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

[Cyke]

Parsley smiled satisfactorily. Sasheem and Zaofan were going to fight, when they back to Earth. Yes, that was a very good thing. She was going to make sure she had a front row seat to that one.

She followed Zaofan into the kitchen and found the meal he and the mutt prepared for her. It wasn't warm, so she found somewhere to heat it up before preparing to eat. "You seem to really care about whoever this P-Sta is. A brother in arms, perhaps?" she said as she warmed her Cream of Pteradactyl on the oven.

Zaofan stirs his stew, picks up a scoop, and plops it right back into the bowl again. He does this a couple more times before he begins to answer, starting with a heavy sigh. "You know, we weren't even that close. But I thought fondly of him. I was looking forward to seeing him after six months. We didn't always see eye-to-eye -- no pun intended -- but he was a fighter for justice, and I respect that. He was one of us. He doesn't deserve this fate."

He stirs again, then puts the bowl on the table. He removes his feet from the table back to the ground, leans forward, elbows on the table, and leans towards Parsley, his hands motioning about to frame each sentence. "But while losing him hurts, it also hurts that ... that I was duped by Sasheem. I thought we were tight. I liked him, too. I thought we got along well because we were friends! But the dishonesty, the cruelty, the sadism -- today, I lost two friends."

Finally, he leans back in his chair, defeated, resigned to that last fact. "Sasheem was unique. And I'd never been friends with a space cop before. But no, Sarada was right. I vouched for Sasheem when the others wanted to get rid of him. I stood up for him. And I was wrong. I guess... I guess I'm disappointed in myself, too."

Zaofan goes back to his bowl. He picks up a spoonful of stew, brings it up, and turns the spoon over, letting it drip down like heavy rain.

"In some ways, because I knew him longer, a part of me thought Sasheem was more of a brother-in-arms than I was with P-Sta."

[Tami]

Zaofan stirs his stew, picks up a scoop, and plops it right back into the bowl again. He does this a couple more times before he begins to answer, starting with a heavy sigh. "You know, we weren't even that close. But I thought fondly of him. I was looking forward to seeing him after six months. We didn't always see eye-to-eye -- no pun intended -- but he was a fighter for justice, and I respect that. He was one of us. He doesn't deserve this fate."

He stirs again, then puts the bowl on the table. He removes his feet from the table back to the ground, leans forward, elbows on the table, and leans towards Parsley, his hands motioning about to frame each sentence. "But while losing him hurts, it also hurts that ... that I was duped by Sasheem. I thought we were tight. I liked him, too. I thought we got along well because we were friends! But the dishonesty, the cruelty, the sadism -- today, I lost two friends."

Finally, he leans back in his chair, defeated, resigned to that last fact. "Sasheem was unique. And I'd never been friends with a space cop before. But no, Sarada was right. I vouched for Sasheem when the others wanted to get rid of him. I stood up for him. And I was wrong. I guess... I guess I'm disappointed in myself, too."

Zaofan goes back to his bowl. He picks up a spoonful of stew, brings it up, and turns the spoon over, letting it drip down like heavy rain.

"In some ways, because I knew him longer, a part of me thought Sasheem was more of a brother-in-arms than I was with P-Sta."

After stopping to check on the Princess, Meagan made her way back. As she did, she heard what Zaofan said so she went over to him, "P-Sta had made it his mission to capture Sasheem, in a way he succeeded. Eva thought she could tame Sasheem, we thought she could as well. Turned out we were all wrong. But P-Sta's sacrifice may have succeeded where we failed. I've wondered whether if we were able to talk to P-Sta, would he want us to remove him from the majin? I'm not happy about it either, but fate has a funny way of working when we let it take it's own natural course."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Zaofan stirs his stew, picks up a scoop, and plops it right back into the bowl again. He does this a couple more times before he begins to answer, starting with a heavy sigh. "You know, we weren't even that close. But I thought fondly of him. I was looking forward to seeing him after six months. We didn't always see eye-to-eye -- no pun intended -- but he was a fighter for justice, and I respect that. He was one of us. He doesn't deserve this fate."

