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

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The confusion and fear and anger seem to be overwhelming it’s ability to understand what she is saying or trying to do.

In many ways a familiar situation, Ishtar felt the confusion, fear, and anger that was filtered through this dissonant consciousness had stripped away its ability to reason ... and really its ability to function; and in feeling this the Oni sighed.

So be it then.

As the others continued their probing, and planning, even as Sarada, Ereshkigal, and Nunlil found themselves slowly becoming evermore lost, the golden-eyed Oni sighed from her cross-legged position, before letting the natural barriers guarding her mind lower slightly.

'I ask forgiveness in advance,' doing what she did for Evangeline over one year before, Ishtar then began to slowly siphon away what anger, and confusion was felt by this 'Other', into herself hoping that, should sufficient quantities of both be stolen away from it ... it might come to see the light of reason, and cease its mindless thrashing. Or at least stymie its efforts to envelop the Room of Spirit and Time ... along with its current residents.

[Yun Lao]

It is reflected back.

Catching it, he clenched his hand with the energy within dispelling it from existence. With that, his skin and hair reverted back to their human guise, sensing no reason to bother continuing at this state. In the end, it was like dropping a rock down a hole only to hear silence. The entity within the room was sentient in some form or fashion, so to further antagonize it would be foolhardy.

"What's going on here?" Turning, Quila saw Charco approach, having been abandoned by Cyanna during her bout of curiosity.

"Something dwelling within the Room of Space and Time has taken several of our companions hostages, although it does not appear to be hostile, just aggressive."

Charco nodded for a moment, unfamiliar with the child who addressed him, yet not bothering to care about it. Judging by the sounds of the situation, this was a job for one of their mystical types. Any attempt at assistance from him would be like throwing gas onto an open flame.

[Tami]

One more time, Meagan opens the third eye and looks into the mist. The Eye uses the Energy of Aethi to seek out the energy of Kan, of emotion. If she can do this, perhaps she can manipulate that energy just enough to calm whatever is inside the mist.

[grampagen]

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, allow me a moment to look." Etrina stepped up beside them, eyeing the entrypoint to the room while pulling her glove tight. Expanding her senses, specifically for mystic sources of energy, Etrina allowed the other to carry their own attempts while she probed into what lied beyond. Anything she could discern regarding the nature of focus of the counter force pushing against their advance could prove a useful resource.

"How fortunate that you've arrived," he said.

As he'd heard it - usually from Zaofan in efforts to bring some levity in the face of their sordid inheritance - the matters of the mystical and specifically aberrations in the temporal were a realm Etrina was familiar with. He could not claim to understand in full the length of what he had heard from him, the discipline of magecraft a span apart from the more familiar world of warriors. A more subtle craft of cultivation, spellcraft seemed to reach into realms beyond the self, power amassed through contracts and consolidations of beings from one plane to another.

"All I've managed to discern thus far is that whatever is in there will not submit quietly," he said. "And yet despite its power there is something that renders it fearful."

Etrina finds a sense of scattered thought. As if the presence arrived within the RoSaT, but when it did so became....scattered. The barrier of displaced time within the RoSaT normally did something when the entity arrived there.

Sasheem’s Venom Mist does seem to eat away at the most in a small section.

The confusion and fear and anger seem to be overwhelming itÂ’s ability to understand what she is saying or trying to do.

Ochazuke witnessed the effect a softer attack had on the mist. The slow push forward penetrated the mist. Was it due to the magical nature? Or was it because whatever lay beyond the chamber door was fixated upon something else within its fractured mind?

"Hmm..."

So he relented. Folding his legs beneath him, he took a seat before the temporal fog in the chamber. Touching his fingertips together above his lap, he inhaled deeply.

Karura no Kaen, the ethereal flame.

The flame of the Dragon School cast from within had served him well in immolating impediments to realization. It had once illuminated a realm of false consciousness when it burned the Junjo illusion to cinders; perhaps it could do so again. But beyond the thick gaseous shroud beyond the door were the comrades he could not directly reach, and the scattered consciousness apart from his own.

"Forcing the immaterial to yield through physical might will be as effective as trying to restrain water or grains of sand between our hands," he said to the others. "Perhaps there is another way."

As he had done before, he stretched his meditation field through the skill of Kyokushin Keihatsu through the passage beyond, reaching out with his energy to field the scope of this seemingly endless space he could not see, but with this cultivated skill was slowly beginning to understand. Bowing his head forward, Ochazuke closed his eyes and poured every ounce of his concentration into the task, and amplified his focus further with Kei'i-Ken.

Seated there searching, he sought the depth of scattered feeling, and the moment to act.

[MrSandman]

Etrina finds a sense of scattered thought. As if the presence arrived within the RoSaT, but when it did so became....scattered. The barrier of displaced time within the RoSaT normally did something when the entity arrived there.

"Hmm....I see now. Interesting." Etrina paused to contemplate the information. The being that existed in the present as a cloud of barely conscious mist had in the past attempted to enter the RoSat, but due to the difference in temporal energy between inside and outside it had somehow scattered the being into a haze that it seemed unable to reconstitute from.

