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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

All this death and destruction -- and now Sasheem and attempted genocide...

Sasheem, an entity that he's fought side-by-side with, an entity that's saved him before ... committing genocide... that was unforgivable.

Everything around Zaofan seems to be falling to him. For all his ideals, for all his efforts, for all his faith in the world and in his friends -- everything is collapsing.

Not to mention that he was a man out of time, along with many of his friends.

Zaofan sits down, trying to calm himself and take deep breaths, and he finds it failing. He struggles to keep it together. His fist clenches and shakes. The anxiety coming forth like an invading army.

He wonders, did the Zaofan of this world keep up his optimism? Did he slowly morph into a man full of despair and hopelessness? Did he go down fighting, or did he give up trying to save the world?

Sitting by himself, Zaofan's head dips low, his shoulders slump over. He sits up again, only to lay his head on the wall, looking up. He can try to regain his resolve, sure. But that in itself may prove the hardest training of all.



He looks forward, and says meekly but with a conviction that seeks to come out, "Mr. Pantaloon, once it is safe enough to proceed, we must go after those hives. If we don't succeed, all these sacrifices will be for nothing."

If anyone could get the task done, it would be Charco and Held indeed. Godspeed, you two.

He nods.

“That’s the idea. There were ten, nown just two. Those gone the Lyne are gone.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sarada felt the concern Ishtar felt when Asha'rah's fate was revealed. She left when she had a lead on the missing Guardians. It was obvious that this timeline's Asha'rah wasn't the Asha'rah they themselves had come to know, so her fate was still up in the air. Still, her absence thus far was concerning.

"I wouldn't worry about Asha'rah," she told the blue Oni. "If there's anyone who can walk through time like you and I can walk through this base, it's her. She is a Goddess after all, right?" She offered her a reassuring smile.



But, the smile didn't last long. The news of this this timeline's Sarada and Ishtar's deaths at the hands of Jagam hit Ishtar as hard as it hit her. At least we'll die together, was the best she could offer her, a silver lining in the center of an otherwise bleak foretelling of her future. Or, one of the possible futures. She wouldn't profess to know anything about time travel, but knowing the future would almost invariably mean that her immediate future had changed in some imperceptible way. Likely enough to ensure that they wouldn't die against Jagam, and may actually beat him without anyone dying.

A childish dream, but one she was going to cling to until that time came.



Oh.

Ahahaha. So, Jagam fell at the hands of a purebred Saiyan. Her hands, to be precise. There was a poetic justice in that. This gave her even more hope that her training was going to pay off.

Should I ask him how I did it? Would that change my future so that it doesn't work when I try it?

Probably, but knowing would give her some ideas, and obviously if the means Future Sarada used were fatal, then it would behoove her to avoid those at all costs.

"Did Totoma say how I did it? Was I a Super Saiyan?"

The second question was just blurted out of the blue. She hadn't even thought that a possibility, yet if what Tasure said was true and Jagam was a Super Saiyan, then it stood to reason that she was one as well.

He shakes his head.

“He never said, sorry.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Meagan waited, allowing every one to talk and all things to be explained and resolved as much s they can be. The time will come, it was something she needed to do before they found themselves in another life-or-death situation.

When they can, Jinzi steps aside with her.

“Yes?”

[Hazard]

"I understand that he was your ally, but you must understand that before I was, illegally, dragged into the future, I was in pursuit of the Majin for various murder charges, attempted genocide, rampant destruction and more! Possibly not even attempted genocide if he truly wiped all of the Fake Namekians from existance..." P-Sta shook his head.

"As for how I got dragged into this....thats a good question! Time travel isn't just a Galactic offense it's a universal one! Whoever did this to us will be immediately brought into custody!" P-Stay sanded punching a fist into an empty palm.

"The Fake Namekians are gone? Truly?" Slak asks before catching himself. "No. Nevermind. This is not the place."

Even if they are a vile species of jackasses who give real Namekians a bad name.

“Once Charco and Held get back, maybe we’ll know for sure where the other Hives are. For now, can you reach out and try to find your counterpart? He’a been missing for years.”

