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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat replies to this saying " thanks so shall I get starting training?" " oh I like to help with you and your allies situation , but I am not sure how much help I could be." " I following the path of the martial artist , but most of my fighting has been in tournaments." " I never actually fought a battle where my life was on the line."

Praxat rises her power level to 8,000 saying " I got this strong thanks to training and sheer determination, but I'm sure your allies are more powerful than I am."

“Then we shall test your abilities. How is your flying and ki sensing first?”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

On day three of the tournament, every other competitor was wary of facing Sarada and Parsley. The winners had varying degrees of difficulty during their matches, but no one breezed through the preliminary round with the speed and ease as the sisters. They both defeated their opponents within literal seconds with the absolute bare minimal effort.

“Their suppressing their power,” Elery, Sarada's upcoming opponent, grumbled. He was right. Sarada and Parsley both had power levels above 20K, yet were suppressing them to about half that. Even as intentionally weakened as they were, they were still too much for even the strongest Super Elite. It was becoming very evident even at this early juncture that whoever faced them from here on out would need a miracle to make them sweat, much less win.

Round II was more of the same as Round I. Sprout opened the day against Coliflo. Both were savvy veteran soldiers who used guile and clever tactics to gain the advantage over their adversary. Them being pitted against one another should have proven to make for a very interesting match-up.

Inside the fighter waiting area, Sarada watched the battle with vested interest. She saw how Sprout used his Corona Flash to give himself an easy win. It was actually an easy attack to avoid. All she had to do was close her eyes. The only difficulty with that strategy, and what made it so unreliable, was that she didn't know when the attack would come.

Should he be her next opponent, more than likely, he would use it right off the bat. It was the only way he'd last long enough to perhaps charge up some of his more powerful attacks.

“Scouting the competition?” spoke someone behind her. It was Maiz.

She wasn't sure how she got back there, but she wasn't complaining. Seeing her calmed the nerves that had been fraying since the day began. “Yeah. I don't want to take any chances.”

“The odds of either Elery or one of them beating you are pretty much zero, assuming you don't fool around,” she noted. She moved forward to stand beside her and cast her gaze on the large monitors. So far, Sprout and Coliflo seemed evenly matched. The former hadn't hit his Corona Flash yet, but the latter was pressing her attack to keep from giving him a chance. “Corona Flash is quite the trump card, wouldn't you say?”

“I would,” she agreed without hesitation. She wouldn't mind tracking him down on Langal and asking him to teach it to her. A maneuver like that would be invaluable against Jagam. Every little advantage added up, after all. “Though, it was a mistake to use it in the very first fight. Now everyone from here on will be looking for it.”

“It isn't a hard tactic to defend against. Its effectiveness is in its suddenness. It you know it's coming, you can avoid it easily.”

She didn't want to grow overconfident, but Maiz was right. If Sprout moved on, then he'd stand little chance against her. She would do what Coliflo was doing and press her attack from the beginning. If he couldn't gain any separation from her, then he couldn't blind her.

Suddenly, Coliflo tossed an energy ball at him. He moved to deflect it, but it exploded into thousands of tiny pinpricks that pierced his flesh. The pricks flashed red twice, then turned solid yellow. The next moment, Sprout dropped out of the air.

“It's over,” Maiz declared.

Sprout struggled to rise to his feet, only to display very little strength in his legs. He stumbled and fell flat on his face, and didn't get up again.

“What did she do?”

“She blocked his ki. That technique is very old, at least a few thousand years old. I wonder who taught it to her.”

Another technique that was invaluable against Jagam. “Don't know. I wouldn't mind learning something like that myself. Combined with Corona Flash, there aren't too many people that I couldn't beat with that.”

“Hm.” Maiz glanced behind her and spotted Parsley walking toward them. “Well, hello. Here to scout the competition, too?”

“Hmph. Hardly. I have no need to 'scout' such weakness.” Parsley watched Sarada and Elery walk onto the teleportation machine and vanish into thin air. “There's only one I'm concerned about.”

If Maiz was surprised or disappointed to hear Parsley take her opponents for granted, she didn't let it show. Instead, she simply watched Sarada fight in silence.

The fight was as quick as the first. Instead of dodging, Sarada merely allowed Elery to wail on her relentlessly for close to a full half-minute. She never budged, flinched, or showed even an inkling of pain.

“Stop mocking me!” Elery roared.

“Then stop wasting my time and fight!” Her fist exploded forward and caught him flush on the jaw.



