Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[Sion Reaver]

"Sounds like a job for a giant ape monster," Sarada stated plainly, her tail unwrapping from around her waist.

It was something she hadn't considered before, though it was an idea at any rate. "I had thought for sure you'd be going to the tournament, but that's not a bad idea. How much control do you have over your other form?"

Come to think of it, she had no clue if Totoma had control. Not something she really asked. She also wasn't sure how many Sayains were on earth to make sure no one was the wiser, though to be fairy she was fairly confident the Raiders didn't know there were Sayains among the group; full or otherwise.

"Perhaps. It's too bad we don't have any information on other factions we could provoke into attacking the Red Raiders' base. Loot a burning house and all that." Chuan said quietly, fingertips slowly tapping against the table as he thought. "Disguises won't work fully, especially if Willa sees any of the raid members. I think she'd be sharp enough to see through mere costumes."

"We don't need an actual faction, just the illusion of one." Karine pointed out. "If they think its another enemy and thus get distracted then its all we need. A lot of fighting its partially mental and deception. If you push the right buttons, you can defeat someone without throwing a single punch if they're intimidated or have something over them. Not that I claim to be an expert with these sorts of things, but I do read a lot. The problem like I said is the how that comes about."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

It was something she hadn't considered before, though it was an idea at any rate. "I had thought for sure you'd be going to the tournament, but that's not a bad idea. How much control do you have over your other form?"

Come to think of it, she had no clue if Totoma had control. Not something she really asked. She also wasn't sure how many Sayains were on earth to make sure no one was the wiser, though to be fairy she was fairly confident the Raiders didn't know there were Sayains among the group; full or otherwise.

She shrugged lazily. "Anything can change between now and then, but I still plan on joining the tournament. I was just throwing this out there so it's on the table." As far as her control went, she responded, "Complete control, for the most part. It's one of the first things they teach us during our training." It was why she had no qualms about transforming while fighting the yetis yesterday. She would have been in control and would have made an effort to avoid stepping on her allies. "Also, it's worth noting that our power increases by ten in our great ape forms, so my power level would be at 800 if I were to face them right now. No telling how high it would be by the end of the week."

Actually, the more she spoke, the better an idea her going on the raid sounded. Too bad she really wanted to fight Battersea and Willia, else she would change her mind right then and there.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

]




It was normally true, Totoma wasn't wrong in the sense she didn't like violence but everyone had other sides to them that came out when pushed far enough. Karine knew she had a darker side, all her kind did but that's why they strived to control the negative aspects of their emotions so well. Just letting those negative emotions fester would lead to bad things without a proper release. If she had to say what her particular vice was, it was anger and rage even if she did her best to keep that particular beast locked under key.

Karine flushed at the physical contact, but didn't recoil. "..I think there's probably a lot of things we'd both be a bit surprised at we keep to ourselves." She said quietly. "..Later though, its not the time. Thank you.."

There was a full meeting going on, so the conversation at least a deeper one could wait for the given moment while Kami and Jinzi debriefed them.

Totoma patted her on the shoulder before withdrawing his arm. "Any time."

He wondered what sorts of things she'd kept hidden from him. Guess he'd find out later. Until then... the briefing.

Which was boring as hell to him. He'd enjoyed the video of Battersea doing his thing, but he was bored out of his mind with all this strategy talk. He was trained in strategy and tactics, like most Saiyans, but he really just wanted to get out there and train. And fight Jack! Charco, too! Had to get Ajna's training in, somehwere!

...and the meeting with Sarada, which he wasn't really looking forward to. He really hoped he'd be able to get through it without pissing her off. Er, well, more than his mere existence already did. It would be tough, real tough.

[KamenRaida]

"Conventional weaponry can cover that, prepare the battlefield with explosives, traps and such. A purely stealthy approach would be ideal, but the danger we might face if discovered is great. There is no honor, there is no fair play, there is the goal, and how we can change the odds of success."

"If we wish for the success of that plan, we'll either have to make sure there are enough strategic locations for you to plant the explosives in the base to put things in our favour, or we'll have to draw them out to make it easier to pick them off. Given the importance of the dragon balls to their plans, I think we can expect the former over the latter. In which case, we'll have to determine the most strategic locations to plant our traps."

