Dragonball M, Chapter 2: Lighthouse! Across the Shores of Shattered Time!

[rhyvurg]

She replied out loud.

“I’m dying. Healing won’t stop it. Banefire’s power is....formidable. I have only a minute or so more.”

She smiles warmly, hugs Kai, who looks stricken, and then places her hands on his head. They glow, and for a moment, so to do Kai’s eyes.

“But another shall take my place. For a brief time at least. Do not worry, this too has purpose. Jack and I, we shall be busy in Otherworld. There is much to do, for Jagam and another come soon. Six months at the most until they arrive. You must all prepare.”

She smiles and grabs Ishtar’s hand.

“This moment is temporary, my friend. We shall see each other again soon.”

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

“I shall hold it safe until you return, Eva. I promise.”

A guardian’s staff appears in his hands and Kai nods to it, then looks at them all.

“It seems we have six months to prepare.”

OT: Six minutes too late, damn

IC: Adam freezes in the process of attempting to form something to isolate Eva's injuries so the cause of her ailment could be extracted. "I...failed..."

[Cyke]

She replied out loud.

“I’m dying. Healing won’t stop it. Banefire’s power is....formidable. I have only a minute or so more.”

She smiles warmly, hugs Kai, who looks stricken, and then places her hands on his head. They glow, and for a moment, so to do Kai’s eyes.

“But another shall take my place. For a brief time at least. Do not worry, this too has purpose. Jack and I, we shall be busy in Otherworld. There is much to do, for Jagam and another come soon. Six months at the most until they arrive. You must all prepare.”

She smiles and grabs Ishtar’s hand.

“This moment is temporary, my friend. We shall see each other again soon.”

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

“I shall hold it safe until you return, Eva. I promise.”

A guardian’s staff appears in his hands and Kai nods to it, then looks at them all.

“It seems we have six months to prepare.”

Twice.

That's twice now that they've lost their friends today. In what was supposed to be their homecoming. Jack didn't even get to touch the Earth upon his return. And Zaofan couldn't help but think that they had failed the Guardian terribly.

His fists clench. His jaw tightens. His head hangs low. His tears fall.

"...six months. Six months to prepare. They will not be in vain as long as we remember Jack and Lady Evangeline."

[Yun Lao]

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

Shutting his eyes, Charco allowed himself to hit the ground. Clenching his jaws beneath tightly pressed lips, he suppressed the urge to cry, let found his eyes growing blurry with tears.

Just because they could wish them back didn't make it hurt less.

[Tami]

She replied out loud.

“I’m dying. Healing won’t stop it. Banefire’s power is....formidable. I have only a minute or so more.”

She smiles warmly, hugs Kai, who looks stricken, and then places her hands on his head. They glow, and for a moment, so to do Kai’s eyes.

“But another shall take my place. For a brief time at least. Do not worry, this too has purpose. Jack and I, we shall be busy in Otherworld. There is much to do, for Jagam and another come soon. Six months at the most until they arrive. You must all prepare.”

She smiles and grabs Ishtar’s hand.

“This moment is temporary, my friend. We shall see each other again soon.”

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

“I shall hold it safe until you return, Eva. I promise.”

A guardian’s staff appears in his hands and Kai nods to it, then looks at them all.

“It seems we have six months to prepare.”

First Jack, then Eva. Meagan suddenly felt lost, confused and angry. Kneeling on the ground next to where the Guardian had been, her hands on the hard, cold plaza stone, the Chromakai warrior's chest grew tight as her eyes misted up. Suddenly slamming her fist into the stone, creating a small crater in the process, she sat back on her heels and looked up. As she did, she could hear a faint voice in her mind, "Never give up hope, child. Never give up or give in.".

With that she stood up, wiping her face dry, "Yes," she said with a shallow breath before regaining her self and turning to look at him, "yes, we have much work to do Lord Kai."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

She replied out loud.

“I’m dying. Healing won’t stop it. Banefire’s power is....formidable. I have only a minute or so more.”

She smiles warmly, hugs Kai, who looks stricken, and then places her hands on his head. They glow, and for a moment, so to do Kai’s eyes.

