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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“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.”

Closing down the original six nexus points for the six stable alternate timelines was a strong opening move, she would readily admit. However, doing so sounded like it would be met with a ****-ton of resistance.

It also meant they were going to meet alternate versions of themselves.

Kick-fucking-ass!

She couldn't wait to see what she was like in another timeline? In how many were she and Ishtar happily together? In how many were she and Jack? Was she married in any of them? Was she still Queen? Oh, ****! Was she still molested an any of them?

She hoped not in that regard.

Any...

"Strong opening move, Zurvan. That'll **** his plans up pretty good, slow him down a lot. If we do go that route, how should we go about it? I mean, I assume you'll be the one sending us to these nexus points, so what's easier for you?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

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

"Because of Sekhmet, yes ?" Ishtar asked, softly.

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.”

So this alternate Jinzi had not lied.

Confirmed now by her father, Ishtar understood fully the the damage he had inflicted on Zurvan was subtle, slow ... and mortally wounding. And the knot that formed in Ishtar's when she first heard whispers of this rumor returned, stronger than before.

Despite this ... sadness, the truth of what needed to be done to prevent it was being offered however; and after a small struggle the Oni returned her focus to what was important.

"We cannot tarry long, then. These six timelines must be corrected" Ishtar replied, softly. "If possible ... I would handle the matter of AT 2."

It did not need to be said, that the matter of her alternate self needed to be seen to, personally.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Because of Sekhmet, yes ?" Ishtar asked, softly.



So this alternate Jinzi had not lied.

Confirmed now by her father, Ishtar understood fully the the damage he had inflicted on Zurvan was subtle, slow ... and mortally wounding. And the knot that formed in Ishtar's when she first heard whispers of this rumor returned, stronger than before.

Despite this ... sadness, the truth of what needed to be done to prevent it was being offered however; and after a small struggle the Oni returned her focus to what was important.

"We cannot tarry long, then. These six timelines must be corrected" Ishtar replied, softly. "If possible ... I would handle the matter of AT 2."

It did not need to be said, that the matter of her alternate self needed to be seen to, personally.

Sarada could feel the knot of sadness growing in Ishtar. Hearing how her father was slowly being killed by a meglomaniac couldn't have been easy. Less so knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was up to them, and only them.

She reached over and gave Ishtar's hand a comforting squeeze. She didn't say anything; all that needed to be said was clearly implied.

"If you're going to AT 2, then so am I."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“The matter of AT2 Ishtar isn’t the mission. Closing the nexus point is. She is far too dangerous either way. AT2 will most likely be the last visited as it’s potentially the most dangerous.”

[Tami]

“The matter of AT2 Ishtar isn’t the mission. Closing the nexus point is. She is far too dangerous either way. AT2 will most likely be the last visited as it’s potentially the most dangerous.”

Dash, having listened quietly off to the side, spoke up with a question, "What happens to the timeline when one o'these nexus points are closed? An how do you go 'bout closing them?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“The matter of AT2 Ishtar isn’t the mission. Closing the nexus point is. She is far too dangerous either way. AT2 will most likely be the last visited as it’s potentially the most dangerous.”

"Because that Ishtar is the God of Destruction, right?" Sarada queried. "That's the only reason she would destroy the Saiyans, I figure."

[MrSandman]

“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.”

"I'll make sure to write a thank you on his non-existent tombstone. So....Simple enough then. We just have to travel to six different points in six timelines to seal six temporal points....singularities if you will. Thus weakening the doctors ability to pull reinforcements from time.....and work on from there." Etrina clasped her hands together in excitement. "I know the situation is dire....but visiting alternate timelines will certainly be a noteworthy experience. I assume you'll be the one providing us transit to our destination? Is there any way I could assist you when the time comes?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sarada could feel the knot of sadness growing in Ishtar. Hearing how her father was slowly being killed by a meglomaniac couldn't have been easy. Less so knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was up to them, and only them.

She reached over and gave Ishtar's hand a comforting squeeze. She didn't say anything; all that needed to be said was clearly implied.

"If you're going to AT 2, then so am I."

Ishtar felt Sarada's hand provide a gentle squeeze, and heard her offering of support, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

And in some small way, she understood her alternate self. If she truly had gone insane after the death of Sekhmet, that was ... after all, she had nearly done so herself; and were it not for Sarada and to a lesser degree the others, there was no telling where Ishtar herself would be now.

