about you Sonya?"

"No, can't say that I have.", she replied, "Where are you three from, and what is your purpose here?"

I was going to speak, but Apollo cut me off as he made a beeline for her. Stepping in front of her, he grabbed her hand like he was some Romeo and introduced himself.

"My name is Apollo, God of the Sun. May I ask for your name, My Beautiful Lady?", he asked putting his smolder on high.

"Oh boy...", Jax and I said in unison.

Not wasting a second, Sonya pulled him forward and punched him in the gut. Shoulder Throwing Apollo to the ground, she jumped on him and started beating the shit out of him. When he finally was rendered unconscious, she slapped cuffs on him.

"See...this is why I said to let me do the talking...", I sighed rubbing the bridge of my nose, "She doesn't take well to that sort of stuff. Johnny Cage says shit like that all the time, she is immune to shallow compliments like that. In fact, her knee jerk reaction is sometime a kick to the nuts."

"You know Johnny?", Jax asked with a smirk, "Sounds like something he'd tell people."

"Personally, no. I know of him from...overseeing things in this universe.", I stated.

"So you are Gods then...great.", Sonya said getting off the unconscious Apollo, "What brings three Unknown Gods to Earthrealm?"

"Shang Tsung....", I told her with a dead pan expression.

Looking at each other, Sonya and Jax told the soldiers to stand down. Walking up to me without any hesitation, Sonya asked me what I knew about him.

"I oversee many universes, he has been jumping to two other universes and been disrupting things. Most recently, he almost killed several dozen Adventurers while they were out exploring.", I informed her, "We are here to see that the Elder Gods handle this situation...or I will."

Understanding what I was saying, they immediately decided that this wasn't a conversation to have in a public area. I knew the Elder Gods weren't going to move against me for saying that because, if they weren't going to punish Shang Tsung for all the shit he'd done they weren't even going to acknowledge what I said. Taking the three of us to a base outside the city, we were escorted to a conference room and told to stay there till they could get Raiden and Fujin.

"Who are they?", Zeus asked.

"Raiden the God of Thunder and Fujin the God of the Wind.", I told him, "As a refresher, they are stronger than both of you. Don't try starting a fight with them."

"...ugh...my head...", Apollo groaned laying face down on the table.

"I knew I should have taken a Goddess instead of him...", I sighed.

"Speaking of Goddesses, I hear you got with Ishtar!", Zeus snickered, "Congratulations my boy!!"

"Come on...that isn't something to joke about.", I stated, "It's a serious relationship, not a one night stand."

"I am not laughing about that, it is just strange to think she is actually going steady with someone. She used to go on and on about how she would never tie herself down to one man.", he told me, "Have your eyes on any others?"

"No comment.", I chuckled shaking my head.

He was about to say something else when Raiden and Fujin arrived. Walking into the room with slightly annoyed expressions, I assumed we interrupted an important meeting of theirs. Taking a seat around the table, we began to discuss things. Informing Raiden of the two universes that Shang Tsung had visited, that I was aware of, I said we were here to see that the Elder Gods do their job or handle the matter ourselves.

"Apologies, things do not flow that way here. The Elder God do not take demands lightly.", Fujin said trying to be polite.

Changing into my Angelic Form, I brought down a portion of my Divinity down on us. Sonya and Jax were rendered unconscious, Zeus and Apollo struggled to breath, and Raiden and Fujin were left sitting there in shock.

"What I tell you isn't a request, I am telling you the Elder Gods will do their jobs or be eradicated and replaced.", I told them staring at them, "This universe falls under my jurisdiction, you are subject to my orders. Only one individual stands above me, and he gave me full control of this universe."

"I...apologize...", Fujin gasped.

Suppressing my Divinity, I said I didn't come here to fight unless they left me no choice. All I was asking was for the Elder Gods to do their jobs, and not sit on their hands. I knew these two understood the frustration I had better than anyone. Shao Kahn broke the agreement dozens of times, and not once had the Elder Gods enforced the rules. While they may have their disagreements about how things were handled, they understood they didn't possess the power to remove the Elder Gods themselves.

