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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

So edgy.

Just from those two sentences, Sarada could discern a lot. This Totoma hated Saiyans - or rather purebreds - far more than the original had when she first met him. Something must have happened to him a some point after he was nearly killed by Jagam.

"Stronger men than you have tried," she replied icily. "You'll just be another in a line of failures."

“Says the Queen to the Emperor. I don’t know what you’re Queen of, but it can’t be much. You are, after all, only a purebred. Exceptions have to be made for your type.”

He chuckles and moves towards the bracket boards that have started spinning, indicating they are almost ready to showcase who is fighting who.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Says the Queen to the Emperor. I don’t know what you’re Queen of, but it can’t be much. You are, after all, only a purebred. Exceptions have to be made for your type.”

He chuckles and moves towards the bracket boards that have started spinning, indicating they are almost ready to showcase who is fighting who.

"What could a clown like you be Emperor of?" She scoffed dismissively, but was secretly worried. He must have gotten to one of the Saiyan worlds and wiped them out.

I wonder which one it was. It must not have been Vocado, since he doesnt seem to recognize my name. What a dickhead. He's even more aggravating than the original Totoma. Which is saying something.

Without waiting for E. Bekon to answer, she also moved to the bracket board to see her first opponent.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

He smiles a bit sadly at her.

“I have realized I have been unfair to you. You are grown, you are powerful, and you no longer need me to watch over you.”

He sighs and holds out a hand.

“Take my hand, daughter.”

Ishtar offered a sigh of her own, "ah, so nothing to do with the current affairs then." Which meant it was of a more personal sort ... which was understandable as -- loathe as Ishtar herself was to admit it -- there was the possibility of not having another chance. Though given the history between them, and the events of the past few years specifically, what thus was concerning specifically, left it open to be one ... or several ... things.

When the Aspect offered its hand then, the Oni took it with a nod though she found herself somewhat wary, and certainly concerned. After all ...

"You have never used 'daughter' lightly ..."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ishtar offered a sigh of her own, "ah, so nothing to do with the current affairs then." Which meant it was of a more personal sort ... which was understandable as -- loathe as Ishtar herself was to admit it -- there was the possibility of not having another chance. Though given the history between them, and the events of the past few years specifically, what thus was concerning specifically, left it open to be one ... or several ... things.

When the Aspect offered its hand then, the Oni took it with a nod though she found herself somewhat wary, and certainly concerned. After all ...

"You have never used 'daughter' lightly ..."

Ishtar finds herself within a mental landscape, standing with Zurvan before a door with intricate seals placed like a large X across it. There are cracks in the seals and the door, but it mostly remains intact.

“When you were young, Sihn and I placed these here. Beyond that door is....is your destiny. Your Hakai. We were both afraid that you having use of it would make Sakin and others come after you, but I realize now that you not having access to it when your enemies may does not aid you. In fact, it hinders your ability to counter them.”

He places a hand on your shoulder.

“I was blinded by fear, but no longer. If you wish to fully embrace your destiny, Ishtar, then you may break the seals and accept what is on the other side. In you is the chance to restart a proper celestial order once Sakin is defeated.”

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Qaztoh still walking around the Look out " Yeah and I can have these games rigged making them nearly impossible to win at and sucker people out of their hard earn money by jacking up prices on tokens. That's how Captain Stratovarius would do things ! " Oh and that device of mine to lower the birth rate of my species I have the blue prints finish , but it's still going to take a year to complete it " Qaztoh said.

Praxat returns overhearing this. " Qaztoh that isn't right." you shouldn't rip people off the park is for the children not for your own selfish needs." Praxat said Qaztoh shrugs her shoulders " Hey get off my back Praxat I need the money!" Qaztoh said.


Praxat scolds Qaztoh " You get enough money working at Capsule Corp , you don't need to scam people!" Praxat said " Qaztoh throws her ups in the air has her skin turns red with angry emojis in her pendent . " Fine whatever ." Qaztoh said ( I'm still going though it I need the damn money and this is a easy sure fire way to make some screw what Praxat thinks) Qaztoh thought.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

E Bekon.



Clearly a half saiyan or full saiyan. He looks at Sarada and anger simmers in his eyes.

Power level is suppressed. Intent is suppressed.