After a moment of simply holding her lover's hand, the Oni sighed and offered then a soft, "thank you, Little Love."

“The matter of AT2 Ishtar isn’t the mission. Closing the nexus point is. She is far too dangerous either way. AT2 will most likely be the last visited as it’s potentially the most dangerous.”

"She should be." Ishtar commented.

"And regardless, I doubt she will miss, or ignore, that we are there." The Oni added. "With less than five days to stop all of this however, our hands are somewhat tied. We cannot waste time training, we need to start as soon as possible."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Dash, having listened quietly off to the side, spoke up with a question, "What happens to the timeline when one o'these nexus points are closed? An how do you go 'bout closing them?"

“They remain, though unable to be traveled to except by me personally or another true God. As to closing them....”

He holds up a six inch pulsing square of purple. It seems to be encribed with ancient markings.

“Throw that into the nexus, it will absorb and close the rift. Return it to me. I will then absorb the power from it. It will strengthen me, time itself will also strengthen, and then we repeat the process until all are closed.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Because that Ishtar is the God of Destruction, right?" Sarada queried. "That's the only reason she would destroy the Saiyans, I figure."

“Worse. She became a goddess of Ruination instead.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"I'll make sure to write a thank you on his non-existent tombstone. So....Simple enough then. We just have to travel to six different points in six timelines to seal six temporal points....singularities if you will. Thus weakening the doctors ability to pull reinforcements from time.....and work on from there." Etrina clasped her hands together in excitement. "I know the situation is dire....but visiting alternate timelines will certainly be a noteworthy experience. I assume you'll be the one providing us transit to our destination? Is there any way I could assist you when the time comes?"

“Perhaps.”

He points to the RoSaT.

“I was intending to start with a temporal power already present. That way I myself am not using my power directly. I can turn it into a portal to the alternate timeline closest to ours at the moment, spacially speaking.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ishtar felt Sarada's hand provide a gentle squeeze, and heard her offering of support, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

And in some small way, she understood her alternate self. If she truly had gone insane after the death of Sekhmet, that was ... after all, she had nearly done so herself; and were it not for Sarada and to a lesser degree the others, there was no telling where Ishtar herself would be now.

After a moment of simply holding her lover's hand, the Oni sighed and offered then a soft, "thank you, Little Love."



"She should be." Ishtar commented.

"And regardless, I doubt she will miss, or ignore, that we are there." The Oni added. "With less than five days to stop all of this however, our hands are somewhat tied. We cannot waste time training, we need to start as soon as possible."

“Not quite. Time isn’t 100% the same in each place. Time passing here will be slower than that which you experience in the other timelines.”

[Tami]

Meagan goes to Jinzi, leaning in slightly to speak with him, "We might have to postpone the wedding." she sounded pained as she said the words, "None of this changes how I feel about you. Nothing can ever change that."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Ishtar felt Sarada's hand provide a gentle squeeze, and heard her offering of support, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

And in some small way, she understood her alternate self. If she truly had gone insane after the death of Sekhmet, that was ... after all, she had nearly done so herself; and were it not for Sarada and to a lesser degree the others, there was no telling where Ishtar herself would be now.

After a moment of simply holding her lover's hand, the Oni sighed and offered then a soft, "thank you, Little Love."

Sarada gave her a fond, loving smile. "Anytime, babe."

“Worse. She became a goddess of Ruination instead.”

That was the first time she had heard that title. The word ruination didn't leave much to the imagination. At worst, this Ishtar destroyed world after world indiscriminately, simply because she felt like it.

"So, she just blows up planets for the fun of it?"

If so, then she could see why that timeline was the worst and best saved for last.

Maybe I can talk her down. There has to be a least a little bit of the Ishtar that I love in there somewhere.

“They remain, though unable to be traveled to except by me personally or another true God. As to closing them....”

He holds up a six inch pulsing square of purple. It seems to be encribed with ancient markings.

“Throw that into the nexus, it will absorb and close the rift. Return it to me. I will then absorb the power from it. It will strengthen me, time itself will also strengthen, and then we repeat the process until all are closed.”

“Perhaps.”

He points to the RoSaT.

“I was intending to start with a temporal power already present. That way I myself am not using my power directly. I can turn it into a portal to the alternate timeline closest to ours at the moment, spacially speaking.”