He stirs again, then puts the bowl on the table. He removes his feet from the table back to the ground, leans forward, elbows on the table, and leans towards Parsley, his hands motioning about to frame each sentence. "But while losing him hurts, it also hurts that ... that I was duped by Sasheem. I thought we were tight. I liked him, too. I thought we got along well because we were friends! But the dishonesty, the cruelty, the sadism -- today, I lost two friends."

Finally, he leans back in his chair, defeated, resigned to that last fact. "Sasheem was unique. And I'd never been friends with a space cop before. But no, Sarada was right. I vouched for Sasheem when the others wanted to get rid of him. I stood up for him. And I was wrong. I guess... I guess I'm disappointed in myself, too."

Zaofan goes back to his bowl. He picks up a spoonful of stew, brings it up, and turns the spoon over, letting it drip down like heavy rain.

"In some ways, because I knew him longer, a part of me thought Sasheem was more of a brother-in-arms than I was with P-Sta."

It was guilt and anger, both directed at himself, plus the latter also directed at Sasheem.

Parsley had only known him for a relative short time -- much shorter than Zaofan -- yet she knew immediately that he was nothing worth the trouble spent overlooking his faults. He made it beyond clear that he held no good opinion on anyone in the group, and it was more than clear that he planned on going on a killing spree the moment all their enemies had been dealt with.

This, to her, made him a liability. Yes, his strength and power were unquestioned and his techniques useful, but that didn't outweigh the risks of allowing him to get stronger as they survived fight after fight. When all was said and done, it would have been better to kill him and move on, rather than just deal with the bad because the good was what they needed at the moment. He wasn't so powerful that they couldn't overcome his absence in some means.

"Dishonesty is often what hurts the most in moments of betrayal," she spoke. "Which is why I don't have many friends. You can't be betrayed if there's no one there to betray you."

Not to say that she had no one. She obviously did; her point was keeping her circle of associates small minimized the chance of her been stabbed in the back. It helped that Saiyans were too straightforward for betrayal.

"If you want my advice, just kill him and be done with it. If for no other reason than eliminating an obvious future threat."

[Lord Falcon]

Wilhelm walked up and carefully laid a hand on Asha’rah’s shoulder.

“Can’t...dwell...on the past. I know...loss. Pain. Hurt. Failure. Need to keep moving, need....to find balance. Peace with the past. Not even...gods....can go back, we can only...move forward and be....better.”

He looks at the oasis that Asha’rah created and a tender smile curls his lips.

“Life....in pain. Beauty....where once was....madness. How wonderful.”

He nods and leaves, motioning for the group to follow him back to the vehicle.

A weathered hand came to rest on Asha'rah's shoulder, lending what comfort it could. She turned with reddened eyes to face the old soldier the hand belonged to, and listened. Few could hope to compare to the magnitude of what Wilhelm had lost, had endured. Words already weighted with wisdom became even more so. They didn't say anything Asha'rah didn't already know. But it felt good to hear it from another.

She nodded and followed, quiet but less happily serene than she normally was.

The Nevadian nodded his head in agreement, "Fair enough, but before we get to that..."

He gazed at the robotic body before him, appraising her with his eyes.

"....Have you always been able to do the whole, umm...."

The Nevadian expanded his arms far above his head, as he stood on the balls of his feet, slightly raising his height.

"Giant thing?" He continued, dropping into his normal posture, "That's got to be a fun trick at parties....Huh."

The Nevadian stroked his chin thoughtfully, as he furrowed his brow, recalling something from long ago.

"Come to think of it, I do remember seeing a giant...err--you, I guess-- shaped thing when we all met up at Jinzi's place for a split second. I mostly wrote it off as having too much to drink along with swamp gas reflected off of an orbital balloon near Venus or something causing an optical illusion.....Guess not, huh?"

Still....Jeez. I almost feel sorry for Hammer. All that trouble just to get put down like that. Then again, in his state, it was probably a mercy.

