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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ishtar watched as Zurvan appeared, stumbled, and was then provided a seat.

It was little surprise he arrived now. It was the most fitting moment, after all, disccious of how best to track fragments of himself had just begun to take place.

Still.

As the golden-eyed Oni watched her father explain things, there was slow creep of a feeling that had resonated within her the moment her conversation had concluded with the Doctor.

"You are not doing well. What is wrong ?"

He smiles at her.

“Just a bit worn thin. The more I use my power the...worse it gets.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“To becomes the God of Time.” He says to Sarada.

“Unfettered, I believe he intends to unwrap time and in the instant before all falls apart absorb said energy. Essentially, becoming me. Only he won’t follow the rules. Time itself, essentially history, would be his to control.”

He looks at Etrina and smiles like a teacher would at an exceptional student.

“Correct. If a timeline is viable enough, it can exist. The second Zaofan here is from a stable alternate timeline. We will call it AT 2 for now. AT 2 was created when a very specific event occurred here on Earth. Lady Evangeline and her first allies failed to stop Fife. They all perished, so the thing masquerading as Fife had free reign over Earth for almost 300 years. He was eventually slain but because of this Lady Evangeline never wished to have the power to alter Fate. Because of this she never summoned or gathered you all, so many of you faced entirely different lives. The World Government never existed, either, so that reshaped Earth and there are many factions instead of only one, alongside there being no guardian so no dragon balls. Because of this moment certain members of the Galaxy Police, like their current Commissioner, also never came to be so the GP never got off the ground and became the power house it is today.”

"A time god..."

The Doctor wanted to become Zurvan so he would control time itself, to play with the universe like an expansive sandbox. It was incredible. Sarada would have never realized that such a thing was even possible, but there they were talking about exactly that being a very real possibility. "So, you said traveling through time too much will cause the timestream to collapse, right? Then, that's how he plans to unwrap time? But traveling through it enough that it will collapse, then absorb all that time energy?"

She wasn't sure she had that right. In fact, she was sure she was off-base. Ah, well; someone with a better grasp of it than her would understand. Her main concern was how could they get to the Doctor in time to punch him in the face.

AT 2 was just one of seemingly several alternate timelines that had been formed naturally. She wondered if she existed in that timeline. "Hey, is there an alternate me in that timeline?"

[Tami]

“To becomes the God of Time.” He says to Sarada.

“Unfettered, I believe he intends to unwrap time and in the instant before all falls apart absorb said energy. Essentially, becoming me. Only he won’t follow the rules. Time itself, essentially history, would be his to control.”

He looks at Etrina and smiles like a teacher would at an exceptional student.

“Correct. If a timeline is viable enough, it can exist. The second Zaofan here is from a stable alternate timeline. We will call it AT 2 for now. AT 2 was created when a very specific event occurred here on Earth. Lady Evangeline and her first allies failed to stop Fife. They all perished, so the thing masquerading as Fife had free reign over Earth for almost 300 years. He was eventually slain but because of this Lady Evangeline never wished to have the power to alter Fate. Because of this she never summoned or gathered you all, so many of you faced entirely different lives. The World Government never existed, either, so that reshaped Earth and there are many factions instead of only one, alongside there being no guardian so no dragon balls. Because of this moment certain members of the Galaxy Police, like their current Commissioner, also never came to be so the GP never got off the ground and became the power house it is today.”

"Lady Eva was the nexus that created a natural timesplit. If someone, like this Doctor, wanted to alter the past. If he acquired enough power to do so, to go back in time and change something, that would be an unnatural nexus, an unnatural split. Something happened to him in his past that he so desperately wants to change that he'd risk destroying everything just to do it."

Meagan looked to Jinzi, her Jinzi. Asking hesitantly, "If he is an alternate you, can you imagine a situation like that happening?"

[MrSandman]

He looks at Etrina and smiles like a teacher would at an exceptional student.

“Correct. If a timeline is viable enough, it can exist. The second Zaofan here is from a stable alternate timeline. We will call it AT 2 for now. AT 2 was created when a very specific event occurred here on Earth. Lady Evangeline and her first allies failed to stop Fife. They all perished, so the thing masquerading as Fife had free reign over Earth for almost 300 years. He was eventually slain but because of this Lady Evangeline never wished to have the power to alter Fate. Because of this she never summoned or gathered you all, so many of you faced entirely different lives. The World Government never existed, either, so that reshaped Earth and there are many factions instead of only one, alongside there being no guardian so no dragon balls. Because of this moment certain members of the Galaxy Police, like their current Commissioner, also never came to be so the GP never got off the ground and became the power house it is today.”