“But another shall take my place. For a brief time at least. Do not worry, this too has purpose. Jack and I, we shall be busy in Otherworld. There is much to do, for Jagam and another come soon. Six months at the most until they arrive. You must all prepare.”

She smiles and grabs Ishtar’s hand.

“This moment is temporary, my friend. We shall see each other again soon.”

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

“I shall hold it safe until you return, Eva. I promise.”

A guardian’s staff appears in his hands and Kai nods to it, then looks at them all.

“It seems we have six months to prepare.”

Totoma, having reverted from his hitozaru form, watched in silence as the others attended to Eva. She was dying. He owed her so much, and yet he was completely helpless to do anything. Between her and Jack... hmph, some hero he was.

Thanks for everything, Eva.

It was good that it hadn't been Jagam this time, but hearing that he was to arrive in six months... that was troubling. Sure, it meant they had six months of hard training to prepare, but would it be enough? He hoped so, but part of him doubted their chances even then.

[Tami]

First Jack, then Eva. Meagan suddenly felt lost, confused and angry. Kneeling on the ground next to where the Guardian had been, her hands on the hard, cold plaza stone, the Chromakai warrior's chest grew tight as her eyes misted up. Suddenly slamming her fist into the stone, creating a small crater in the process, she sat back on her heels and looked up. As she did, she could hear a faint voice in her mind, "Never give up hope, child. Never give up or give in.".

With that she stood up, wiping her face dry, "Yes," she said with a shallow breath before regaining her self and turning to look at him, "yes, we have much work to do Lord Kai."

Before doing anything else, Meagan put her hands together, left hand lower than right so that her fingers touched her palm. She then bowed her head and spoke a prayer, softly and respectfully, in her native language. A prayer for the souls of the departed. She then spoke in common, "May the Lords beyond the veil look kindly on their souls and regard them well as warriors and heroes. Blessings Jack Knave, Warrior; Blessings Lady Evangeline, Guardian."

Once her prayers were done, she turned and walked towards the edge of the lookout. Activating her communicator, she called, "Jinzi, it's Meagan. The Lookout is secure but we lost Evangeline, we lost Jack." her voice shook a little as she spoke, "Please respond, I need to know that you are safe."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Jinzi doesn’t answer Ishtar or Meagan right away. After a few heart wrenching moments, however, a cough and Jinzi’s voice speaks back over the comms.

‘Damn, Damn that’s......Yeah, Yeah we’re fine. Both of us. The ship blew up and I only regained consciousness a minute or so ago. Eresh is ok too.’

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She replied out loud.

“I’m dying. Healing won’t stop it. Banefire’s power is....formidable. I have only a minute or so more.”

She smiles warmly, hugs Kai, who looks stricken, and then places her hands on his head. They glow, and for a moment, so to do Kai’s eyes.

“But another shall take my place. For a brief time at least. Do not worry, this too has purpose. Jack and I, we shall be busy in Otherworld. There is much to do, for Jagam and another come soon. Six months at the most until they arrive. You must all prepare.”

Ishtar had known, in laying eyes upon that roiling mass of foul energy that stripped away what little remained of Evangeline, deep down the Oni had known. So when Evangeline's voice rang out across the Lookout for all to hear, the Oni was not as surprised as she might have been ... and still, the pain of knowing- coupled as it was with Sarada's own- was crippling.

And in part that was to do with hope.

After all ... Evangeline's body had been metallic, at least partly so. Regardless of the answer the golden-eyed Oni was given, she had intended to bind the young guardian to herself. A method that should have at least bought time .. to stymie the corruption, to affect a cure. Asha'rah's offering of creation energy could have- and should have- been enough; after all it had been used to restore the Oni's own body after it had been burnt up ... and when the Goddess herself had been far weaker. Yet in the end, and as had been prove ad nauseam, regardless of one did, or wished, or attempted to do:

Time continued on, undaunted, to its logical endpoint.

Unlike before however, when Ishtar had lost one she cared for without so much as 'goodbye', Time afforded at least that chance.

She smiles and grabs Ishtar’s hand.