OOC: Just a note, Asha'rah is currently manifested in her godly form. You can see a picture of what she looks like on her profile in the discussion thread.

IC:

Held's penchant for thoughtful, light rumination appeared almost unflappable. Asha'rah managed a smile, despite the weight of her mood.

"I have been incapable of that particular form of growth for many millenia. My memories are still not complete, but I think I learned to do it during the War in Heaven. It is simply a greater manifestation of my spirit, trapped as it is in my robotic form which exists even now below the original personage you see before you. So there were not many parties for me to entertain with this 'trick', as you say. Back when we were first gathered, Kami's divine ki mixed with my own, and briefly triggered a surge in my spirit before my prison adjusted. That surge was what you saw."

Those early days had been filled with adventure and mishaps. It felt like a lifetime ago. Unusual for an immortal who had lived since the dawn of creation.

The Nevadian had said something about Namekians earlier, in the midst of battle didn't he? Right before he asked Asha'rah for information...ah yes.

"We have met at least four Namekians since we gathered. Perhaps you remember Shimmer? He works for us now, in the shadows."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

After stopping to check on the Princess, Meagan made her way back. As she did, she heard what Zaofan said so she went over to him, "P-Sta had made it his mission to capture Sasheem, in a way he succeeded. Eva thought she could tame Sasheem, we thought she could as well. Turned out we were all wrong. But P-Sta's sacrifice may have succeeded where we failed. I've wondered whether if we were able to talk to P-Sta, would he want us to remove him from the majin? I'm not happy about it either, but fate has a funny way of working when we let it take it's own natural course."

Praxat who was near the room where the Princess is sleeping reels her tongue back into her mouth that part of it was outside the bunker and gets out of her mech . Praxat then wraps her tongue around her mech and lifts it high off the ground with her tongue and starts heading towards the armory. of course she could just pilot it there but Praxat wanted to prove that she wasn't bluffing about her tongue being capable of support multiple tonnage . when Praxat sees Megan and Zaofan in the Mess Hall she puts her mech down and reels her tongue back in her mouth.


she then looks at Megan and Zaofan saying " I'll be getting my meal right after I put my mech up." " I kept guard on the Princess' room while at the same time helping to fight off those things that were outside." " just in case there was a breach." " good thing there wasn't."


" the look on your face tells me something is on your two's minds." " probably something I shouldn't bother myself with. "

[MrSandman]

It was guilt and anger, both directed at himself, plus the latter also directed at Sasheem.

Parsley had only known him for a relative short time -- much shorter than Zaofan -- yet she knew immediately that he was nothing worth the trouble spent overlooking his faults. He made it beyond clear that he held no good opinion on anyone in the group, and it was more than clear that he planned on going on a killing spree the moment all their enemies had been dealt with.

This, to her, made him a liability. Yes, his strength and power were unquestioned and his techniques useful, but that didn't outweigh the risks of allowing him to get stronger as they survived fight after fight. When all was said and done, it would have been better to kill him and move on, rather than just deal with the bad because the good was what they needed at the moment. He wasn't so powerful that they couldn't overcome his absence in some means.

"Dishonesty is often what hurts the most in moments of betrayal," she spoke. "Which is why I don't have many friends. You can't be betrayed if there's no one there to betray you."

Not to say that she had no one. She obviously did; her point was keeping her circle of associates small minimized the chance of her been stabbed in the back. It helped that Saiyans were too straightforward for betrayal.

"If you want my advice, just kill him and be done with it. If for no other reason than eliminating an obvious future threat."

"No...I wouldn't advise that." The tiny voice of Blue Etrina finally made its presence known.

"He may be a future threat, but for the moment he's operating under the same idea that the rest of us are....there are bigger threats to face and doing so with any less then our full power would be foolish. This is the lesson you wished the teach when you berated me about the weapons earlier is it not?"

The little foci hopped up on the saiyans shoulder and set her focus on Zaofan. "He isn't the only one who can play a deceitful game. Quell your anger and remember, as long as he continues to work with us....the means to save your friend P-Sha will always be within reach. Scare him away or kill him and we'll only lose in the long run. Let him think what he wants of us, plot his petty schemes.....not like he's ever subtle about them anyways. When the time comes my master will deal with him."