"....Huh........Interesting..." Etrina nodded her head, but couldn't contain the slight feeling of pride that she got from his acknowledgement.

"A time god..."

The Doctor wanted to become Zurvan so he would control time itself, to play with the universe like an expansive sandbox. It was incredible. Sarada would have never realized that such a thing was even possible, but there they were talking about exactly that being a very real possibility. "So, you said traveling through time too much will cause the timestream to collapse, right? Then, that's how he plans to unwrap time? But traveling through it enough that it will collapse, then absorb all that time energy?"

She wasn't sure she had that right. In fact, she was sure she was off-base. Ah, well; someone with a better grasp of it than her would understand. Her main concern was how could they get to the Doctor in time to punch him in the face.

".....So this is a two pronged tactic then." Etrina nodded. "Send waves of time-lost hooligans across time to attack the ones he deems most likely to interfere with his plans.....he removes the threat AND creates temporal instability that will eventually rip time apart. Clever.....but that doesn't explain the time orbs. How is he gettin g access to items that would allow him to do this....I've not even tapped full on time travel yet.....not that I plan to I mean., all things considered." She added just in case.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“The time stones are created when temporal energy pools in certain places. Most notably, the moments when alternate timelines are birthed. Every time, no pun intended, the timeline splits naturally there is a focal point created somewhere. A moment and place where temporal energy resonates. It is possible to tap into that and create time stones. But this is rare. At the moment there are only six stable and acceptable alternate timelines, so only six possible points he could draw temporal energy from to create these stones. However, there are two other ways. One, the longest way, is for a temporal mage like Etrina to start trying to pull small bits of magic into a stone and create on artificially. This process takes an incredibly long time and is not cost effective. The second way is...to use me. Specifically, go to places where I’ve appeared in the mortal plain. When I do so, concentrated temporal energy is diffused through the area. It fades quickly, within minutes, leaving no trace. However....if one had time stones already and used them to arrive moments after I left, you could infuse those stones or create new ones from that concentrated temporal energy. Every time I use my powers in the mortal plane is a moment that can be drawn upon. I expended a lot of power fighting Hammer and his pet Angel. I have little doubt the Doctor arrives shortly after Sheki’hinah took me back to Otherworld and harvested as much as he could. And every time he, who is not me, uses my power I growa bit more...weak. Every time he forcefully uses a stone to rip into another timeline, or create false ones, I grow weaker and so does the timestream. Luckily, for a mortal, you cannot abuse it too much. He can only use one stone at a time and must not use too many close to each their.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"A time god..."

The Doctor wanted to become Zurvan so he would control time itself, to play with the universe like an expansive sandbox. It was incredible. Sarada would have never realized that such a thing was even possible, but there they were talking about exactly that being a very real possibility. "So, you said traveling through time too much will cause the timestream to collapse, right? Then, that's how he plans to unwrap time? But traveling through it enough that it will collapse, then absorb all that time energy?"

She wasn't sure she had that right. In fact, she was sure she was off-base. Ah, well; someone with a better grasp of it than her would understand. Her main concern was how could they get to the Doctor in time to punch him in the face.

AT 2 was just one of seemingly several alternate timelines that had been formed naturally. She wondered if she existed in that timeline. "Hey, is there an alternate me in that timeline?"

“No, AT 2 Ishtar killed almost all the Saiyans. Less than twenty remain, including half saiyans.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Lady Eva was the nexus that created a natural timesplit. If someone, like this Doctor, wanted to alter the past. If he acquired enough power to do so, to go back in time and change something, that would be an unnatural nexus, an unnatural split. Something happened to him in his past that he so desperately wants to change that he'd risk destroying everything just to do it."

Meagan looked to Jinzi, her Jinzi. Asking hesitantly, "If he is an alternate you, can you imagine a situation like that happening?"

Jinzi looks at her, then at everyone else and nods.

“Yes.”

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

He smiles at her.

“Just a bit worn thin. The more I use my power the...worse it gets.”

Ishtar frowned.

“To becomes the God of Time.” He says to Sarada.

“Unfettered, I believe he intends to unwrap time and in the instant before all falls apart absorb said energy. Essentially, becoming me. Only he won’t follow the rules. Time itself, essentially history, would be his to control.”

He looks at Etrina and smiles like a teacher would at an exceptional student.