They had a plan, and they had a means to close the nexuses. The only determining factor was getting to each one in time before the five days they had left were up. Once they were up, the Doctor would be able to make a move on Earth again.

"So, we toss that thing into the nexus, let it absorb the energy and close it, then bring back to you and let you absorb the power." Not only did it repair time, but it gave Zurvan more power, thus saving his life. It was a plan; all that needed doing was to execute it.

"Can we expect any kind of resistance from the alt versions of us?"

“Not quite. Time isn’t 100% the same in each place. Time passing here will be slower than that which you experience in the other timelines.”

"You mean our alt version maybe older or younger than us?"

[Cyke]

“Sheriff’s are supposed to protect their people, their town. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

Zaofan-Prime walks into the room and makes his presence known upon hearing Alt-Zaofan's statement. "Sheriffs are supposed to do one thing. They're not above doing the opposite. Power is more than just strength -- I'm going to make sure you keep your oath, you double."

Alt Zaofan finishes his donut while Jinzi examines the CLOWT.

“Well, seems interrogating time. Ask yer questions, folks, and I’ll answer as best I can.”

After some time, despite everything else he ate, he could still taste that soup. After a while, he was no longer convinced it had simply been chicken noodle soup. There was something strange, but not unpleasant to the taste. Then came the sudden course of power that began to surge, causing him to lean too far back in surprise and crash onto the floor.

"Oof! The hell was that?!"

Another spike in powerlevel! But who? Once this is all done, I must speak out whoever drank the soup. But it must be in good hands given the people here. And this doppelganger is right in front of me.

“No need.”

A voice sounds out as Zurvan suddenly appears. He looks....tired. In fact, he stumbles slightly after he arrives.

“As Ishtar can attest to, I am Zurvan. And....I am responsible for these Time Stones.”

“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.”

"AH-HAH! I KNEW IT!" Zao-Prime yells triumphantly as he points at Alt-Z. "YOU're the copy! I'm the real deal! AHAHAHAH! You and everyone you know is...! ...is!"

It then dawns upon our intrepid chef. He had overheard his twin talk about his family and his town. The very fact that Zurvan had appeared would justify that story. The origins of his counterpart, for now, would seem to be true, and who would know more than Zurvan, really?

Zao-Prime catches himself, covering his mouth with a fist, eyes growing wide with concern and awkwardness. He takes a deep breath, and faces Alt-Z. "I. I'm sorry. This is serious business. You're still a giant one-eyed monster, but... no one should go through this."

“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.”

Zaofan-Prime then clears his throat, and bows to Zurvan, a being he's never met before but has only heard of, plenty of times. Still in awe, he offers a respectful bow. "Lord Zurvan, I must ask -- at what point did my copy's timeline split from ours? What could have changed the universe so drastically that I would become, well, him? That Ishtar would destroy the Saiyans? And who knows what else?"

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.”

".......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."

Zaofan listens to Etrina's insights, and moves closer to his beloved. "Etrina. Mistress. I am glad that you are doing well. Your little blue friend is here, too."

“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.”

Sarada could feel the knot of sadness growing in Ishtar. Hearing how her father was slowly being killed by a meglomaniac couldn't have been easy. Less so knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was up to them, and only them.

She reached over and gave Ishtar's hand a comforting squeeze. She didn't say anything; all that needed to be said was clearly implied.

"If you're going to AT 2, then so am I."

“The matter of AT2 Ishtar isn’t the mission. Closing the nexus point is. She is far too dangerous either way. AT2 will most likely be the last visited as it’s potentially the most dangerous.”

"So, is there going to be an away team heading for this... AT2? If so, I'd be curious to visit it, too. After all, if their Zaofan came here, it's only fair that I visit them."

Zaofan puts thumb to lips as he begins to think out loud. "As much as I -- ugh." He turns to alt-Z before addressing the rest of the group. "As much as I hate to admit it, anyone who can get the drop on Meagan and Dash like that is dangerous. And I'm willing to bet that my counterpart isn't the strongest they have over there, either. We've never faced anything on this scale before. Space and time cry for repair and retribution, and we will be the ones to deliver it. But that also means we'll need all our strength, skills, and wits about us. All hands on deck for this one."

The chef then turns to his trusted brother, Ochazuke. "A word, please?"