The foci sighed, and attempted to put on a friendly face. "So keep your chin up, Zaofan. If the master sees you sad when she gets back it'll put in her in a bad mood.......she might even forgo all my good advise and kill him outright."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

A half hour passes, and the vehicle Wilhelm took returns to the bunker, those that went with him to the Cairn Yard returned as well, with Sarada and Erosa clinging to the top of the vehicle as there was no room for them inside.

Parking it back in the shed near the bunker, Wilhelm spies some of the damage.

“Attacked? Someone....used powers, yes?”

He shakes his head.

“Lucky. Only a few worms and birds. Could have....been worse. Bigger. Meaner.”

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She almost felt that love-tap? That didn't bode well for the massive amounts of strength that Ishtar's new form was purported to possess. She felt stronger...

How much stronger, Sarada didn't know. She did know, however, how much she wanted to find out. Through one means or another, she was going to test the full measure of this form's power. Of course, that meant she was going to have to do some training so she wasn't immediately pasted when she finally convinced her love to go all out and not hold back for her account. "I will test the extent of this form's strength. After I train to build my own strength up, of course."

Araska was one of the new techniques Ishtar developed during the last six months. Hearing that it was feasible in battle was good news. More so was that she was familiar with whoever was fucked up enough to build a place like this. "Do you know who it was? A name, I mean?"

At hearing Sarada's desire to give the new -- if temporary -- form a test run, after she'd strengthened herself up so as to not be made wholly irrelevant, Ishtar cracked a smile. "Do that. It will give me time to perhaps manage this form without time constraints. Perhaps even permanently."

Running a finger across the surface of one horn, the Oni then added. "I ... quite like these."

The matter of the Carin Yard's source however was certainly more important than consideration for things that would not happen for a time, and so when Sarada asked if Ishtar had a name, the Oni considered it some moments before shaking her head slowly. "The name remains elusive. Yet somehow ... Hm." The golden-eyed Oni trailed off for several moments, before shaking her head.

"Perhaps it is not coincidence. The woman that we found inside the Room of Spirit and Time. I found her name in the Archive held by Wilhelm ... The true form of the selfsame soul who shares space within Ereshkigal." Ishtar explained, before offering a name.

"Shek'hinah, Goddess of Creation."

It would make some sense, one supposed, and yet it didn't quite explain why Shek'hinah had been divested of her body. It was possible she was lying ... fickle as the Kai, and true Gods were ... and yet there certainly seemed to be no such thing. To say nothing of the fact that the three -- Ereshkigal, Ishtar, and Shek'hinah -- were somehow inextricably linked.

"I cannot confirm or disprove the truth of this yet ... Shek'hinah being responsible for this ... place ... yet it should be a simple enough matter upon our return."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

A half hour passes, and the vehicle Wilhelm took returns to the bunker, those that went with him to the Cairn Yard returned as well, with Sarada and Erosa clinging to the top of the vehicle as there was no room for them inside.

Parking it back in the shed near the bunker, Wilhelm spies some of the damage.

“Attacked? Someone....used powers, yes?”

He shakes his head.

“Lucky. Only a few worms and birds. Could have....been worse. Bigger. Meaner.”

Ishtar appraises the corpses before turning to Wilhelm.

"Will the noise of combat attract more ?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ishtar appraises the corpses before turning to Wilhelm.

"Will the noise of combat attract more ?"

He pauses and shrugs slightly.

“Not...normally. Old tech...no, some of the newer...machines...sophisticated enough, maybe, to...investigate. Doubtful...any nearby, though.”

[KingofPie]

He pauses and shrugs slightly.

“Not...normally. Old tech...no, some of the newer...machines...sophisticated enough, maybe, to...investigate. Doubtful...any nearby, though.”