Koorimaru tapped his chin, "We'll need to plant them away from the barracks. Plant them too close and it'll only draw more enemies to the dragon balls. We'll place the first team in the general area to cause as much havoc and destruction as possible. From there, we'll use that as an opening for the second team to make our fake assault on the dragon ball. Depending on how circumstances go, the third team can use the opportunity to retrieve the dragon ball."

Shiro raised an eyebrow as she listened to her new teammates talk and asked "I can't help but wonder, listening to this conversation, are we planning a stealthy raid to take the dragon ball and leave without being caught, or planning a frontal assault to wipe out the Red Raiders and take the Dragon Ball from their dead, mutilated corpses?"

"You assume too much of our abilities if you think we can just waltz in there and lay waste to every single last one of them. While I would prefer it if we could decimate the vast majority of their forces, I doubt it would be within our power even if we were all at the level of Battersea." Koorimaru answered, "At most we can only hope to cut down a fraction of their forces but even that should give Willa and what comrades we leave for her second thoughts about mounting a counter-offensive."

"Well, we had the aid of the armies of Saito." Shiro said calmly, looking to the man. Studying him carefully, Shiro continued "But I preferred to avoid unnecessary loss of life if at all possible, giving my opponents ample attempts to give up. Sometimes they followed through" a small smile tugs at her lips "helped by the sight of bullets bouncing pretty much harmlessly off our bodies. You'd be surprised how many of those soldiers gave up once their weapons proved ineffective against us."

The small smile fell into a sad frown as she looked down, slowly clenching and unclenching her gloved hands as she said "But not for all of them. Some of them kept fighting despite that, and we took as many of them down as harmlessly as possible. But that wasn't always a possibility, because they refused to stop fighting, or they landed wrong after an attack."

If she were biological, she was certain she'd be feeling bile rise from her stomach as she said "I have a scanner that allows me to see the life signs of biological beings, so I saw the exact moment the lives of many humans ended as a result of my hands."

Taking a functionally useless but emotionally necessary deep breath, Shiro lifted her head and said "I apologize, this wasn't the time for that."

"You never should have been sent into battle."

"And neither should you be sent into this one if this proves too much for you to handle." Koorimaru stated bluntly, "Make no mistake. While our primary objective is to take the dragon balls, we will kill as many of the Red Raiders as we can. Do not presume that this is mere bloodlust speaking. When Willa returns to see what we've taken from her, she will respond. If we have the dragon ball in hand, nothing we do can stop that whether we leave her men alive or not. At the very least, we will make launching an immediate counter-attack on us a matter of great difficulty for her. To do otherwise would be to put ourselves, and the dragon balls at risk.

"If you have no intention to kill anyone, I suggest you either remain on guard with our existing dragon balls, or better yet, enter the tournament. I believe you will find the latter a relatively bloodless affair because I can guarantee you that if take part in this strike, many will die, and I have every intention of making sure that none of us are included in that category."

[grampagen]

"Well, we had the aid of the armies of Saito." Shiro said calmly, looking to the man. Studying him carefully, Shiro continued "But I preferred to avoid unnecessary loss of life if at all possible, giving my opponents ample attempts to give up. Sometimes they followed through" a small smile tugs at her lips "helped by the sight of bullets bouncing pretty much harmlessly off our bodies. You'd be surprised how many of those soldiers gave up once their weapons proved ineffective against us."

The small smile fell into a sad frown as she looked down, slowly clenching and unclenching her gloved hands as she said "But not for all of them. Some of them kept fighting despite that, and we took as many of them down as harmlessly as possible. But that wasn't always a possibility, because they refused to stop fighting, or they landed wrong after an attack."

If she were biological, she was certain she'd be feeling bile rise from her stomach as she said "I have a scanner that allows me to see the life signs of biological beings, so I saw the exact moment the lives of many humans ended as a result of my hands."

Taking a functionally useless but emotionally necessary deep breath, Shiro lifted her head and said "I apologize, this wasn't the time for that."

If Shiro's cybernetic eyes to attempt to parse any ready information Ochazuke where he sat drinking his tea, the quick study would reveal a man with no apparent stake in the outcome. He sat there as he was as he listened to the words of Nijimoto's white android.

"We are all ready to achieve victory in our designs, just as we are born, knowing only life," he replied, "The affectations of death drive the instincts of men to fight." He paused to take a sip. "I imagine you know better than most that it is the last thing screaming at the shadow as it comes calling."

