Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Resigning herself to missing out on some much-needed sleep, Meagan walks over to those talking, "Excuse me, but did you just say that people are vanishing?"

The barkeep pauses, then regretfully nods.

“Aye, been a few hunters and the likendiaplearing recently. But now poor Rose is gone just this day. Seems like a curse on our village.”

Another man snorts.

“Ain’t that, ya fool. They just got taken in the cold. It happens, even if it has been a few more than usual.”

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Oni?"

The woman nodded once, "Oni." It was something of a surprise really, how similar the living were to the dead when it came to things they were unfamiliar with.

Such an odd sight. It wasn't so much that such a being existed, but rather she looked exactly like how the stories and books portrayed them. It was amazing, yet anti-climatic all in one go, but now it brought another issue; he wasn't sure if it was safe to assume she was the one behind this ghostly town. Seeing an oni never boded well in the stories, but, from this distance, she didn't appear to be on a rampage or anything.

"...so peculiar..."

The woman shrugged. "The lack of inhabitants, or the convergence of three? Either is something of a passing strangeness." She said, in that same- if softer- tone. It would seem that either the woman did not notice his comment was directed towards her, or did not care.

Her posture assumed the latter, however.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Shiro threw up a barrier to block the assault rifle fire as Midori charged to the side, eyes glowing a bright green before beams of energy shot out of her eyes into the hovers to disable them and ensure they couldn't use them to get away.

"Be careful Midori!" Shiro yelled, dropping her barrier occasionally so she could fire off her own laser vision at them men's weapons to disable them whenever they had to stop firing, bringing it back up when necessary.

"Don't worry Shiro, it's not like bullets can do much damage to us anyways!" Midori called back, still targeting the getaway hovers as she spoke.

Two get stopped but the biggest seems armoured enough to withstand her assault. As the three men’s guns get slagged, one comes out the bank and throws a cylindrical grenade towards Midori and another at the wounded guards.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"GASP! That's...! That's Jinzi Pantaloon!" Zaofan thought. Even a nomad such as himself would recognize him from the various magazine covers in news stands and billboards during his travels. "I must speak to him! Custom dictates that I respect the host. Especially for this plentiful bounty! But he is surrounded -- I must HURRY!"

Zaofan had already sampled and appreciated at least one taste of every dish on his three plates. He took put his hands together, closed his eyes, bowed his head. His mouth formed a circle as he began: "Hoooo..." But his eyes opened and his voice quickly rose: "OOOOOO! CHIIAA!!"

His arms then moved into five seconds of blurred strikes, his hands rendered invisible from the pure speed. "AAAATATATATATATA!!! AAATATATA!!!" Each strike disappeared a serving of food, until the plates rattled, empty and clean, but his lips surrounded by food stains. He grabbed his glass and yelled out, "WAT-AAH!!!", washing down his gullet almost as quickly. "Hokuto Buffet Dan!" he said to himself.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin, stood up, zanzoken'd back to the buffet table, and zanzoken'd in the middle of the crowd, in front of Jinzi, keeping his head down while offering a plate of assorted sushi and gyoza.

"Mr. Pantaloon! Allow me to thank you for this wonderful trip! Please accept this humble offering as a sign of my appreciation!"

Jinzi almost seems startled, and the crowd around him even more so, but he recovers and smiles.

“My my, what respect. Thank you kind sir, and your welcome. I hope my ship has been treating you well?” He take the plate offered and smiles, a dazzling display off pearly whites.

[Yun Lao]

The woman nodded once, "Oni." It was something of a surprise really, how similar the living were to the dead when it came to things they were unfamiliar with.

The woman shrugged. "The lack of inhabitants, or the convergence of three? Either is something of a passing strangeness." She said, in that same- if softer- tone. It would seem that either the woman did not notice his comment was directed towards her, or did not care.

Her posture assumed the latter, however.

"Three?"

He was unaware that another was in town, having only seen her so far. Glancing around, he was visually puzzled by her words. " I don't see anyone else around."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Chou loaded up three dishes, the third by means of telekinesis as he sat down, dinonsteak in mouth as he then chows down. Heard rumors of a Pants guy onboard, he did not really care.


As he dines in and saw younger people in the crowd he then decided to do a juggling act for entertainment, three plates, one hand. No weapon summons or anything. His free hand juggling food as he munched in mid air. A dinner and a show. Rao would chew him out for it.


Edit


He noted another martial artist speed eating, thought he was a show off. At least he had theatrical flavor.

Chou garners claps from a small group of children, who’s parents all seem relieved for them to be distracted by something. One even offers some Zeni to Chou as the kids keep laughing at his display.