The punch seemed to be highly concentrated. Instead of sending him flying back, it merely snapped his head back violently. Despite the lack of dramatic flair, the damage was apparent. Elery was out on his feet, staggering like a drunk after an all-night bender. He raised his fists unsteadily. “Is that the best you can do?” he slurred unintelligibly. He staggered forward and tried to throw a punch, but it was so slow and lethargic that even an infant could have dodged it with plenty of time to spare.

She ducked down and swept his legs out from under him, then followed through with a quick knee to his ribs as he fell forward.

He coughed up blood, but still refused to stay down. “I had dreams of being king since I was a little boy,” he slurred. “I won't let you take that from me! I WON'T!” He bellowed and charged her with every ounce of speed he could muster. “THIS IS MY DREAM!! I WON'T LET IT DIE!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” His fist became enveloped with a sterling silver ki that shined more brightly than the morning sun. “SILVER FANG ATTACK!”

A wolf's head erupted form his fist and hurtled toward Sarada. She sighed and let it hit her square in the face as she stepped toward him. “I'll give you this much. You didn't give up after that first punch. Not bad,” she commented. She punched him in the chest hard enough that her fist nearly erupted out the other side.

That was all he could take.

That took longer than Sarada intended, but she at least wanted to give the guy a chance. It was his dream, after all.

When she returned to the waiting area, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Everyone else here wanted to be king or queen more than anything. They trained for a month, and their entire lives before that, just for a chance like this, to rule over their kin. Sarada? She just wanted to keep her sister off the throne. She already accepted the fact that she'd likely be a shitty queen.

None of that mattered. Like in the empire was going to be hell if Parsley won. She wasn't sure what she would do, but she just knew that nearly none of it was going to be positive and reinforce the new reputation Mato had spent so much time and effort building. All his hard work was going to be undone, she just knew it.

“Hmph. That took about three minutes longer than it should have,” Parsley commented.

“Hmph. Wasn't aware we got extra points for speed runs.”

“Hm. How else do you plan on putting fear into your opponent's hearts? If you hold back too much, they may begin to believe they actually stand a chance. Once that happens, they'll believe. There's nothing worse than a weakling who believes in himself.” She smirked haughtily and looked down at Sarada. “Watch my match with Gangal closely. I'll happily show you how an Ultra Elite deals with these Supers.”

“I highly doubt I can learn anything from you.” Sarada sneered. “Unless you plan to teach me how to eat dirt.”

“Funny how you rely on the past for your 'witty' comebacks,” her sister replied corrosively.

“Ooh. Did I strike a nerve?”

“Hardly. I simply have grown bored of your childish witticisms.”

“If that's so, then why do they continue to get under your skin.” She grinned maliciously and leaned in close. “Could it be that you're actually insecure about me being stronger? I mean, how else will you explain leaving so abruptly the other day?”

If Parsley was getting angry, she did a fine job of hiding it. “I was tired, and needed to get some sleep. Not everyone has some hidden motive, Sarada.”

“Not everyone but you, Parsley.”

Maiz watched the two sisters verbally spar days before their seemingly preordained physical confrontation. She had to hand it to Sarada; she had been getting the upper hand in their war of words as of late. Either Parsley was slipping or what Sarada was saying really was getting under her skin.

“Not even me. Regardless of what your imagination likes to tell you.”

“Heh. I guess I just imagined all those years of passive aggressiveness?”

“Hm. Perhaps not. But, is it really my fault you have such thin skin?”

They were so busy trying to one up each other that both failed to realize they had missed Avoca's fight. It was an exciting, closely contested affair that was only won because Avoca managed to hit her opponent with her ki nullification mist before he could get out of the way in time. From there, it was all over.

When she emerged from the teleportation pad, intent on celebrating, she found the two sisters engaged in an intense “discussion”.

“Thin skin, huh? You expect a kid with my kind of hangups to be mental fortified against petty back-biting?”

“Petty back-biting? Is that what you call me helpfully pointing out the obvious to an obtuse boor of a girl who would rather spend her time looking at breasts than training? If so, then that explains far more about you than anything I can ever say.”

Sarada fully intended on replying, but a sharp look from Maiz shut her up.

“You two have said more than enough,” their care-nurse stated coldly. “Parsley, don't you have a match to prepare for?” It wasn't a question in her preparedness, but a warning that she had best take her leave.