“Correct. If a timeline is viable enough, it can exist. The second Zaofan here is from a stable alternate timeline. We will call it AT 2 for now. AT 2 was created when a very specific event occurred here on Earth. Lady Evangeline and her first allies failed to stop Fife. They all perished, so the thing masquerading as Fife had free reign over Earth for almost 300 years. He was eventually slain but because of this Lady Evangeline never wished to have the power to alter Fate. Because of this she never summoned or gathered you all, so many of you faced entirely different lives. The World Government never existed, either, so that reshaped Earth and there are many factions instead of only one, alongside there being no guardian so no dragon balls. Because of this moment certain members of the Galaxy Police, like their current Commissioner, also never came to be so the GP never got off the ground and became the power house it is today.”

This was troublesome.

Not the affair of the alternate timelines, no ... such was understood well enough during her thousands, and thousands of years shadowing Zurvan. Her concern lied suqarely with what this alternate version of Jinzi Pantaloon wished to do. Rewrite time, by forcing his hand and becoming the Supreme Kai of Time ... or perhaps something far worse.

"He is chipping away at your strength by twisting time, so that when this collapse comes ..."

As she muttered she turned over in her mind what had been said by The Doctor, this twisted version of Jinzi ... and while the others seemed to grasp the straightforward ... there was a truth the Oni keyed in on swiftly, and with the realization came a widening of her golden eyes.

"Oh. I see. He is ... killing you."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ishtar frowned.



This was troublesome.

Not the affair of the alternate timelines, no ... such was understood well enough during her thousands, and thousands of years shadowing Zurvan. Her concern lied suqarely with what this alternate version of Jinzi Pantaloon wished to do. Rewrite time, by forcing his hand and becoming the Supreme Kai of Time ... or perhaps something far worse.

"He is chipping away at your strength by twisting time, so that when this collapse comes ..."

As she muttered she turned over in her mind what had been said by The Doctor, this twisted version of Jinzi ... and while the others seemed to grasp the straightforward ... there was a truth the Oni keyed in on swiftly, and with the realization came a widening of her golden eyes.

"Oh. I see. He is ... killing you."

He nods.

“Yes daughter, he’s killing me. Slowly, and in a way I cannot stop. Cloaked and surrounded by my stolen power, I cannot even sense him. I can do nothing but delay what he is doing.”

[Tami]

Jinzi looks at her, then at everyone else and nods.

“Yes.”

So matter-a-factually, his statement intensified the knot in her stomach, but also made her even more determined.

[Tami]

He nods.

“Yes daughter, he’s killing me. Slowly, and in a way I cannot stop. Cloaked and surrounded by my stolen power, I cannot even sense him. I can do nothing but delay what he is doing.”

"I pray we can stop him before it's too late." Meagan then became determined, "No, we have to stop him. There is no alternative, no second chances. Life is like that. Sometimes you can make things right that went wrong, and sometimes you have to accept what happens and move on." She glances over to Jinzi as she says this, then gives him a slight smile. She's lost to much in her lifetime, she won't lose him too.

[MrSandman]

He nods.

“Yes daughter, he’s killing me. Slowly, and in a way I cannot stop. Cloaked and surrounded by my stolen power, I cannot even sense him. I can do nothing but delay what he is doing.”

".......In order to create time stones, he needs to visit any place you've been in the past and absorb the ambient energy you leave behind. In a way...cloaked or not, we know exactly where he is going...or has already been. Hypothetically speaking.....is it possible for us to pinpoint a time frame where he did this, go back to that point to....catch him in the act?" Etrina paused. ".....Yes, I'm aware that sounds just as bad or damaging as what he is doing.....but in medical terms you can't perform surgery without making your own cut."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“No, AT 2 Ishtar killed almost all the Saiyans. Less than twenty remain, including half saiyans.”

The answer shocked her. She...

Ishtar?

Sarada frowned heavily.

There was only one way or reason why Ishtar would kill off the Saiyans, presumably including her. Zurvan already indicated that they hadn't been gathered by Eva, so they didn't know each other. The only possible reason was that this was an Ishtar that had discovered her hakai early and accepted her role as Destroyer prematurely. Thus, she must have judged the Saiyans of AT 2 unworthy... or whatever the actual determining factors were.

"Oh."