[Miburo]

As he relaxes, he hears from the waitstaff that Jinzi Pantaloon arrived via hover potter only a few minutes before. Apparently he was here to enjoy the rest of the voyage on the ship.

As he overheard the rumor of Pantaloons arrival, he bolted upright in his chair, nearly tipping over his table, only managing to catch his drink with a desperate grasp at the final second.

"Pantaloon? I thought that shut in would die rather than show up at a place like this." He mused absently to himself, as he rose to his feet, drink in hand. "Then again, I guess even recluses need some sunshine now and then...."

Standing up, he straightened his shorts, light blue with sharks and fishes adorning them.

"And I guess I need someones money to take....Who knows, if I get lucky, I might be able to get something worthwhile from him..."

Stroking his chin, Held began to ponder the chain of events needed to tilt the scales of fortune in his favor.

Taking a swig of his stein, he emptied it entirely of his contents.

"Excuse me, miss?" He said, turning to the nearest hostess, "Can I get a refill?"

He smilled slightly as he made his request.

"Also, did you hear that Pantaloon guys on the ship? I can't believe that kind of nonsense. He almost never goes out? Where would he even hide on a ship like this?"

[The Chou Lives]

Chou smiles, bows and does the zeni from the ear trick. Before he levitates the last bit of steak into his mouth. “ Have fun in ya trip little ones and thank ya kindly.” He loves doing these things. Saw the other getting to talk to owner of boat. He steps forward. “ Ahh so this be your boat? Thank ya. It’s very comfortable so far.”

[Ptrvc]

Start Point 4:


North Continent is cold, harsh, and uninviting at the best of times. However, civilization does exist here. Usually located on the coast, these small towns and villages are home to a hardy fishing and hunting people. Recently, however, in the small town of Cask there has been a slew of missing people. Trackers, fisherman, hunters, all gone. Cask, sporting a population of 500 or so, is one of the furthest north towns on North Continent, and the loss of over twenty people has begun to hamper their economy as several of them were important to feeding and protecting the village. Those starting here have only arrived within the last week and have started to hear the rumors of all those missing. The most recent one, just today, is a young child named Rose. She was gathering winter berries for her family and simply disappeared.

Jack Knave was walking the Cask mainstreet slowly, a few hundred pounds of pelts hung over his shoulder as he headed off to the local trader to sell his catch. He took a brief stop to stick a hand-rolled cigarette in his mouth, and light it with a touch of his finger and a small focus of ki. He took a few drags before continuing.

"I declare, this town gets more and more empty with each passing day," he said to nobody in particular. Of course, a few months ago I do believe I helped empty the purses of quite a few of these town's folk....a good thing I was wearing a mask at the time.

As Jack continued on his way to the local trader, a flood of guilt washed over him. I suppose I should do something to help...after all, I do find myself more than a little in debt to the fine folks of this town, considering my....past indiscretions. Jack blew the smoke a small smoke ring through a slightly larger one.

When he had first arrived into town a few weeks ago, Jack had tried to something about the disappearances, but there had been no clues as to what had happened...at least none that he had been able to recognize. In time he had given up, and settled for selling furs from some of the local wild life that he had been hunting, originally just to have something to eat.

"I suppose I shall ask yon merchant once I reach his establishment," Jack said to himself as he picked up the pace.

[Cyke]

Jinzi almost seems startled, and the crowd around him even more so, but he recovers and smiles.

“My my, what respect. Thank you kind sir, and your welcome. I hope my ship has been treating you well?” He take the plate offered and smiles, a dazzling display off pearly whites.

Zaofan maintained his strictly formal posture, bowed slightly towards Jinzi with his head down and his hands together. "Yes, sir! It has! I've not been on this vessel for more than a half hour and I am astounded by all it has to offer! I am most fortunate to have found that lucky ticket at the dock!"

Zaofan then caught himself, slowly realizing what he had just said. He slowly rose his head to Jinzi. "Well. I mean."

[IGee]

After a minute or so, you see a young man and a tall blue woman speaking to one another near the start of Main Street.

"Three?"

He was unaware that another was in town, having only seen her so far. Glancing around, he was visually puzzled by her words. " I don't see anyone else around."

As if on cue, Ajna's foot scuffed the ground not far away as he came within hearing distance of the two, one a young man, the other a woman with some sort of skin thing going on. Wonder what's up with that. Shrugging it off mentally, he approached and made himself known by answering the question.

"Well, three seems about the total number of people in this no-horse-town, yeah. Where the Hell am I?"