“Very well. I'll see you later, Maiz.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley didn't fight until after the afternoon lunch break. Her opponent, Gangal, was an oddity. She was completely unlike any other Saiyan. She was among the few on Vocado to venture to another planet to find a mate. She found one in a man named Steve. Most women were attracted to strength and fighting prowess, but Steve was kind-hearted and generous, which somehow endeared him to the much more powerful Saiyan warrior. They had a child together, named Turnip.

Gangal, like Tasure, found out very quickly that her kind didn't take very kindly to those who bore half-breed children. They chased her away from her homeworld, forcing her to stay with her life-mate/husband on his world. Yesterday was the first time in ten years she had been on Vocado. She intended on winning the tournament and becoming queen so she could continue Mato's policies, with a focus on half-breed relations. She intended on making Vocado a safe place for her family.

After witnessing Sarada and her opponent's matches yesterday, she felt that dream slipping away. But, she didn't come this far just to pack it in a go home. She was going to give it all she had, no matter what!

“Ah, Gangal,” Parsley stated. They stood fifty feet apart on Tarro. Parsley had her arms casually folded across her chest while Gangal got into a fighting position. “Or, would you prefer 'Off Brand Tasure'?”

“Heh.” She knew that Parsley liked to play mindgames, so she didn't let the insult get to her. In fact, she let being compared to the most powerful Saiyan alive psych her up. “I'll take it. I didn't come here to get famous. I came to win.”

“For your... little mongrel, yes?”

“Daughter,” she replied tersely.

“Same thing. We both know that half-breeds can be best classified as mongrels.” She brought a hand to her mouth and laughed superciliously. “Oh. I saw a photo of you and your... what's it called? Husband? What a hideous creature you decided to mate with. Ugh. I can't imagine you not hurling your guts up every time you breathe in his general direction.”

Despite knowing that every word was an attempt to get in her head, Gangal was growing more incensed by the second. “Who the hell do you think you are, talking about my family like that?!”

“Your future queen, of course. Hum, perhaps when I take the throne soon, I'll make a decree officially outlawing interspecies relationships. That'll end your pathetic little arrangement with that animal, unfortunately. Hm. I believe I'll make another one officially declaring all half-breed Saiyans illegal. Of course, that means that all existing ones will have to be euthanized. Shouldn't be too much trouble.”

“You...you're joking...”

Parsley smiled cryptically. “Am I?”

She was in complete shock. Just the thought of her child being executed simply for existing was horrifying. Mind game or no, she couldn't allow Parsley to get to the throne. She was too dangerous, too... too psychotic to be given that kind of power.

The worst part was knowing that a significant portion of Vocado would agree with their queen.

“That does it.” She pointed a stern finger at the much younger girl. “I'm ending your run right here, right now! My daughter is watching at home, and there's no way in hell I'm letting another second go by without her knowing that I'm doing this for her!!”

________________________________

Meanwhile, on a world far away, a man and young girl watch Gangal and Parsley verbally joust. They couldn't quite catch what they were saying, but the man could read lips. Parsley was a monster, if she was being serious. The girl, on the other hand, was thankfully oblivious. She was far too concerned with cheering on her mother.

“Go Mom Go!” she cheered at the top of her lungs. “I believe in you!!”

_________________________________

“Hehe. See, that's the difference between you and me, Parsley. You fight for no one but yourself. You're a selfish person who only acts in your own best interest. Me? I fight for my family. I want my daughter to look at me and see a winner, to see a queen. I want her to grow up feeling unyielding pride in her mother, because right here, right now, I'm going to TAKE YOU DOWN! YOU WON'T BE THE QUEEN OF ANYTHING WHEN I'M DONE! YOU HEAR ME?!” She roared, drawing on her hidden ki reserves to power herself up to her absolute maximum limit. “LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” She charged at Parsley, leaving a cloud of dust and debris in her wake. Her first exploded forward in unison with her scream of righteousness.

With overwhelming speed, Parsley met Gangal halfway and caught her flush with a devastating right hook. It halted her momentum and sent her careening into the ground with a tremendous crash.

As she looked at the unconscious Saiyan woman lay motionless in a crater of her own making, Parsley felt a wave of disgust wash over her. To think that this “warrior” actually thought that the power of love and family and believing in oneself would be enough to compensate for the endless gulf in power between the two of them. To think that Gangal actually thought she would be the one to put an end to her dream. To think that she had any right to lay her filthy, meat-mixing hands on her pristine form for any period of time.

It was laughable.

It was idiotic.

It was, “A pathetic waste of time.” She turned her back on her and started to walk away. The fight was over, and Gangal could happily return to her monstrous creature of a life-mate and her disgusting mutt of a daughter and live the rest of her days in shame and embarrassment. And she would have to live her life knowing that the one time she attempted to fight for her beliefs, she was humiliated by a superior warrior.