“This moment is temporary, my friend. We shall see each other again soon.”

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

When the dying Kami reached out to take Ishtar's hand, then, offering her promise that they would see each other again, the Oni nodded weakly, though she did not speak. How could she ? The truth of this- that the Oni would miss her, regardless- was evident; and the golden-eyed Oni had not the time to ask forgiveness for failing to protect- another- one she cared for.

So instead, Ishtar forced herself to look at Evangeline and smile ... and though it did not touch the Oni's golden-eyes; the smile offered was not one bereft of happiness. After all, there was at least something the Oni could say ...

"Until we do ... I will continue on the path you helped me find ... Thank you, Evangeline ..."

With a final soft sigh then, the young woman who had brought together all those who now stood upon the surface of the Lookout through the fire of her spirit- and desire to set things right- faded away to nothing and died... and for a time, Ishtar simply stood there silent; and while the Oni's golden-eyes welled up with tears that threatened to blind her ... she refused, choosing instead to reach down to retrieve Evangeline's Halo.

After all, in the end there was no reason to give herself over to grief ... Evangeline had expressed as much herself with a smile.

They would see each other again, soon.

“I shall hold it safe until you return, Eva. I promise.”

A guardian’s staff appears in his hands and Kai nods to it, then looks at them all.

"It seems we have six months to prepare.”

As the Ronin Kai, the interim Kai, spoke of all the work yet to be done; Ishtar held the former Kami's Halo close even as she offered a nod. "Time enough to become what I know I must." Six months was not long in the end ... nothing more than a minuscule grain of sand on the shores of Time's Ocean ... and yet it would have to be enough. That she had Sarada to aid her in this would be a blessing beyond most, and a thing they could start as soon as they were able. Though ...

For now, the golden-eyed Oni would allow Sarada her time to grieve. The woman knew well enough, what her Saiyan love was suffering through, and knew even better how little she wished to share such feelings with others ... even the ones she cared for. So instead of taking off after her immediately, Ishtar would force herself to wait. At least until Sarada herself to be found.

So as Ishtar walked over to sit by her cousin, Nunlil, as the pink-skinned Oni recovered from the damage she sustained; the blue-skinned Oni offered her lover a telepathic word ...

'I will be here when you are ready, Sarada.'

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Jinzi doesn’t answer Ishtar or Meagan right away. After a few heart wrenching moments, however, a cough and Jinzi’s voice speaks back over the comms.

‘Damn, Damn that’s......Yeah, Yeah we’re fine. Both of us. The ship blew up and I only regained consciousness a minute or so ago. Eresh is ok too.’

Hearing this, as Ishtar sat by Nunlil, and offered what aid she could to Slak, and Chuan; the Oni tapped the communication device and offered a response. "A silver-lining, at the least. Would you like some assistance ?"

[Tami]

Jinzi doesn’t answer Ishtar or Meagan right away. After a few heart wrenching moments, however, a cough and Jinzi’s voice speaks back over the comms.

‘Damn, Damn that’s......Yeah, Yeah we’re fine. Both of us. The ship blew up and I only regained consciousness a minute or so ago. Eresh is ok too.’

"I'll come and get you...." Meagan lifted off of the plaza, trying to pin down where Jinzi was.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Jinzi coughs before replying.

‘Yeah, Nunlil should be able to find me easy enough. Have her come get us.’

[Tami]

Jinzi coughs before replying.

‘Yeah, Nunlil should be able to find me easy enough. Have her come get us.’

"I..."Meagan nodded, "I understand." She then flew over to Nunlil, "Jinzi got himself in a little trouble and he could use a lift. Can you find him and teleport him here? Isthar's daughter should be with him."

[Lord Falcon]

Huh.

Sarada didn't know what she was expecting, but she didn't really think that would work. It did, to her amazement.

"Okay, I got it."

But, it would only be temporary. She could feel the demonic gun trying to free itself. If it did, this battle would start anew and they'd be battling a pissed off… what the hell this spirit was.

"But it won't hold. We need something better to contain it. And fast."

She replied out loud.

“I’m dying. Healing won’t stop it. Banefire’s power is....formidable. I have only a minute or so more.”