"Newer machines?" Sasheem spoke up, still outside the bunker to practice swinging his makeshift sword made of the robotic worm's scales. He stoppedal to greet the returning party. "Who in the blue hell's building those smart enough to track ki usage?"

[Cyke]

After stopping to check on the Princess, Meagan made her way back. As she did, she heard what Zaofan said so she went over to him, "P-Sta had made it his mission to capture Sasheem, in a way he succeeded. Eva thought she could tame Sasheem, we thought she could as well. Turned out we were all wrong. But P-Sta's sacrifice may have succeeded where we failed. I've wondered whether if we were able to talk to P-Sta, would he want us to remove him from the majin? I'm not happy about it either, but fate has a funny way of working when we let it take it's own natural course."

"Huh. I hadn't considered the possibility of even being able to contact P-Sta," Zaofan confesses. "And if we did, to ask what he would want. Or even how to get him out of there?"

He scratches the side of his head in frustration. "What would it even take to pull off such a feat? Gah."

It was guilt and anger, both directed at himself, plus the latter also directed at Sasheem.

Parsley had only known him for a relative short time -- much shorter than Zaofan -- yet she knew immediately that he was nothing worth the trouble spent overlooking his faults. He made it beyond clear that he held no good opinion on anyone in the group, and it was more than clear that he planned on going on a killing spree the moment all their enemies had been dealt with.

This, to her, made him a liability. Yes, his strength and power were unquestioned and his techniques useful, but that didn't outweigh the risks of allowing him to get stronger as they survived fight after fight. When all was said and done, it would have been better to kill him and move on, rather than just deal with the bad because the good was what they needed at the moment. He wasn't so powerful that they couldn't overcome his absence in some means.

"Dishonesty is often what hurts the most in moments of betrayal," she spoke. "Which is why I don't have many friends. You can't be betrayed if there's no one there to betray you."

Not to say that she had no one. She obviously did; her point was keeping her circle of associates small minimized the chance of her been stabbed in the back. It helped that Saiyans were too straightforward for betrayal.

"If you want my advice, just kill him and be done with it. If for no other reason than eliminating an obvious future threat."

"No...I wouldn't advise that." The tiny voice of Blue Etrina finally made its presence known.

"He may be a future threat, but for the moment he's operating under the same idea that the rest of us are....there are bigger threats to face and doing so with any less then our full power would be foolish. This is the lesson you wished the teach when you berated me about the weapons earlier is it not?"

The little foci hopped up on the saiyans shoulder and set her focus on Zaofan. "He isn't the only one who can play a deceitful game. Quell your anger and remember, as long as he continues to work with us....the means to save your friend P-Sha will always be within reach. Scare him away or kill him and we'll only lose in the long run. Let him think what he wants of us, plot his petty schemes.....not like he's ever subtle about them anyways. When the time comes my master will deal with him."

The foci sighed, and attempted to put on a friendly face. "So keep your chin up, Zaofan. If the master sees you sad when she gets back it'll put in her in a bad mood.......she might even forgo all my good advise and kill him outright."

Zaofan nearly jumps out of his chair at the sight of Blue Etrina, nearly spilling his bowl, flailing his hands up just a bit.

Regaining his breath once the chair stops rumbling, Zaofan places one hand on his chest, giving Blue Etrina a somewhat annoyed look. Nonetheless, he concedes the point. "The greater good, eh? I'll stay my hand for now. But if Etrina deals with him, I want to be there when that happens. I imagine a few of us would want to be there, too."

[Miburo]

A weathered hand came to rest on Asha'rah's shoulder, lending what comfort it could. She turned with reddened eyes to face the old soldier the hand belonged to, and listened. Few could hope to compare to the magnitude of what Wilhelm had lost, had endured. Words already weighted with wisdom became even more so. They didn't say anything Asha'rah didn't already know. But it felt good to hear it from another.

She nodded and followed, quiet but less happily serene than she normally was.





OOC: Just a note, Asha'rah is currently manifested in her godly form. You can see a picture of what she looks like on her profile in the discussion thread.