No.

A superior person.

Parsley was better than Gangal in every way conceivable. And she took delight in providing the confirmation that Gangal had been subconsciously looking for; that she wasn't unofficially exiled because she bucked trends or rocked the boat, but rather because she was simply a sorry excuse for a Saiyan and a waste of genetic material. If killing wasn't prohibited, Parsley would have killed her right then and there.

All in due time.

Round II concluded two hours later. If the other participants were wary of the sisters this morning, they were nervous at the very thought of fighting them now. The gap in power between those two and the rest of them was unimaginable. The part that made them nervous was just how much power they were holding back.

Round III was more of the same: exciting, closely fought battles that were more often than not won with guile and clever thinking than outright strength and power. The notable victors were Avoca, who once again used her ki reduction technique to give herself an avenue to victory; fan favorite Lemawngras, who's plucky determination was once again enough to eke out an win; Pasley – Lemawngras' son – whose inherited determination let him courageously carve out a come-from-behind win; and Akchoy, whose beautiful techniques dazzled the audience and her esteemed opponent.

Then, there were the sisters Sarada and Parsley, who once again overwhelmed their opponent's by simply being superior in nearly every facet of combat. It was quickly becoming evident that these two were destined to face off in the final fight to determine who would face the winner of the Incumbent Battle Royale.

However, there stood one person who had taken it upon herself to spoil that fate meeting. Avoca, Sarada's best friend since childhood, and her opponent in the next round!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Amidst the crowd, a cloaked person watches the Tournament. It observes the Saiyans, noting their skills, tactics, and power levels.

It observes and waits.

Plans.

Plots.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

“Then we shall test your abilities. How is your flying and ki sensing first?”

Praxat replies to this saying " well I never bother learn how to fly I just used my Ki to enhanced my already impressive jumping ability." "as for Ki sensing I know I can sense multiple people at once, however Ki higher than mine own seems to make my Ki Sensing go haywire.

[Yun Lao]

“I am such for the moment. How may I help you?”

"A new guardian. I will have to update my records to reflect this change."

According to Intel, the guardian was a woman named Evangeline, but in the end, it didn't affect his objective, "I was sent to this world to offer my support to you against the approaching Jagam." Usually, the Last Call sent more than one person, but a certain martial artist from this world had completely wrecked two of their numbers and their commander was off on her own assignment."Although I am but just one addition, I hope you will find my skills satisfactory."

A quick scan showed that the Lookout was... actually pretty empty. Were the others off training elsewhere? He would assume and hope so, for the destruction Jagam left in his wake concerned even Dr. Absinthe. While one of the remaining member on the Lookout, a member of one of the numerous and various Toadian species, had a power level at an impressive 8,000, this would not be enough. Hopefully, the others' training elsewhere would benefit them all.

[grampagen]

Following Samson for a few minutes into tight tunnels finally opens into a magnificent frozen shrine, lit by luminesant frost plants and light refracted through the ice.

“Utterly amazing.” Samson says quietly, moving forward and observing a statue that, if looked at closely, appears to be a broken Wolf statue.

Once they had passed through into the light there deep within the heat of the glacier, set within - and seemingly carved out - of its icy shelf they were greeted by a resplendent, secretive cloister of man.

Unlike the lime and laterite temples through which the jungle had intertwined between the facets of snakes and dragons, the barren, insular hollow, cut off entirely, appeared to be entirely without life within its complex.

"Stilled in time, unchanged." The unfamiliar sight had for Ochazuke an over-familiar notion, and as the Northern sun broke upon the pristine surface of the glacier, splintered into a spectrum of hue through the ice, the abandoned shrine seeemd all the more fragile as he scanned the premises.

Though Ochazuke knew Samson had summoned him and Zaofan here for a reason, the trepidation for what was coming in a few months' time was constantly at the forefront of his mind. As he regarded that shattered Wolf, crumbled from some force unknown, it only brought to mind another low, dark day, where but for the mercy of another he'd been brought to the end of his strength and fell.

"This one isn't of ours," he remarked, "what do you make of it, Balon?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Once they had passed through into the light there deep within the heat of the glacier, set within - and seemingly carved out - of its icy shelf they were greeted by a resplendent, secretive cloister of man.

Unlike the lime and laterite temples through which the jungle had intertwined between the facets of snakes and dragons, the barren, insular hollow, cut off entirely, appeared to be entirely without life within its complex.