"Your foe on the island," he emphasized, "will harness this, should you to choose to engage. The colours may have changed but it is much the same. Faced with this what would you do, Shiro? Speak on."

"You never should have been sent into battle."

"Nor should a creature who has never fought a war speak of tactics or utility without having ever set foot on the battlefield," Ochazuke retorted, "Your game of mimicry is based on myriad input data. Start collecting."

[grampagen]

The connecting of their roiling Ki creating a small clap of thunder, before the separation; the initial clash between Ishtar and Ochazuke, spoke more than their talk ever could have. The man was taller, head reach that much farther and his response to her aggression precise. A simple parry before retreating to a safe distance, using her momentum to facilitate the fluid movement. Then he followed up with a simple open-handed jab, meant to probe and test. To see how she would respond.

The Oni rebounded quickly, before parrying his own jab- replying with yet another jab aimed at his midsection. Mindful of the ensuing response, she assessed her next step. Her height disadvantage closed some doors before ever attempting to open them; though the possibilities it offered were ... interesting. Long had it been since a worthy opponent- she would not disrespect him.

The precision of her burning fists was controlled, in measured rhythm targeting his core.

Respond in kind and there is a measure of balance.

He felt the flame shoot forward and press into his body. The impact was sharp, but yet uncommitted.

He responded to the salvo of Ishtar's opening rhythm by breaking tempo. Twisting his hips, he threw both hands forward at this closed range, his lead sailing over her extended arm towards her crown while his rear hand sunk a knotted knuckle into her solar plexus.

[The Dog]

Listening to her teammates speak, Shiro understood their intentions and concerns for her being. She could also practically feel Midori's concerned eyes watching her, though her sister was silent, either out of still being cowed from being reproached by Kami or just not knowing what to say.

"I hear all of you and appreciate your concerns, but do not misunderstand my words as being an admission of being unable or unwilling to kill. I just have no desire to needlessly kill those whom I do not have to nor do I make such decisions lightly. Should killing members of the Red Raiders be necessary, then I shall do so. But I will not treat such a thing lightly as some of you seem to." Shiro said.

[Ptrvc]

Jack had to admit, packed in like sardines in a tin as the where, with somewhere close to thirty people in a single room, was not pleasant. Jack had dealt with wide open spaces most of his life, and this current seating was beginning to get all too intimate. Honestly, it was hard to get a word in edgewise. Maybe I should just stick around with Sarada and Totoma huh? Someone has to watch these crazy tailed people after all. No telling what trouble Sarada could get into at the tournament, or what she could cause. That was not the only reason, or perhaps even the main reason, but it was a reason, and Jack was sticking to it.

The first time Jack had been on a raid he had bashed a man's head in with a club. He had been five years old at the time, but already two years training with Manco had meant that the man had no chance to stop him. It had been such a shock watching his head splatter everywhere that the man's buddy would have gunned Jack down if not for Manco's timely interference. That man's death had been so much worse, Jack doubted they ever found the pieces. Funny to think of it, all the times that Manco had saved Jack's life, and yet...and yet...

Talk about being alone in a crowd. "I'm wondering, how many people besides Battersea will be at this tournament, and what's the probability our group will end up facing each other in the ring? We probably want to minimize that if we can, not exactly going to help our odds."

[rhyvurg]

"If we wish for the success of that plan, we'll either have to make sure there are enough strategic locations for you to plant the explosives in the base to put things in our favour, or we'll have to draw them out to make it easier to pick them off. Given the importance of the dragon balls to their plans, I think we can expect the former over the latter. In which case, we'll have to determine the most strategic locations to plant our traps."

Koorimaru tapped his chin, "We'll need to plant them away from the barracks. Plant them too close and it'll only draw more enemies to the dragon balls. We'll place the first team in the general area to cause as much havoc and destruction as possible. From there, we'll use that as an opening for the second team to make our fake assault on the dragon ball. Depending on how circumstances go, the third team can use the opportunity to retrieve the dragon ball."

"It would be unwise to avoid chaos in only the area we seek to enter, a savvy mind might wonder why that one was avoided. Perhaps a minimal disruption, or avoid attacking many parts of the base to avoid a detectable pattern."

"Nor should a creature who has never fought a war speak of tactics or utility without having ever set foot on the battlefield," Ochazuke retorted, "Your game of mimicry is based on myriad input data. Start collecting."