Whisper.



Power level supressed. Intent suppressed. Psychic shielding present.

Althena looks at her illustrations on her note and shows them to Blizzar . " Okay only people so far that I detected that want the gem are Lady Vatta von Deathstalker and Calamon for his master , He could be working for that evil Jinzi . Can't get a reading on E Bekon and Whisper, " Althena whispers . Althena waves at Incenio.


"Don't mine me Mr. Incenio I was just talking about important photojournalism stuff that is hush, hush secret . My tribe The Orpheus Clan pride ourselves on keeping secrets." Althena said.

[KingofPie]

Althena looks at her illustrations on her note and shows them to Blizzar . " Okay only people so far that I detected that want the gem are Lady Vatta von Deathstalker and Calamon for his master , He could be working for that evil Jinzi . Can't get a reading on E Bekon and Whisper, " Althena whispers . Althena waves at Incenio.

Blizzar nodded.

"Don't mine me Mr. Incenio I was just talking about important photojournalism stuff that is hush, hush secret . My tribe The Orpheus Clan pride ourselves on keeping secrets." Althena said.

"I should hope so..." he muttered quietly, glancing towards the bar.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Blizzar nodded.



"I should hope so..." he muttered quietly, glancing towards the bar.

" Well looks like he doesn't suspect that I'm Clairvoyant and probably doesn't even know that I'm a Kami . I hope giving out name that also happens to be my family name doesn't make Incenio suspicious " Althena whisper to Blizzar

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sgt. Meehsas.



Power Level 1,800,000

Seems very forthright and honorable. Is only doing the tournament to get money to help for a cause.

Seems a more physical fighter. Also seems to have some magic about him.

Candy.



Sorceress. Power level hidden. Steeped in magic. Selfish desire brought her here.

[KingofPie]

The sniper had his target lined in his sights. The Majin. He wasn't sure if this would kill him, but he had to try. It was worth a shot...He squeezed on the trigger without a second thought...and once Sasheem flicked the bullet back through the barrel blasting it through the back of his skull, he thought no longer. Not in the mortal plane of existence, anyway.

That was the last one. Bodies of various bodyguards, hired thugs, and assassins were strewn about the wreckage of the building's first floor. Some had been reduced to ash, others bodies hung from rebar, jutting out of the walls of the damaged building. Most were spread throughout the floor, or hanging from the railing of the grandiose staircase.

Sasheem breathed a cheerful sigh, happy and the quick work he made of this would be ambush. The building shook a bit. The damage he had caused to it in the midst of the brief scuffle was causing the building to lose stability. Didn't matter. His target would die either way, and he'd move on to the next one.

Sasheem flew up, flying through the ceiling after ceiling, floor after floor until he reached the top, until he reached his target, Boss Reuben. Owner of the Reuben Hotel chain, another front for criminal activity, in this case, arms dealing. While, a big deal in the criminal underworld he was lower on the rung than most of the others Sasheem targeted. But if he thought that made him safe, than he'd be a fool.

It didn't take long to find Reuben's office. Quite the cozy looking place. Fireplace. Mahogany desk. Reuben sat in a leather seat that Sasheem considered looting for himself once the crime lord was reduced for corpse. He didn't seem alarmed, prepared to fight, or otherwise perturbed. He simply took a look at Sasheem, took a puff of his cigar and turned around in his seat to face the window behind him.

"Heard you were after Bing Lao," Reuben sighed,

"Turns out that jabroni's a real pain in the ass to find," Sasheem shrugged. "He can hide all he wants, he'll get what's coming to him. Just like you.."

"Guess it was only a matter of time..." Reuben sniffed. "The media's been talkin' about you, y;know? They know you only go after criminals. This happens to me and my kids...then they know what their father is."

Sasheem shrugged. "Food for thought, Sasheem supposes. Maybe you shoulda held off the whole family life thing once you chose a life of arms dealing..."

"Wasn't my choice," Reuben shrugged. "Doesn't matter now, anyway. You do what you gotta do."

"...what do you mean it wasn't your choice?" Sasheem inquired.

"It's not exactly the most riveting story..." Reuben chuckled. "Wanted to be a baseball player...parents wanted me to inherit the family business. Turned out I was pretty good at it."