"Stilled in time, unchanged." The unfamiliar sight had for Ochazuke an over-familiar notion, and as the Northern sun broke upon the pristine surface of the glacier, splintered into a spectrum of hue through the ice, the abandoned shrine seeemd all the more fragile as he scanned the premises.

Though Ochazuke knew Samson had summoned him and Zaofan here for a reason, the trepidation for what was coming in a few months' time was constantly at the forefront of his mind. As he regarded that shattered Wolf, crumbled from some force unknown, it only brought to mind another low, dark day, where but for the mercy of another he'd been brought to the end of his strength and fell.

"This one isn't of ours," he remarked, "what do you make of it, Balon?"

A very distinctive female voice responds, echoing from the Shrine before them.

“My my, visitors. It has been an age since I last had....guests.”



A large wolf, standing at least slightly bigger than a horse on all fours, plods out of the shrine and sits down, looking at them. Her eyes glow a faint green color as she gazes at them.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Amidst the crowd, a cloaked person watches the Tournament. It observes the Saiyans, noting their skills, tactics, and power levels.

It observes and waits.

Plans.

Plots.

"So, what do ya think of the fights so far, youngster?" asked an innocent old man in an attempt to pass the time between matches.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"So, what do ya think of the fights so far, youngster?" asked an innocent old man in an attempt to pass the time between matches.

The cloaked figure pauses before answering, the voice....husky, most likely female.

“A poor showing so far. I have yet to be impressed.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat replies to this saying " well I never bother learn how to fly I just used my Ki to enhanced my already impressive jumping ability." "as for Ki sensing I know I can sense multiple people at once, however Ki higher than mine own seems to make my Ki Sensing go haywire.

“Then we shall first work on those basics. Your race, tell me about them first. I am unfamiliar with it on the whole.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"A new guardian. I will have to update my records to reflect this change."

According to Intel, the guardian was a woman named Evangeline, but in the end, it didn't affect his objective, "I was sent to this world to offer my support to you against the approaching Jagam." Usually, the Last Call sent more than one person, but a certain martial artist from this world had completely wrecked two of their numbers and their commander was off on her own assignment."Although I am but just one addition, I hope you will find my skills satisfactory."

A quick scan showed that the Lookout was... actually pretty empty. Were the others off training elsewhere? He would assume and hope so, for the destruction Jagam left in his wake concerned even Dr. Absinthe. While one of the remaining member on the Lookout, a member of one of the numerous and various Toadian species, had a power level at an impressive 8,000, this would not be enough. Hopefully, the others' training elsewhere would benefit them all.

“I see. Yes, please, we would appreciate Kate any help you can give. Jagam and his ally are set to arrive here in six month, so any help is appreciated.”

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

While a tournament to establish a monarch for the inception of the Unified Saiyan Empire, was hardly something Ishtar had expected when Sarada had brought her to Vocado; it was certainly a welcome thing in light of the spectacle she'd made of herself after her utter ruination of Durian, the Super Elite. After all, it meant that the next three weeks Ishtar spent with her Saiyan- Sarada- was training the likes of which hadn't been possible back on Earth proper.

The training regimen was much the same, surely, but without Parsley there, and having sequestered themselves away in the mountains for their sparring sessions, things Ishtar had refrained from offering in full were brought to bear against her lover in earnest. And as the two trained under gravity one-hundred and ten times higher than that of Earth's own, fighting against each other even as their bodies refused to comply with the electrical impulses that willed them move; the mentality and drive that had ushered this bout of training on began to influence the Oni herself. Not because she wished to be Queen, no ... but because the golden-eyed Oni knew how much damage would be done should Parsley earn the crown. Though ... it was an amusing notion, ruling along side her Saiyan love at the head of a unified empire, surely; perhaps even something the Oni could excel at given her experience watching countless species grow up and live, only to decline and then die. Yet the echoes of her time on Ilargi and the end-result of her nature- that of an outsider- as in the end it would cause the same issues. Despite the progress made, after all, Durian had proven well enough that there was still ill-will, and contempt directed toward those who were not of pure Saiyan blood. Having the first monarchs of the unified empire be a Saiyan who loved an offworlder would ruffle no small amount of feathers. Perhaps even give cause to riots, and the like. Something that Ishtar had no desire to see play out herself, knowing well the ruin that such would bring.