"If my analysis is in error, do not avoid wounding pride I do not possess. As I stated previously, real planning must wait until our abilities have grown as much as they are able. Thus far we have only discussed strategy, not tactics."

Listening to her teammates speak, Shiro understood their intentions and concerns for her being. She could also practically feel Midori's concerned eyes watching her, though her sister was silent, either out of still being cowed from being reproached by Kami or just not knowing what to say.

"I hear all of you and appreciate your concerns, but do not misunderstand my words as being an admission of being unable or unwilling to kill. I just have no desire to needlessly kill those whom I do not have to nor do I make such decisions lightly. Should killing members of the Red Raiders be necessary, then I shall do so. But I will not treat such a thing lightly as some of you seem to." Shiro said.

"No life should be taken or discarded frivolously, but asking someone to kill when they can see life's final ebb is cruel."

[KamenRaida]

"It would be unwise to avoid chaos in only the area we seek to enter, a savvy mind might wonder why that one was avoided. Perhaps a minimal disruption, or avoid attacking many parts of the base to avoid a detectable pattern."

"Which is precisely why I suggest that the second team make their assault as close to the barracks as possible. If we can maintain the illusion that the first team's offensive was a distraction for the second team's more forward aggression, that will provide the third team all the more opportunity to successfully extract the dragon ball. My only concern is that we must ensure the second team is composed of our more lethal fighters. I fear Willa will have put someone of exceptional ability to ensure that her prize is not taken away."

Listening to her teammates speak, Shiro understood their intentions and concerns for her being. She could also practically feel Midori's concerned eyes watching her, though her sister was silent, either out of still being cowed from being reproached by Kami or just not knowing what to say.

"I hear all of you and appreciate your concerns, but do not misunderstand my words as being an admission of being unable or unwilling to kill. I just have no desire to needlessly kill those whom I do not have to nor do I make such decisions lightly. Should killing members of the Red Raiders be necessary, then I shall do so. But I will not treat such a thing lightly as some of you seem to." Shiro said.

"Then it is best you keep the stakes in mind if you should hesitate in taking the life of any Red Raider we find on the base. A man spared could mean the slightest grain needed to tip the scales to our enemy's balance." Koorimaru said in an even, controlled tone, "But if you would insist on accompanying us on this mission while ensuring the fewest number of enemy casualties, I propose that you participate in the second squad we are sending on the false assault. Willa would not leave the base without a proper chain of command, and it is in all likelihood that she will have left a temporary commanding leader in her stead. Whoever that leader is, they will likely be tasked with the purpose of guarding the dragon ball. If you would prefer not to sully your hands on the foot-soldiers, then focus your lethality on this leader. While our foes would be better off dead than demoralised, if their convictions should be shaken by the death of one of their leaders, that will mean only more problems for Willa to deal with."

[Tami]

After listening tot eh others make their plans, Meagan stood up and walked to the front of the dining hall, "All of your plans sound viable, but there are still many unknowns. There is even a risk that the Raiders will know we are coming and that they will have set traps for us."

She looked over at Sarada and Chou, then at the others, "It is possible to take out the whole base without resorting to all-out war. Not if we even the odds in our favor."

Turning to Jinzi, "If you can go over with me the likely security tech they may have at the base, I can go in first and disable as much as I can. If I am not caught, I may even manage to disable their aircraft, transports, whatever I can get to quickly. Once that is done, all the other plans can be enacted more efficiently and hopefully with fewer casualties."

She then walked back towards the table she was sitting at, the one where Held was sitting, "Our strongest fighters should be at the tournament, the rest of us should go after the Raiders base. Our abilities are diverse enough to give us the unpredictability bonus in combat." She then sat down again.

She then added, "Two Sayans entering the Tournament will be enough of a spectacle that it will ensure a higher chance of success for our goal. Few on this planet can match the raw, innate talent of Sayians in battle. Totoma and Sarada should both enter the tournament."

[Sol_M]

Perched atop a high ceiling beam that looked entire inaccessible to anyone without a ladder, Kabuto looked on at the various discussions unfolding below him.

He wasn't sure what to think of all of it yet. On one hand, they needed a group to fight in the tournament and win the dragon ball fair and square - and eventually steal the ball since it was highly unlikely that the people willing to wreak this much havoc in search of the dragon balls would be willing to hand it over on the basis of some fighting game.