“The time stones are created when temporal energy pools in certain places. Most notably, the moments when alternate timelines are birthed. Every time, no pun intended, the timeline splits naturally there is a focal point created somewhere. A moment and place where temporal energy resonates. It is possible to tap into that and create time stones. But this is rare. At the moment there are only six stable and acceptable alternate timelines, so only six possible points he could draw temporal energy from to create these stones. However, there are two other ways. One, the longest way, is for a temporal mage like Etrina to start trying to pull small bits of magic into a stone and create on artificially. This process takes an incredibly long time and is not cost effective. The second way is...to use me. Specifically, go to places where I’ve appeared in the mortal plain. When I do so, concentrated temporal energy is diffused through the area. It fades quickly, within minutes, leaving no trace. However....if one had time stones already and used them to arrive moments after I left, you could infuse those stones or create new ones from that concentrated temporal energy. Every time I use my powers in the mortal plane is a moment that can be drawn upon. I expended a lot of power fighting Hammer and his pet Angel. I have little doubt the Doctor arrives shortly after Sheki’hinah took me back to Otherworld and harvested as much as he could. And every time he, who is not me, uses my power I growa bit more...weak. Every time he forcefully uses a stone to rip into another timeline, or create false ones, I grow weaker and so does the timestream. Luckily, for a mortal, you cannot abuse it too much. He can only use one stone at a time and must not use too many close to each their.”

So,it was possible to create time stones. By either gathering the energy that pooled together once a stable alternate timeline was create. There were only six of those, and Jinzi had all six of those stones, so that wasn't an option anymore. Another way was for a time mage like Etrina to draw ambient time energy into a singular point, thus creating a stone. The time such a technique took wasn't practical, so that was out.

The final method was to gather the energy left behind when Zurvan appeared on this mortal plane of existence.

Meaning they now had the means to create their own time stone.

But, in doing so, it meant that they would be draining power from Zurvan.

He nods.

“Yes daughter, he’s killing me. Slowly, and in a way I cannot stop. Cloaked and surrounded by my stolen power, I cannot even sense him. I can do nothing but delay what he is doing.”

Which he just confirmed was killing him. Sarada felt guilty even considering that a possibility. Ishtar losing the man who raised her like his own daughter for thousands of years wasn't an option. There was another way; there had to be.

"I say we take the fight directly to this asshole's front door," she declared. "He probably won't be expecting us to get in his face this early one. We train as hard as we can from now until then, then use that Namekian to open a portal to wherever his base is and beat the shit out of him. If we catch him off-guard, we may be able to get those stones away from him since he has them stored in his cane, I think."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

".......In order to create time stones, he needs to visit any place you've been in the past and absorb the ambient energy you leave behind. In a way...cloaked or not, we know exactly where he is going...or has already been. Hypothetically speaking.....is it possible for us to pinpoint a time frame where he did this, go back to that point to....catch him in the act?" Etrina paused. ".....Yes, I'm aware that sounds just as bad or damaging as what he is doing.....but in medical terms you can't perform surgery without making your own cut."

“To many dives into the same point could weaken the timeline even further. I would rather we not use this option except as a last resort.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The answer shocked her. She...

Ishtar?

Sarada frowned heavily.

There was only one way or reason why Ishtar would kill off the Saiyans, presumably including her. Zurvan already indicated that they hadn't been gathered by Eva, so they didn't know each other. The only possible reason was that this was an Ishtar that had discovered her hakai early and accepted her role as Destroyer prematurely. Thus, she must have judged the Saiyans of AT 2 unworthy... or whatever the actual determining factors were.

"Oh."



So,it was possible to create time stones. By either gathering the energy that pooled together once a stable alternate timeline was create. There were only six of those, and Jinzi had all six of those stones, so that wasn't an option anymore. Another way was for a time mage like Etrina to draw ambient time energy into a singular point, thus creating a stone. The time such a technique took wasn't practical, so that was out.

The final method was to gather the energy left behind when Zurvan appeared on this mortal plane of existence.

Meaning they now had the means to create their own time stone.

But, in doing so, it meant that they would be draining power from Zurvan.



Which he just confirmed was killing him. Sarada felt guilty even considering that a possibility. Ishtar losing the man who raised her like his own daughter for thousands of years wasn't an option. There was another way; there had to be.

"I say we take the fight directly to this asshole's front door," she declared. "He probably won't be expecting us to get in his face this early one. We train as hard as we can from now until then, then use that Namekian to open a portal to wherever his base is and beat the shit out of him. If we catch him off-guard, we may be able to get those stones away from him since he has them stored in his cane, I think."

“Possibly. However, going to the original nexus points in each of the six alternate timelines and closing them down, preventing him from going back and creating time stones from them again, as they recharge, should be one of our first moves. That way he’s dependent solely on using the ones he’s powered from me. That way it will also limit his ability to pluck soldiers from other times to aid him. Ironic, actually, that the Parasite Fife’s temporal jump so many years ago actually protects this Earth. The scar he tore in time with his magic to avoid Evangeline actually prevents the Doctor from simply using a stone to take whomever here he wants.”