On the other hand however, there were certainly differences between then, and now. Ishtar was no longer as weak as she once was- though strong enough to rip apart a moon in her thrashing, she stood leagues beyond what she had once been- and she was no longer the same naive woman who had missed those warning signs that had heralded the end of a civilization. Such riots, when the came, would ultimately be short-lived and could be ended without the loss of her love, and the painful- all but blinded by grief- thrashing that had resulted from it. To say nothing of the fact that Ishtar was confident she was within the top three strongest entities currently present in Saiyan controlled space. Any issues, any threats, would be dealt with as she had dealt with Durian. Maiz's offering of insight in that matter had surely seen to such. More importantly than any of this however, was Sarada. Her Saiyan. Her love ... she wished to prevent Parsley from becoming Queen, which meant full well she intended to win the crown for herself. And with that alone, regardless of the outcome: Ishtar would stand at Sarada's side.

And it was this train of thought that ultimately resulted in a monumental development ...

As the hours turned into days, and days to weeks, Ishtar found herself slowly finding herself aware of knowledge, and training that had long since been forgotten; and she ultimately had no reason to know ... and while it took some time to understand why and how this was happening, when it did come all the Oni could do was smile. Sekhmet had instilled the knowledge of an Order in that luminous silver energy she had left as a parting gift. For what purpose Ishtar had yet to fully understand- a thing she was sure to, in time- and yet it meant one simple thing. That the corrupted Ka Golem, Legion was dead, surely; and with it the lingering, festering hatred of an Order succumbed to its own xenophobia ... but perhaps not the order itself. The Moonsworn would persist, so long as its information was known by one- Ishtar- and with it the potential to rebuild it. Or at the very least, take what was offered by the now gone High Priestess, to light the Oni's path forward.

And the light to guide that path, the path of Bounteous Destruction that she had fashioned from the insight of her friends, and love ... was the knowledge of arms.

Yet that was not all. The Oni's knowledge of Xšaθra Vairya, found itself changing to fit this new understanding of the worlds around her, and that too brought with it the understanding of what it truly meant: pleasurable dominion, and a right to rule- through an expression of arms- all things that existed beneath the endless sky.

Manifesting in parity with that forgotten knowledge, the ability to weave metal like she did stone became known to her, augmenting the strength of her attacks when coated in specific metals, and crystal by a noticeable degree; and her ability to fight with the blade she had carried since it had first been found increasing by several measures more. The blade cleaving through air, and stone, and even space itself with a force enough to split the world they stood on. And it was with this, that Ishtar sharpened Sarada's own edge. Pitting her newfound power against her Saiyan love to temper her will and bolster her own might to prepare her for the conquest to come.

So it was, that when their training was ended, and after the two made love on the eve of the Tournament, when Sarada whispered words of the two ruling together as Queens, Ishtar simply smiled and offered a soft confirmation.

"I will be your Queen so long as you have me, Little Love."

And like that, three weeks of blood, and sweat, and broken bones gave way to the day all of that suffering had been for.

The Tournament of Destiny was upon them.

Excitement was at an all-time high. Over 28 million eyes were glued on their televisions in eager anticipation of seeing intense fighting from fighters all throughout the Empire. The competition was sure to be intense and closely contested. Everyone knew the prize at stake and would stop at nearly nothing to win. The fate and future of the Saiyan race hung in the balance these next few days.

A bracket of fighters comprised of the 64 strongest the entire Saiyan Empire had to offer, Ishtar along with over 28 other million souls watched with anticipation as the opening ceremonies were carried out, and the first of the contests competitors took the 'stage'- a vacant planet terraformed for this and this alone- and made ready for the fighting to begin. At the least, the Oni planned to appraise the fights herself, so that she could offer Sarada what little she could manage- in the face of Sarada's combat experience over her own- to help prepare her for the fights to come.

Though really it was a thing to keep her mind occupied in the face of not being able to be on the planet with Sarada.

Thankfully however, the first two fighters of the Tournament, Keel of Turnip ... no Turrip, and Sprout of Langal- a place they had yet to visit despite needing to- took to the planet and made their final preparations.

“Fighters ready?” Keel and Sprout separated, putting about three hundred feet between them. The got into fighting positions, faces steeled with determination. “Begin!”

Evenly matched, the two fighters shot forward and began trading blows in an attempt to, Ishtar felt, feel each other out. Though the only thing the Oni noticed, or at least the only that seemed relevant for this opening back and forth- that eventually gave way to named energy attacks, of the quaintest sort- was that they were painfully slow. Granted, the gulf in power between herself and them was rather ludicrous, at least double at her resting level, it was still something of a bother to watch.