She smiles warmly, hugs Kai, who looks stricken, and then places her hands on his head. They glow, and for a moment, so to do Kai’s eyes.

“But another shall take my place. For a brief time at least. Do not worry, this too has purpose. Jack and I, we shall be busy in Otherworld. There is much to do, for Jagam and another come soon. Six months at the most until they arrive. You must all prepare.”

She smiles and grabs Ishtar’s hand.

“This moment is temporary, my friend. We shall see each other again soon.”

And with that, with a soft sigh, Eva’s body fades away and is gone save her metal halo, which clinks to the ground. Kai, mastering himself, nods.

“I shall hold it safe until you return, Eva. I promise.”

A guardian’s staff appears in his hands and Kai nods to it, then looks at them all.

“It seems we have six months to prepare.”

Evangeline summoned her reserves to get back on her feet, sealing Banefire away within the capsule. But that last act took what little there remained within her, so great were her internal wounds. A pit opened up within Asha'rah's core, threatening to drag everything that she was. She wanted to lose herself within that nothingness. It had been a long time since Asha'rah had felt this much pain. Death was by no means new to her. She had seen countless lives end, for such was the way to instill urgency in the universe. But it never made losing those close to her easy. Nor should it.

She shut her eyes and let out a silent scream into the skies, venting in the only way she would allow herself. Then she took a deep breath, forcing herself to run through the events that had just passed, even though they were the last things she wanted to focus on.

"How is Evangeline planning to return?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Sarada felt it the moment it happened. It was sudden, unexpected. She thought they could save her. She thought her wounds would have been healed by now and she'd be informing the others of what happened. A story that Sarada would have been able to hear through the comm-link.

But no. The universe had deemed that she and the others hadn't suffered enough this day.

Eva was dead.

The woman who saved her from certain -- if not temporary -- enslavement at the hands of her own people was gone. The sting of losing Jack was sharp and nagging, persistent. This pain, however, coupled by the guilt of having left mere minutes before her passing, was haunting. Eva had given so much to help them find the paths they needed to in order to meet at a singular point in the universe. Earthers, Nevadians, Saiyans, Chromakai, Kai, Oni, and even Androids, all assembled through individual plucks on the strings of their fates. The cost of such meddling was high. It was said that Eva would not be greeted kindly when she passed over. She was accepting of that fate, for her actions saved the world she was tasked with protecting.

And now, her life had come to an end. That was two people Sarada cared about, gone.

She finally reached her destination, Jack's secret hideaway of all places. Many times had she come to this place to spend time with her Earthman; today, she came to grieve. A place only she knew about now.

The air was frigidly cold, causing her tears to dry almost immediately and create white tracks down her dark skin. As she pushed the door open, she was bombarded by memories of mere months ago. Laughter, tears of joy, the roiling thrall of passionate nights, the roars of victory from successful hunting, growls of frustration at losing her money when they played the poker. It all came back to her; some one after another, others all at once.

She could still hear his booming laughter the first time she arrived, when he asked where they stood. At the time, she thought she was giving an honest answer when she said they were friends. They were, and in Saiyan culture, mating between friends was nothing but a means to pass the time and bond as companions. Yet, now that she looked back at it in hindsight, she was lying. She lied to him, and she lied to herself. There was more there than simple friendship. For him, it was obvious now that she looked back on it. For her, it took him dying to realize just how much he meant to her.

"I think I might have even loved you if it had lasted."

"How could you say something like that?" she demanded of the empty air surrounding her. "How dare you." Her fists clenched as she collapsed to the floor. Ragged sobs wracked her body as she finally let go of what she had been holding in since that dreaded moment. "How... dare you."

She walked into his bedroom and curled into a ball on his bed, knees drawn up to her chest. Tears fell down the sides of her face and coalesced into a small spot under her. It was so cold outside, yet his bed was so warm. It always had been.

Many nights they spent together in this very bed, sleeping the night away after hours of passion until the sun rose and she departed to train and do the same with Ishtar. Not once did she consider how that would affect him, knowing where she was going and what she was doing. She wasn't subtle about her attraction to Ishtar, nor was she gentle in saying that she only considered him a friend.