"Your kids in the life too?" the Majin questioned.


"Nah," Reuben shook his head. "Never wanted that for them."


"Looks like you didn't live a completely horrible life, then huh?" Sasheem pointed at his target. "Good for you!"

"So...what, you'll let me go now?" Reuben asked.

"Oh no, I just wanted you to consider that before your annihilation," Sasheem began as he rose a hand to charge up a blast of ki. "In the final moments of your death, you can regret the life you've lived or wonder if it worth it as you prepare for the next. Such is the teaching of Doku, disciple of Zxu'Ro. The first rule every student of his assassination arts should know. All life is precious. Even at it's end."

The blast erupted across the floor and shot through the window, dispersing in the air. Reuben was no more and Sasheem whistled as he flew out of the building. Looking behind at his handiwork, Sasheem looked impressed. "Huh....don't even remember lighting that side of the building on fire...nice!" he grinned as the sirens blared across the city streets. Firetruck and police vehicles raced down the streets to Reuben's Hotel and Resort. Behind them an assortment of news crews riding around in their vans.

"..." Sasheem used before descending down in the midst of it all. Once they emerged from their cars, cops were quick to point their weapons at him, to which Sasheem simply rose a hand and stated, "Unless you wanna get yourselves killed, don't bother."

"You can all hold the **** up," the Majin stated raising a hand, before pointing at the news vans gathered. "Hey, all of you. Forget about the fire. No once gives a ****. Put the camera on Sasheem and give him a mic..."

There was an awkward pause for a moment before the news crews slowly stepped out of the van and cautiously obliged his request. Sasheem snatched the mic away from a reluctant reporter and pointed at the camera. "Good afternoon, Capital City! Good morning, evening, whatever the hell it is in your damn timezone, who cares?! This is Sasheem, the greater-..." Sasheem paused for a moment. It was a moniker he no longer claimed...perhaps now was the time for a new nickname. One that befitted his new goals. "Your PEOPLE'S DESTROYER! And he's got a little bit to talk about. First off he's cleaning up your city streets and sure, there's some collateral damage, but that's the price you pay when ya let the scum fester around without anybody takin' care of it. But worry no longer for the People's Destroyer is here to cleanse your society of the filth. Starting with public enemy number uno, Bing Lao!"

"Now, Bing Lao is a notorious crime boss, and furthermore a jabroni, but the fact of the matter is there's one thing he's good at and that's tucking his tail between his legs and finding a good spot to hide," Sasheem informed the people. "But that's okay, a snake always finds it's prey. Doesn't matter if it's a rat or big stupid bird!" the Majin grinned. "So, Sasheem has a little challenge for the good people of Cpaital City and it's surrounding neighbors. Help him find Bing Lao, and help find him fast. Because while Sasheem will save you from your own inaction, he can't say he'll spare any city block as he goes on the search for this dangerous criminal. Streets'll be wrecked, buildings turned on their head. So if you want to help in the pursuit of justice...or if you just know what's best for you," the Majin winked at the camera. "Do your Civic Duty today and find this man for Sasheem before he completely wrecks your city in his own search," he smirked tossing the mic back at the camera man and flying off.

The Majin had an idea. A perfect idea. The era of the Great Annihilator was done. It was time for the PEOPLE...to make way for their destroyer.

[Yun Lao]

Chris the Knife was spotted. He looked much the same as their version did, though Banefire was not on this one’s hip.

Pied Piper.

He has a baseline pl of 500,000 apparently. His hat hid his most of his face, leaning against a wall and softly playing a flute.

Solarius was seen as well. Oddly enough, when their eyes met, he too had some mild recognition in them.

Chris and the Piper were discarded from Charco's attention upon seeing Solarius' reactions. Clearly, he wasn't the only one who had that strange sense of recognition and while he was extremely curious to know the answer of 'why?', he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to figure this out by conventional means.

"Dibs..." He muttered to himself.

-----

Long silence followed from Charco, and the distant expression on his face gave away just how important this was to him. Ever since Ochazuke first met him, he had never known the boy to focus on much else. When he was not enacting his ferocity upon a target to destroy it utterly, he had turned his mind to training and acquiring the knowledge to do the deed.