Thankfully however, the hyper-sonic combatants reached the end of their bout in a rather interesting fashion.

“Heh, fool. Now! Corona Flash!” An impossibly bright light, aided by the natural brightness of the sun, flashed, blinding Keel for just a few moments. Those moments were more than enough for Sprout to close in and land a series of devastating punches and kicks that left his opponent reeling. He finished this up with a massive energy blast detonated at point blank range.

Keel was sent flying into a mesa and slid to a stop amid a pile of rubble. She didn't move.

“...8...9...10! That's it!"

With a dazzling flash of light, it was done.

Ishtar made a note to remember that move, the Corona Flash, clearly a homage to the anatomy of the star that was used to bolster the attack. Something to consider, at the very least. Though the counter was easy enough. Even if blinded, all one needed to do was focus on the signature of energy that could be felt from the amusingly named fighter. With the next bout happening rather quickly however, sharing the information could wait.

(Continued Below)

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

So filing it away for the moment, the golden-eyed Oni focused on the next match.

Escaro of Turrip vs Coliflo of Vocado. This fight was also evenly matched and well-fought, but Coliflo managed to just edge out Escaro by lopping off his arm with a razor sharp energy disk. There was no rule against dismemberment, as long as the limb in question wasn't the tail.

Another fight that ended rather quickly after the initial 'testing' period, Coliflo managed to win by severing the arm of Escaro ... a thing Ishtar could sympathize with; though the counter for this was similarly apparent.

The next fight happened swiftly after Escaro, and his arm were removed from the field however, and each was as quick as the last. Though much of what was seen was of little import, the attacks either too weak, or of the kind that were too slow to be used against someone on the level of Sarada, or even Parsley. That Sarada's bout was near at hand too, bringing with it the anticipation provided only by a desire to see her victory managed swiftly, could be felt like a fire against exposed nerves too, made the matter of what happened in these fights not worth bothering with.

Sarada's wait wasn't a long one, and before she knew it, it was her time. She and Sallot of Langal stepped onto the teleportation platform and were instantly transported to the wasteland.

Sallot flew back to put some distance between herself and Sarada, while Sarada didn't move. Instead, she merely folded her arms over her chest.

“Fighters ready? Begin!”

The only fight that mattered to Ishtar, began as soon as each party was properly separated, and what happened came as little surprise.

Sarada ignored the best this Sallot had to offer, and then with contemptuous ease ended the battle into two moves. A blow to the back that slammed the defenseless Saiyan into the surface of the planet, and an energy attack that- even missing- completely decimated the battlefield and rendered Sarada's opponent an unconscious lump of battered meat. And the comment that could be heard as the referees and medics carted Sallot off was wholly true.

“Hmph. Too easy.”

The rest of the bouts that day were all middling to short, each ending as could be expected with the stronger fighters winning out against the weaker; and like that it was the second day, the remaining combatants squared off into matches that pitted the remaining fighters together to determine who would walk away victorious and eager to fight in the next tier of the tournament ... and up first was Parsley.

As soon as the fight started, he attacked her relentlessly, not wanting to give her a single second to regroup and come up with a strategy. Had any of his attacks actually hit, she might have been in trouble. Instead, she floated in midair, looking rather bored as she dodge punch after punch.

In many ways it was similar to Sarada's fight against Sallot.

Unlike Sarada's fight, Parsley was coolly efficient, ending the fight in a single blow that slammed her opponent through a plateau. Clearly the training she had done- and suffered- with Sarada and Ishtar, had paid off.

At the end of the second day, the first round had come to an end. The fights were quick, for the most part, with the stronger favorites coming out on top each and every time. The second round would surely prove to be more competitive.

In the end, the fights on the second day ended similar to the day's inaugural match; stronger defeating weaker with cool precision to move on to the next day. And like that the first part of the Tournament of Destiny Reached its end. Leaving only enough time to eat, recover- if necessary- and rest in preparation for the third day. Which would determine who was moving on to the semi-finals.

-----

Unlike the previous two days, the third day brought with it a series of fights that were themselves far closet than any of the previois days.

The first match itself was a curious one:

Sprout vs. Coliflo.

The two combatants, standing apart from their opponents the days previous, were both veterans and in possession of a deeper pool of abilities to draw from, and such was on full display as the two went at it. And while, in the end, the fight didn't last much longer than most; how it ended was somewhat surprising. In a seeming lull, and an opening for Sprout to finally manage his Corona Flash, Coliflo simply lashed out with a simple ball of Ki. Yet before Sprout could do much else than begin to react, the ball split into thousands of of tiny embers of energy that bored into their target and pulsed weakly before turning a solid yellow ... only for Sprout to fall from the sky not a moment later. That he staggered to his feet a moment later didn't seem to matter however, for as soon as he regained his feet he pitched forward only for the count to signal his KO; and this was notable for a few reasons.