With that in mind, there was a solution that Etrina could attempt...though it required a point of casting closer to the heart of the cloud.

"What's going on here?" Turning, Quila saw Charco approach, having been abandoned by Cyanna during her bout of curiosity.

"Something dwelling within the Room of Space and Time has taken several of our companions hostages, although it does not appear to be hostile, just aggressive."

Charco nodded for a moment, unfamiliar with the child who addressed him, yet not bothering to care about it. Judging by the sounds of the situation, this was a job for one of their mystical types. Any attempt at assistance from him would be like throwing gas onto an open flame.

"How fortunate that you've arrived," he said.

As he'd heard it - usually from Zaofan in efforts to bring some levity in the face of their sordid inheritance - the matters of the mystical and specifically aberrations in the temporal were a realm Etrina was familiar with. He could not claim to understand in full the length of what he had heard from him, the discipline of magecraft a span apart from the more familiar world of warriors. A more subtle craft of cultivation, spellcraft seemed to reach into realms beyond the self, power amassed through contracts and consolidations of beings from one plane to another.

"All I've managed to discern thus far is that whatever is in there will not submit quietly," he said. "And yet despite its power there is something that renders it fearful."

"I would imagine its present situation is what it is afraid of. I would be if my form had been reduced to a cloud of barely functioning miasma by a time anomaly." Etrina stepped up past the sitting Ochazuke, eyeing the man quickly as she passed. "This being was once something else, and if it was once then it can be so again. I just need a closer point to observe the flow of time that led to this form. Would you...hold this a moment." Etrina held out her hand a ball of blue, glowing energy materialized. "Well....I mean watch more then hold. I mean an observer I can remain in contact with on this side. I'll be going inside."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ishtar, you cannot make contact to start siphoning. It remains....elusive.

Ochazuke, your technique can start to let you walk in just fine, the fire ki burning away the mists quite well. Well enough to get Etrina inside no doubt.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

One more time, Meagan opens the third eye and looks into the mist. The Eye uses the Energy of Aethi to seek out the energy of Kan, of emotion. If she can do this, perhaps she can manipulate that energy just enough to calm whatever is inside the mist.

She finds the anger but then, like Ishtar, cannot seem to grasp it to lessen it.

[Tami]

She finds the anger but then, like Ishtar, cannot seem to grasp it to lessen it.

Instead of trying to manipulate it, Meagan instead focuses on envisioning it. Like Eva seeing the threads of Fate, Meagan attempts to see the energies surrounding this entity and the pattern they form. If it works, she might be able to see the source of the energy, it's emotional and psychic aura.

As she does, Meagan also seeks out the full spectrum energy signatures of those trapped inside, Nunlil, Eskagrahal, Sarada and Isthar.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

There was no doubt about it. Sarada couldn't deny it when and if she got free of this damnable mist. She fucked up by running in headlong without so much as scouting the area out to check for danger or traps. As a result, she was hopelessly lost with no idea how to get back to the Lookout. "Damn it!" she growled in frustration. She could feel Ishtar, but had no idea where she was or how to even find her.

No matter where she turned and walked, it seemed that she only became more and more lost. "It's this stupid mist. If it wasn't here, I'd be able to find my way out no fucking problem!" In a burst of anger, she fired a crimson bolt of energy in a random direction. It cut through the mist, then slowed and -- surprisingly -- bounced back toward her. She dove out of the way to avoid getting hit. "I have to get rid of this **** somehow. If blast it won't work, then maybe moving it will."

She sucked in a deep breath of air, and let loose a Roar of Defiance in hopes that it did something positive.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat waits outside while walking around the Lookout looking around for Jinzi saying " so when are you going to start build that communicator for me." " I don't think you know my people's Princess but her name is Qaztoh." " she happens to be a established professional Shogi Player." " have you ever heard of the Intergalactic Shogi Cup?"


" I guess not." "I doubt anyone on this planet has ever heard of it. " " I'm still wondering even the people on this planet even play Shogi?" " well anyways it's a tournament that's hosted once a year where professional Shogi players from different planets gather to prove who's the best among them."


" I can understand if you're not into such a game." " it's kind of boring to watch." " still it has it's fans." " oh and Megan told me that something dangerous is happen in one of the Lookout's rooms."

" so I'm waiting out here." " while we wait does any one who's out here with me want to play a game ?" " a game of Shogi perhaps or what ever is people on this planet play to pass the time?"

[grampagen]

Ishtar, you cannot make contact to start siphoning. It remains....elusive.

Ochazuke, your technique can start to let you walk in just fine, the fire ki burning away the mists quite well. Well enough to get Etrina inside no doubt.

The still lake swallows the raging river. The faint winds shatters the placid mirror with endless ripples.

Seated there before the entrance to the unknown, Ochazuke mused quietly as he continued to push ki, the force of will, beyond the veil, carrying with it the ethereal flame , and where it lit shrouded eyes and many-angled tendrils therein, it burned without heat, consuming in part the falsehoods that brought the scattered entity to its animalistic fear. Perhaps it would serve as a beacon for those inside.