The technique acquired had proven itself time and again, but of the men and women that steered that hand, traced the path of the terrible claw, he had disturbingly little to say. It seemed he could do little more than imitate their shadows.

"Lost to history, you know how your technique was created. But you barely know why."

More's the pity for their loss. Only a mercenary killer's hand to guide him.

"All it takes for a lie to persist is the truth to remain buried. Lost to time to a savage history that concerns itself with only one thing..."

Standing opposite from Charco across the span of the old desk, the mention of that woman lift Ochazuke's eyes from the poster and towards him.

"...victim?" He grunted, "Of what, spectacle? Cheh."

As the shape sequestered within Charco stirred, it seemed as if something sinister laced the air in the confines of the room. The door he faced seemed to grow all the more distant.

"The lineage of each of the Five Schools stretches back two-thousand years. Master to student, inherited and ceded lands, and blood for blood across generations. They pit themselves against each other, honour-bound to their feud. Yet when certain parties confronted them with something no faction had an answer for, or could blame on the other. Behind closed doors, they were forced to concede to this matter"

A silent chuckle shift his shoulders, though the usual stiffness of his expression exuded little more than loathing.

"Sanphet the Black Tiger, Umehara the Turtle Abbot, Genmai the 64th grand master of the Crane School and Qinglong the Blue Sage of the Dragon," he said. "They continued to call themselves the Five, even though the Snake Mistress of Coral Canyon disappeared with all the teachings of Sasamura no Doku a little over two-hundred years ago by this time"

He traced his finger across the margins of the poster. Hidden there in the crinkles of the border were names written. From one angle it was easy to mistake the calligraphy seal as a trick of the light.

"The remaining Four for the first time in years held a truce, and so put out a private challenge to each of these outspoken schools...though rumours have a way of escaping closed circles."

"Their offered their prize, that whoever would be the victor would be proclaimed the new Fifth, and affix for themselves an unshakable legitimacy in the Martial world," he continued. "The Tournament of Succession was conceived from a vainglorious thought to save face.

"Outwardly, while their participants equally saw it as a chance to prove their legitimacy, the conniving Masters saw this as little more than a diversion, a proving ground and show of force against each other as they seeded their future successors in the brackets against one another. Mocking flattery and brutalization, for some no price is too low for a victory."

Ochazuke stared straight into Charco's eyes, dark and unblinking.

"Or too high."

He was surprised to hear Ochazuke's response. Too readily had the boy prepared himself to hear some sordid tale of how an unknown ancestor of his had squandored the Dino School's honor to fulfill Rex's or their own bloodlust. Instead, Ochazuke spoke of the Five Schools, outwardly regarded as pedestals of each of their philosophies without fault, as the aggressors in this story. The tone of his voice told Charco that Ochazuke was all too familar with the politics within the remaining four schools.

Looking down to the poster resting on the tabletop, he couldn't help but see what was once an friendly invitation through the eyes of cynicism, "So they really just wanted settle their own differences and show off while soaking in the praise by those lesser schools seeking their approval." Charco said, his face setting itself into a grim line. "But... something happened that threatened their reputation."

[KingofPie]

" Well looks like he doesn't suspect that I'm Clairvoyant and probably doesn't even know that I'm a Kami . I hope giving out name that also happens to be my family name doesn't make Incenio suspicious " Althena whisper to Blizzar

"Ohohoho," Blizzar nodded. "Perhaps it's best you keep that one to yourself, eh?" He replied, in a tone that alluded yo the fact that whispering in such close proximity to Incenio was both immensely suspicious and could also result in him overhearing something they wouldn't want him to.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Wolf.



A hunter of somesort. Seems to have a power level of 700,000. Has some sort of advanced armor on. Is here for the ‘hunt’, wishing to test herself.

Titanus.



Eight feet tall, a physical fighter hiding his countenance behind a mask. Is here for the money and glory. Has supressed his powerlevel to just over 500,000. Seems to have growth powers.

[Tami]

Her thoughts briefly wander back home before Meagan steeled herself up for the tournament. Looking up at the board, she waited for the matchups to be listed. She has sized up most of the entrants and noted the ones that posed the greatest challenge, and even considered worst case scenarios as she waited.

[Lord Falcon]

Deleted, reworked in next post.