First, it was an ability that seemingly sapped an opponent of energy to the point where they were completely spent of it, within seconds. The sheer number of tiny picks of energy-draining Ki too, would be all but impossible to wholly dodge meaning that at least some would attach themselves. Which was a problem as, second, this ability seemingly ignored the targets own resistances, Coliflo's attack simply stripping her opponent of energy without so much as a flicker of resistance. A dangerous move, all across the board ... and something that could see use against an enemy like Jagam. Whether or not it would work on someone as well as it did an evenly matched opponent however, remained to be seen.

Then came the next match:

Sarada vs. Elery

A fight that went about as quickly as the first, yet the difference in method was striking.

Elery offered his all, wailing on Sarada for the better part of a minute, only for the Saiyan to stand there unperturbed. A thing that did not go unnoticed by Elery, who roared about something to do with 'mocking'- his words barely heard given the distance from the microphones- then, only for Sarada to strike him twice with force enough to make the boy punch drunk. Despite this however, the Saiyan continued to stagger forward continuing his shouting even as he flailed about in an attempt to strike ... and at this, Sarada seemingly humored him ?

Huh.

Letting the boy charge up his attack, a silvery fist that seemed to flicker with the image of an Earth Wolf- How strange,- Elery struck Sarada square in the jaw. An utterly stupid idea, really, considering what had been seen merely the match before; and yet one that thankfully ended the way one would have hoped: with Elery punched so hard you could see the outline of Sarada's fist through his armor.

And like that it was over.

The final match Ishtar payed attention to, was that of Parsley and a ... Gangal.

The mother of a half-breed, similar to Tasure, this match was held a certain relevance. Parsley after all, was against the idea of anything not of pure-blood to the point of wishing them dead, so her facing someone who was effectively her antithesis ? It was the old way, versus the hopeful new. And that much it seemed, was understood by Parsley herself, with her choosing to engage in a back and forth with her opponent; despite all the matches previous being ended with as little as a few sentences offered the whole time she toyed with them. And while Ishtar couldn't hear all of it, she could see enough to know that what was being traded between them was ... as much a psychological ploy to destabilize Gangal; as it was the true Parsley shining through.

And that itself was ... worrisome. She alone, should she ascend to the throne, would destroy all the progress that had been made by this Tomato King, to the detriment of the species. That she believed herself to have already won itself was also ... problematic. A thing at the least to consider, as well.

In the end though, the match went about as predictably as could be implied.

Parsley allowed Gangal the first move, as was her wont on the weaker opponents; only to step in before the distance could be closed to end the fight in a single silencing punch. And with the words that had been offered previously, and the powering up that Gangal had done before her charge ... she had offered everything she had. Ishtar understood now, the truth behind Parsley's wordplay now ... why she had chosen to do it now, instead of before. The younger Saiyan had given her a platform to stand for her beliefs in front of her entire species- and her child-, had allowed her to power up to her absolute limit at risk of harming herself, so that she might defend those beliefs ... and then Parsley had shattered that belief in front of over 28 million souls.

So now, for Gangal, it might not matter in the end, who won. For her, her husband, and her child, it had just been proven that her belief was nothing in the face of overwhelming power. That her body would eventually recover didn't matter, that Parsley would never see herself ascend to the throne mattered less. She would carry this with her for the rest of her life- short as it was compared to Ishtar's own- and in the end, Parsley in a way had killed Gangal; and in a way she might never recover from.

The Oni could only blink at first, before muttering softly as the Saiyan walked away from her defeated opponent.

"What a monster you are, Parsley."

---

(Continued Below)

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The rest of the matches themselves were quick, Avoca, Lemawngras , Pasley, and Akchoy winning through a combination of tactic, determination, a specialized technique, or simply dazzling their opponents. So it was then, that the semi-finalists were confirmed. The matches in the coming day would now determine would would fight for the crown; and there was little doubt who it would be in Ishtar's mind. Which meant that she would need to offer what she could, to prepare Sarada ... first and foremost being to tell her lover that allowing her best friend the chance to power up would cost her the fight, and would almost undoubtedly assure Parsley the crown. A thing the golden-eyed Oni herself couldn't allow.

Not after what had happened to Gangal.