On the other hand, there was another group needed to rob the terrorist leader of her dragon ball as well, and from what he'd heard, this was an equally challenging task.

The 'strategies' that were being discussed seemed to consist of extremely vague statements of entering places surreptitiously or killing specific individuals. Great plans from the perspective of the kind of people who sat around tables all day making vague plans, but on a tactical level, there was a great deal of specification missing.

It was plainly obvious that most of the group had little to no experience in the matter of constructing plans, not to mention they failed to consider that plans rarely went through entirely as planned.

Everyone else seemed to be quite familiar with the rules of this fighting tournament though, so Kabuto took a moment to search for the rules of the tournament, mostly to familiarize himself with the rules, but also to look for anything they could exploit to their advantage.

As he read, he felt the emotional landscape around him swirling in turmoil, as tempers rose and flared. He looked up, wondering if some of the group were going to come to blows, when he felt the tremor of power thrumming throughout the room, almost knocking him off balance from his perch.

Kami sighs, then looks at Jinzi. The billionaire shakes his head no, but Kami just smiles sadly at him and then looks at the group.

“Before we continue, you need to be aware of something. There is a permanent means to make the dragonballs inert. Normally, the dragonballs are linked to their creator. The set here, however, is different than on Namek. The set on Earth is instead.......linked to the guardian of the planet. When we fought Old Kami, we severed his link to them permanently. When I took the position, the link passed to me.”

She holds a hand up to stop Jinzi who had moved towards her, about to try and stop what she was saying.

“If it becomes necessary, killing me will stop the dragonballs from working. I cannot kill myself, my position prevents me, but any of you could. I would not stop you.”

There was no sound or movement, just like that, Kabuto appeared at her side. An opaque visor regarded the rest of the group.

"Objection. If any of you wanna kill her right now, you'll have to go through me, sorry."

He didn't want to fight the entire group though. The rest of the group was already disagreeing with what she said, he noted. There were several that told her that her sacrifice would not be needed. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Kami.

"Listen, if you die, who'z gonna uphold your part of the deal? Besidez, I told you not to worry. We'll handle it."

[Hazard]

Rarely has Slak dreaded to speak. For Namekians mean what they say and say what they mean. That's a rule they're faithful to, nearly 100%.

Now speaking may put him in a mission he has the skills for, but may make him do things he is not comfortable with. Still, he must talk.

"I am capable of... I believe the most common way to say it is 'sense power levels.' Provided I can get close enough to the Red Raider's base I should be able to tell you whether Willa is there or not as well as the approximate number of soldiers inside and their level of power relative to ours," Slak said. He thinks about it a little more and adds, "I am not able to sense weapons or... I believe you call them androids. It is also possible Willa is capable of hiding her power, though from what I have seen so far the skill is rare among your kind."

Rare in most sections of the universe really. It is one of those quirks of progress. Once races learn how to use Ki, few stop to figure out how to lower it.

[Eternal Torment]

"We don't need an actual faction, just the illusion of one." Karine pointed out. "If they think its another enemy and thus get distracted then its all we need. A lot of fighting its partially mental and deception. If you push the right buttons, you can defeat someone without throwing a single punch if they're intimidated or have something over them. Not that I claim to be an expert with these sorts of things, but I do read a lot. The problem like I said is the how that comes about."

"Agreed, but it remains to be seen if we could deceive them. I expect the raid team to have a difficult time with that. Perhaps we should discuss that with them before we part ways."

So, Chuan was thinking of going to the tournament after all. It wasn't like he was particularly enthusiastic about it, but he felt that he had to do something about Battersea.

[Noldere]

~A few moments after leaving~

Kai teleported away as soon as he was out of sight, reappearing instantly near the empty spot Kabuto had pointed out as a decent sparring area the day before.

Hopefully this is far enough...

The mask of composure he had worn until now all but gone, Kai suddenly looked the worse for wear, a result of Kami's 'mere' tremor of power having far greater of an effect on him than on any the others. Despite being of a completely separate nature than the aura of sickness that had made him reel yesterday, there was something within her tremor- something within the very aura of her power- that triggered his body in a manner akin to yesterday's sickly aura, yet worse. As Kai allowed his self-control to finally slip in full, overwhelming nausea born of an unconscious antipathy took over and Kai proceeded to enter a series of uncontrollably continuous and forceful bodily upheavals.