"Hmm....I see now. Interesting." Etrina paused to contemplate the information. The being that existed in the present as a cloud of barely conscious mist had in the past attempted to enter the RoSat, but due to the difference in temporal energy between inside and outside it had somehow scattered the being into a haze that it seemed unable to reconstitute from.

With that in mind, there was a solution that Etrina could attempt...though it required a point of casting closer to the heart of the cloud.


"I would imagine its present situation is what it is afraid of. I would be if my form had been reduced to a cloud of barely functioning miasma by a time anomaly." Etrina stepped up past the sitting Ochazuke, eyeing the man quickly as she passed. "This being was once something else, and if it was once then it can be so again. I just need a closer point to observe the flow of time that led to this form. Would you...hold this a moment." Etrina held out her hand a ball of blue, glowing energy materialized. "Well....I mean watch more then hold. I mean an observer I can remain in contact with on this side. I'll be going inside."

"It remains to be seen what its true shape is," he said, "But you are correct, there is little that speculation will yield."

Not while the danger remains within.

He raised his hands up and took the orb from her, still seated there in his meditational poise, head bowed and eyes closed. It was taking substantial effort from Ochazuke to maintain the clearing in the mist before them.

"I'll keep the path open for your return," he replied. "See it done."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley hummed curiously as things progressed along somewhat smoothly. A new human appeared and spoke about venturing into the room on her own to... try something. She wasn't sure what this small girl could do, but as long as it got her idiot sister out of that room in one piece, then Parsley didn't care. She was willing to allow this creature to make her attempt, as long as it had some kind of positive result.

She was tempted to follow this being inside, just to make sure nothing lashed out at her and to make sure she actually knew what she was doing. Whatever that thing was, this was likely their only chance to free the fools who wondered in ignorantly. If this failed, she was hard-pressed to think of another way to penetrate the mist. That was to say unless the martial philosopher at her feet had a means he kept hidden for one reason or another.

"Do hurry," she told the human girl. "My idiot sister is bound to do something rash and stupid the longer she's trapped in there."

[MrSandman]

"Do hurry," she told the human girl. "My idiot sister is bound to do something rash and stupid the longer she's trapped in there."

"I'm sure Ishtar can keep her leveled for the time being.....and the room hasn't exploded yet, so there is that. Besides, you really shouldn't worry....Hurry or not, time is on my side." Etrina gave the saiyan a confident smile. There seemed not a bit of doubt in the young mages face.

The still lake swallows the raging river. The faint winds shatters the placid mirror with endless ripples.

Seated there before the entrance to the unknown, Ochazuke mused quietly as he continued to push ki, the force of will, beyond the veil, carrying with it the ethereal flame , and where it lit shrouded eyes and many-angled tendrils therein, it burned without heat, consuming in part the falsehoods that brought the scattered entity to its animalistic fear. Perhaps it would serve as a beacon for those inside.



"It remains to be seen what its true shape is," he said, "But you are correct, there is little that speculation will yield."

Not while the danger remains within.

He raised his hands up and took the orb from her, still seated there in his meditational poise, head bowed and eyes closed. It was taking substantial effort from Ochazuke to maintain the clearing in the mist before them.

"I'll keep the path open for your return," he replied. "See it done."

"Thank you." Etrina turned and stepped towards the open pathway, pausing long enough to shift her head back. "Keep them out of trouble til I get back." Though she glanced in his direction, Ochazuke would get the impression Etrina wasn't talking to him in particular. A moment later, and she vanished into the mist.

-----

Once Etrina was sure she had passed the boundary into the Room, she conjoured forth several more of the small glowing orbs that she had given to Ochazuke and sent them flying out into the mist filled chamber. Her magical senses had been linked to them, allowing her a much grander picture of the surroundings then would be possible had it just been her on her own. The purpose of course was two fold, to give her spellwork a much larger image of the mist as a whole to work with, and to locate the ones who had entered before her. If the spellwork failed she had, at the very least, a link back to the outside she could attempt to lead them through.

But she was not deep enough yet. Etrina continued, to where the mist was thickest.

[Lord Falcon]

She finds the anger but then, like Ishtar, cannot seem to grasp it to lessen it.

How passing strange, as Ishtar would say. Evangeline and Kai were reborn, somewhere in these swirling mists. But a creature lay within, something angry and confused. Something lost, and needing a guiding light. Asha'rah glowed as she floated into the mist, shining like the sun. Rays cut through where they could, lit up the mists where they could not, their light refracted a thousand-fold. Asha'rah's voice echoed through the chamber with a depth that belied her small frame.

"We come in peace, young one, merely to retrieve our own. Your anger is real and genuine No one likes to be left in confusion."

First validation. Then, an olive branch. She settled down, legs crossed in the lotus position, and breathed deep, her eyes closed.

"Focus on me. Just breathe with me a moment. Let your worries melt away. There's just you and me. Breathe."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Between Meagan helping and Ochazuke making a path, Etrina gets in easily to the heart of the mists. Surprisingly, Asha’rah also enters and makes it fine.

The overall anger, confusion, and fear is....less now. More....docile.