"So you are saying if the Elder Gods do not heed your words, they will be replaced?", Fujin asked.

"Yes, I happen to know three people off the top of my head that would make suitable replacements.", I told him, "Raiden, Lu Kang, and you are all three suitable replacements, I have no doubt you would have held Shang Tsung accountable for his actions...unlike the current Elder Gods. You would have also removed Shao Kahn from power centuries ago."

"...that is true, both he and Shang Tsung have plagued the realms for far too long.", Raiden admitted, "A meeting with the Elder Gods isn't something we can just request immediately. Please give us a week to setup the meeting, and we will make sure they show up."

"Very well, I will return in one week...", I said detecting a portal open nearby, "We have company."

Giving me a confused look, the two of them didn't understand what I meant till they heard an ear piercing scream. Following that alarms started going off in the base which woke Sonya and Jax up.

"We are under attack!!", Sonya shouted.

"No, it's only a single person. It would appear Sindel showed up to say hello.", I chuckled.

Telling Zeus and Apollo to stay here, I said I would be back and teleported away. Finding her interrogating a helpless grunt for information on where Raiden was, I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"You certainly look better in the flesh than on a screen.", I complimented her.

Tossing the grunt, she turned back to see me standing there. Sensing something about me, her expression changed to a smile.

"You must be the Otherworlder that Shang Tsung spoke of.", Sindel said looking me over, "He failed to mention that you are...are quite good looking."

"If he had said that, I would have concerns.", I joked.

"This is true.", she laughed, "So that spike in Divinity was from you, not Raiden. That explains it, I assume you are looking for Shang Tsung?"

Acknowledging that I was, she gave me a smile. Slipping me a piece of paper, she said she wanted to have a private discussion with me. Telling me to meet her at the coordinates on the paper in two days, she promptly opened a portal and left.

'Damn, she looks a lot better in person than on my 2K monitor.', I thought with a smirk, 'I seem to have caught her eye too. Hopefully this means I can stop the events of Mortal Kombat 11 from happening. Last thing I need to worry about is timeline shit...'

Teleporting back to the Conference Room, I said that Sindel left peacefully after running into me. Not trusting my words, Sonya called her men in the Security Room to confirm Sindel was indeed gone. Telling Raiden I would be back in a week, I teleported Zeus, Apollo, and I home.

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

Having taken Sindel's words to heart...Shang Tsung wanted to use her in his Flesh Pits. He wanted to mutilate her for claiming that he was a failure.

"She calls me a failure yet she lost her home world, killed her former husband, and became Shao Kahn's bitch just to avoid being killed.", he spat as he was looking through various worlds with his magic.

Shang Tsung knew that facing Shao Kahn and his allies was a fools errand currently. He lacked the strength and power to overcome him so he turned to looking for something to tip the scales in his favor. No one else knew, but he had visited countless worlds looking for new ways to gain strength, and had captured many people for experimental use in the Flesh Pits.

As he was sifting through the worlds, he stumbled upon a very bloody battlefield. A sole mortal rode on the back of giant creatures that appeared to be locked in combat with Divine Entities. Watching the battle playout, the massive sword the man wielded drew his attention. Sensing the overwhelming Divine Energy it radiated, he watched the man kill God after God with it and noticed the blade seemed to absorb their power. At the very end of the battle, the man ran himself through with the sword for some unknown reason. Seeing the man slowly dying on the mountain, he took the opportunity to step through and take it.

"You will no longer be needing this.", he said pulling the massive sword out of the man, "I have a far better use for it than a dead man will. Your soul will also-"

Shang Tsung went to start taking his soul, but immediately stopped. He could feel a powerful curse imbued into the man laying before him. Something about it frightened him...almost like he would be haunted by his past should he take this man's soul.

"On second thought, I will allow your soul to be reborn as a gesture of kindness.", Shang Tsung stated like the man should be grateful to him.

Leaving the dying man on the mountain, Shang Tsung stepped through his portal leaving the world to be consumed by destruction.