"How could you still look at me and smile before you died?" she wondered softly. "Knowing how I treated you for so long. Damn it, why didn't you say something sooner?!" He suffered in silence for months, watching the girl he loved grow closer to someone else. He told her that he wanted her to be happy like she made him happy; she believed him.

She would never forgive herself. How could she? He never stopped caring about her, even after she treated him like nothing more than a plaything while she fell in love with another woman. How could she be so blind? How could she be so selfish? How could she never once consider how Jack would feel watching this from the background, never raising a word or fuss about any of it? Why didn't she realize what she was doing until it was too late?

Sarada continued sobbing until she fell asleep. This day had been a disaster from the start, and only continued to get worse and worse. She was too afraid to return, too afraid to return to a group that had lost yet another member during her absence. She had lost two people dear to her; if she lost more, she didn't know how she would be able to contain herself. It was best, with that in mind, to stay away until she got herself together.

She wanted the Oni to join her, to hold her while she slept, but resisted asking her. This place needed to remain secret. It was a home that only she and Jack knew of, and it needed to stay that way. That meant Ishtar could never see it. 'I'll see you tomorrow,' she telepathically sent to Ishtar.

____________________

Hm. Interesting choice of abode. Tailing Sarada led Parsley to this... frozen hovel of a building in the northern-most continent on this planet. The air was frigidly cold, but cold was nothing that she couldn't handle, even in her state of ill-dress. She stepped through the front door that had carelessly been left open and looked around. It was... amazingly modest; then again, Saiyans didn't have any use for the frivolities of life. At least not the majority of them.

As she looked around, she heard what sounded like sobs and faint talking. Hm? The voice belonged to her sister undoubtedly, and going off what she was murmuring about, someone she knew had died recently.

How strange.

Saiyans weren't ones to grieve overmuch, but they did grieve the loss of ones they cared about in private. Which was the reason why she was here, in this secluded hideaway in the middle of frozen nowhere.

Parsley felt... strange realizing the predicament she had placed herself in. While knowing her sister was crying her eyes out at the loss of a friend/lover/whatever, the urge to comfort her was stronger than she would have liked. Perhaps the instincts of old, when she was younger, still lingered in her cold heart.

Well, she wouldn't be happy to see me. With that in mind, she decided to just wait it out until she was done.

A decision like that should have meant she would return to her hotel room -- which she stole from someone else, while still making them pay for it -- at the island resort. Yet, something compelled her to stay. The sofa she sat down on wasn't necessarily comfortable, but it would do. Surely, this would be a short wait. Sarada would cry her tears, emerge from her hole, then inevitably threaten her to get her to leave. The entire song-and-dance between them had gotten old years ago, yet they persisted.

Perhaps their relationship had devolved to this -- passive-aggressiveness and outright hostility -- or perhaps Saiyans had evolved their way of familial interactions and they had simply been left behind. Whatever the case, Parsley wasn't leaving until she...

What?

Made sure her sister was well? Inquired of who died? Was it Jack? She knew nothing of him, not even what he looked like. Given how distraught her sister was, she was inclined to believe it was.

Hm.

She sniffed the air and caught the same scent she smelled on Sarada months ago. It was him.

A pity. She would have very much enjoyed prying for information. Surely, he must have been a remarkable man if Sarada of all people bedded him.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“The dragonballs. She intends to be revived alongside Jack in five months. Eva knew she would die soon, some forewarning came to her in a dream in the month you were all gone. So during that time, convinced you would all return well, she devoted her time to reading the strings of fate. She found out Jagam and another would arrive soon, and knew that if she was killed there was a person in Otherworld she could go to see to learn from. She only told me this today, while we were talking telepathically. She said her duty compelled her to find for truths even after death, and to find some way to help us even more so.”

Kai holds aloft the staff and looks it over.

“So for now, I’ll be the temporary guardian.”

———

Nunlil nods and within a few moments, a wounded Jinzi and perfectly fine Ereshkigal arrive. Jinzi has one arm that looks broken, alongside a few cuts and bruises.