[The Dog]

Two get stopped but the biggest seems armoured enough to withstand her assault. As the three men’s guns get slagged, one comes out the bank and throws a cylindrical grenade towards Midori and another at the wounded guards.

Midori runs toward the man with the cylindrical grenade as he throws it, quickly catching it and throwing it high up into the air so it can explode relatively harmlessly. Shiro meanwhile moves toward the wounded guards and the grenade thrown their way. Reaching them, she throws up a quick barrier around herself and the guards, eyes closed as she concentrated on making the barrier strong enough to keep them safe.

With the grenades taken care of, Midori scowls and charges toward the grenade-thrower, drawing her left fist back. Stopping just before him, she threw the punch, channeling all her strength behind it as she swung it into his stomach.

"BIONIKKU SUMASSHU!"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“You failed.”

On the planet Vacado, home of some of the strongest saiyans – in their own minds – in the universe, strength was everything. Quite literally, it was everything. Every walk of life – from romance, to employment, to position in society – was determined by how strong one was. The strong lived comfortable, care-free lives; the weak were trampled on, stomped on, stepped over, and overlooked. The strong were glamorous, the weak were shabby. The strong were the pinnacle of society; the weak would have been lucky to have enough food to last them a few hours. The strong were the pride and joy of Vacado; the weak were considered slaves.

On Vacado, where strength was everything, the lessons and classes taken by the young saiyan warriors of tomorrow were tailored to draw out what strength they had inside. Some had more than others. The children of Saiyan Elites and the master-class Super Elites were ahead of the pack. Usually. Every so often, a child of an Elite fell behind her lineage. Every so often, a daughter of not one, but two Elites failed to measure up to the understandably lofty standards her parents set before her.

Sarada, daughter of Saiyan Elites Lettise and Guar, only had a power level of 50. After six entire years of training, she was barely stronger than she was when she first started. Granted, it was well known throughout the galaxy that strength was grown in a kind, nurturing environment, where harsh requirements and horrific consequences didn't compel the student to force herself to become stronger. Saiyan society on Vacado was extremely self-defeating.

Not that anyone on the planet actually realized that. Sarada certainly didn't. Opposed to questioning the teaching methods and the rewards for passing her final exam – freedom as opposed to a life as a slave – she questioned herself. I'm just a disgrace.

“After six long years,” the Combat Training Center overseer, Okra, continued, “you're only a little stronger than you were when you started.” She shook her head in disgust. “Six years of my life, wasted.” She glared angrily at the young saiyan, who, in turn, glared at the ground. “I should kill you where you stand for wasting my time. Go home, pack your belongings, and prepare for your new life.” She turned to walk away, her tail unwrapping itself from her waist and letting itself dangle freely from her black trunks. “If you're lucky, you may be allowed to clean your sisters toilet one day. Hahaha!”

When Sarada returned home, she wasn't expecting to be coddled and told it was going to be okay. Which was good, because otherwise, the sharp backhand she received from her mother would have shattered that expectation with thunderous force. She fell to the ground, a red mark already forming on her left cheek.

“Absolutely disgraceful,” she snarled. “To think that I birthed such a sorry excuse for a saiyan makes me want to throw up. I should kill you where you stand, but I don't want to waste energy on garbage.”

Her words stung, even if she never gave her the satisfaction of seeing her crumble under their immense weight. She had disappointed her mother. That hurt worse than anything else.

Her eyes cut to her father. His back was turned. He hadn't said a word since they received the report from the CTC. That was to be expected. He never really showed much care about anything.

Her mother left without another word, her father shortly after her. Sarada was left alone to contemplate her future.

She was to be a slave, a servant grovel at the feet of others. It was so... infuriating and humiliating. No! She would die before she would bend at the knee before anyone – the King and Queen notwithstanding.
While it was normal for a saiyan sentenced to the Meat Market to commit suicide rather than have their pride trampled on like chaff, Sarada didn't want to stoop to that level of cowardice. At the same time, however, she didn't want to just accept this fate, not while she knew in her heart that she had the strength of an elite coursing through her veins.

There was only one recourse left. In order to get stronger, she needed to leave this place. They would never allow her the time she needed to prove herself. The only way to reach the level she knew she was capable of was to try and reach it on her own, on her own time. Then, once she fulfilled her destiny and rose to the ranks of super elite, she would return to Vacado and take her rightful place near the top of the social ladder.

Yes, this was brilliant idea, if she said so herself. She would leave in the middle of the night, once most everyone went to sleep.

Night fell without any further incident. Her parents didn't say a word to her. She soon found out that they had been called away to different assignments. Slaves were needed to fill in the shanties in the Meat Market, plus competition for the Arena had been scarce as of late. That was just fine with her; one less obstacle in her way.