IC:

Held's penchant for thoughtful, light rumination appeared almost unflappable. Asha'rah managed a smile, despite the weight of her mood.

"I have been incapable of that particular form of growth for many millenia. My memories are still not complete, but I think I learned to do it during the War in Heaven. It is simply a greater manifestation of my spirit, trapped as it is in my robotic form which exists even now below the original personage you see before you. So there were not many parties for me to entertain with this 'trick', as you say. Back when we were first gathered, Kami's divine ki mixed with my own, and briefly triggered a surge in my spirit before my prison adjusted. That surge was what you saw."

Those early days had been filled with adventure and mishaps. It felt like a lifetime ago. Unusual for an immortal who had lived since the dawn of creation.

The Nevadian had said something about Namekians earlier, in the midst of battle didn't he? Right before he asked Asha'rah for information...ah yes.

"We have met at least four Namekians since we gathered. Perhaps you remember Shimmer? He works for us now, in the shadows."

OOC: Held needs to write things down.

IC:

Held stared blankly at Asha'Rah. Her explanation was, if nothing else, quite thorough, but the Nevadian had a difficult time parsing it. War in Heaven? Millennia? It was almost as if they were speaking to one another in a different language. For the moment, the Nevadian pushed his confusion out of his mind, although it was likely evident on his face.

"Ahaha." Held laughed nervously, "So, that's a no then, right?"

Let's focus on what we can understand, I guess.....I get that Kami and her ki fused.....Whatever, let's just move on. We'll just write it off as god stuff doing god things.

"....Shimmer?" Held closed his eyes, thinking back to that familiar name, from so long ago. His eyes popped open, as he recalled the Red Namekian. "....Wasn't he the guy you...er...."

He fumbled for the correct wording. "Took his two dragon balls from, so to speak?"

Held shuddered, the image fresh in his mind, the power of the Shingan allowing him to see the deed take place on such a level that it was as bad as it could get without being personally defeated in such a way.

Huh.

Thinking back to that time, and seeing Asha'Rah before him, the Nevadian suddenly became aware of a few subtle differences between then and now which he seemed to have overlook previously.

The very fact that Asha'Rah managed a smile was a stark contrast to her normal, expressionless face, a mask of gold and silver. In fact, the very fact that she had an expression of any kind was different that what he had recalled. Admittedly, it had been several months since he had last saw her, and they had mostly a passing familiarity, but he was fairly certain on that particular point.

"Wait, you're a girl?" Held asked, shifting his thoughts away from the red Namekian to what seemed to be far more confusing matters to him. "I mean, I knew you were a girl robot, or something, but you actually look.....I guess....Organic, now."

....I think she did say something about a robotic form in her explanation.....That does imply that there's an alternative, I guess. Good Grief, this is why I mind my own business. I'm going to be up all night trying to figure out what the hell is up with this one....This is almost as bad as the time I talked to Ishtar.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

He pauses and shrugs slightly.

“Not...normally. Old tech...no, some of the newer...machines...sophisticated enough, maybe, to...investigate. Doubtful...any nearby, though.”

"I see." Ishtar said with a nod.

"In any event, it seems that there are those here incapable of listening, the sooner we leave the better, so ... pack whatever you wish to bring, the worst case is that we will never return here."

Ishtar wished to of course, this Universe was ancient and full of secrets, and yet one could never be sure in these matters.

"Newer machines?" Sasheem spoke up, still outside the bunker to practice swinging his makeshift sword made of the robotic worm's scales. He stoppedal to greet the returning party. "Who in the blue hell's building those smart enough to track ki usage?"

"The equivalent of Jinzi Pantaloon in this Universe, perhaps. Or something older." Ishtar commented, before eyeing the Majin curiously.

"Enjoying yourself ?"

[KingofPie]

"The equivalent of Jinzi Pantaloon in this Universe, perhaps. Or something older." Ishtar commented, before eyeing the Majin curiously.

"Enjoying yourself ?"

"..." Sasheem, yawned his focus now going back to testing his new weapon. "Not Sasheem's ideal vacation, smashing things is always fun."