To that point, there were only two obstacles in her way. Parsley and Pinach, her two siblings. Parsley was her older sister by four years. Her skin was the same dark tone as hers, but her hair was much darker. She was also much thinner, as far as curvature went. If Sarada was being honest – as much as she had been in the past – she would say that Parsley was actually a boy disguised as a girl for one reason or another. Of course, she said this to get under her sisters skin; it worked every time.

As far as Pinach, he was of the same skin tone, but his hair was much shorter than his sisters. He was only 10, so he was still slight in stature and build.

“So, you're leaving,” Parsley commented.

“What do you care?” Sarada replied snappishly.

She sneered haughtily. “I don't. I just wanted to see whether you would accept your fate or not. You didn't disappoint me. You're planning on running away, aren't you?”

Sarada didn't answer.

“Thought so. This is a waste of time, you know. You'll never get stronger on your own if you couldn't with the very best tutors elite money can buy.” She shook her head, words dripping with the manipulative emotion that she had become famous for. “I can't imagine how hurt our mother will be once she finds out you left.”

“Our mother wouldn't give a damn and you know it,” she spoke before Parsley could even finish. “She doesn't care about anyone. Not you, not me, not him,” she continued, cocking her head at their brother. “If you think your horseshit will stop me from leaving, think again. You're going to get the hell out of my way, and I'm leaving this place so I can train and become the strongest saiyan the universe has every known.”

Parsley snickered, then outright laughed in her face. “You're delusional!” she choked. “Fine, by all means. Die in outer space for all I care. More food for me, anyway.”

Sadara stared her down, her white hot rage evident behind her striking amber eyes. She turned her gaze to Pinach, who had been standing silently for the duration of the conversation. They locked eyes for a long time, but he said nothing.

She expected nothing less. He was becoming just like their father.

Sadara brushed past her sister, who was still giggling, and left the place where their “family” met every once in a while for the last time.

Start Point 4:

Days passed and the pod ship Sarada stole was nearing its destination. When she left, she quickly realized that she had very little experience navigating a pod, and resorted to inputting a random set of coordinates in a bid to leave as soon as possible. Those random set of coordinates took her a lot further away than she anticipated.

"Arrival imminent. Prepare for landing."

Alright, Sarada. Your journey to absolute, unrivaled greatness if about to begin. Let's see that bitch Parsley laugh when she sees how strong I've become!

The pod penetrated the planet's atmosphere as it made its descent. Sarada's heart was racing with anticipation. She could hardly wait to land and get started with her training. This planet was sure to have many strong fighters that could possibly help her reach her full potential. Even if it was just fighting her with their full power; if she played her cards right, they may have even shared a few of their techniques. She wasn't so far up Vacado's ass that she refused to acknowledge that the universe was just filled to the brim with powerful people who knew how to channel their ki in ways the saiyans had likely never thought possible.

It was so exciting!

The pod landed with a tremendous crash, leaving in its wake a massive crater. However, thanks to the cutting edge collision-absorption technology equipped within the pod's outer shell, Sarada didn't feel so much as a jostle. "Alright! Here we go!" She clipped her scouter to her ear and opened the pod door. A burst of freezing cold air slapped her in the face, but she paid it no mind.

"Let's see where all the strong people are." She tapped the scouter to scan the area. Almost immediately, a large cluster of blips flashed across the screen, as well as an arrow directing her in their direction. Nodding, she started sprinting in that direction.

[Yun Lao]

As if on cue, Ajna's foot scuffed the ground not far away as he came within hearing distance of the two, one a young man, the other a woman with some sort of skin thing going on. Wonder what's up with that. Shrugging it off mentally, he approached and made himself known by answering the question.

"Well, three seems about the total number of people in this no-horse-town, yeah. Where the Hell am I?"

Charco jabbed his thumb behind, gesturing to the wooden sign at the entrance of town before summing it up by saying, "Dusk City."

The situation was getting more and more confusing by the minute, and Charco was far from behind a detective.

"So, any ideas of what's up with this place, anyone?"

[Tami]

The barkeep pauses, then regretfully nods.

“Aye, been a few hunters and the likendiaplearing recently. But now poor Rose is gone just this day. Seems like a curse on our village.”

Another man snorts.

“Ain’t that, ya fool. They just got taken in the cold. It happens, even if it has been a few more than usual.”

"Taken in the cold?" Meagan looked at them puzzled, "Is the cold here sentient? Is it some kind of beast or spirit that it takes people away?"