"I..." Caught by his own words. How tragic. "I can try. I promise no successes though. For all I know, the me of this time is not even on this planet."

After saying that, Slak closes his eyes and tries to find... himself. The planet is largely empty, a psychic presence like his should not be too hard to locate.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"The Fake Namekians are gone? Truly?" Slak asks before catching himself. "No. Nevermind. This is not the place."

Even if they are a vile species of jackasses who give real Namekians a bad name.



"I..." Caught by his own words. How tragic. "I can try. I promise no successes though. For all I know, the me of this time is not even on this planet."

After saying that, Slak closes his eyes and tries to find... himself. The planet is largely empty, a psychic presence like his should not be too hard to locate.

He finds himself.

A psychic ‘ping’ somewhere on the North continent. Near someone who senses similar to Etrina but twisted somehow.

[rhyvurg]

“Sure does. It’s busy keeping me alive.” a new voice rings out.

Stepping into the room is an older Jack Knave.

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His left eye gone, scars littering his exposed skin. He nods to Jinzi, and puffs on the lit cigarette in his right hand. The others would notice his left hand is missing.

“Here, I’ll show ya.”

His left empty eye socket opens and leaks a silvery liquid that runs down his arm until it forms a new silver fist where his left should have been. A faint glowing eye also appears in the empty socket.

“Managed to salvage a chunk of Adam. He maintains my body, forms an eye and hand fer me when he can. Sort of my ace in the hole.”

The silver liquid retreats back to the eye, which closes again.

Adam was very interested in speaking with Shiro and Midori's older selves, but it knew, as always, that it's desires were secondary, far secondary, to the mission. His planet was in danger, threatened by alien technology. Jinzi could tell it much of what happened, but he lacked the same perspective. Adam approaches Old Jack. "Pleas remain still, I will not endanger your life but that is a part of me, I must know what I know."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

When they can, Jinzi steps aside with her.

“Yes?”

"Of course it wouldn't be that easy," Sarada muttered. "Thanks anyway."

She glanced at Future Jack before looking away. There was something she wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure how to go about it. She wasn't even sure why that mattered to her.

[Hazard]

He finds himself.

A psychic ‘ping’ somewhere on the North continent. Near someone who senses similar to Etrina but twisted somehow.

Slak finds himself.

He is not sure how to feel about that.

"It seems I was successful. I can feel a presence like mine somewhere in the North Continent," he says then frowns. "There is also someone who feels similar to Etrina there."

[MrSandman]

All this death and destruction -- and now Sasheem and attempted genocide...

Sasheem, an entity that he's fought side-by-side with, an entity that's saved him before ... committing genocide... that was unforgivable.

Everything around Zaofan seems to be falling to him. For all his ideals, for all his efforts, for all his faith in the world and in his friends -- everything is collapsing.

Not to mention that he was a man out of time, along with many of his friends.

Zaofan sits down, trying to calm himself and take deep breaths, and he finds it failing. He struggles to keep it together. His fist clenches and shakes. The anxiety coming forth like an invading army.

He wonders, did the Zaofan of this world keep up his optimism? Did he slowly morph into a man full of despair and hopelessness? Did he go down fighting, or did he give up trying to save the world?

Sitting by himself, Zaofan's head dips low, his shoulders slump over. He sits up again, only to lay his head on the wall, looking up. He can try to regain his resolve, sure. But that in itself may prove the hardest training of all.

"Ero..." Erosa sat down beside Zaofan and let herself lean up against his side, much like a cat would to her owner. "Don't look like that.....Your the Cookman, Zaofan. You're always so happy and nice....Its not the end of the world....I mean, its is, but its NOT the end of the world until you di......I mean YOU die, not the you that's here dies....and ahhh...." Erosa shivered in distress.

He nods.

“That’s the idea. There were ten, nown just two. Those gone the Lyne are gone.”

"Assuming they can't just send more.....we're basically fighting a defensive war against an invasion force from another dimension. You could have been fighting the equivalent of their scouting party for the past 15 years....." Etrina silenced herself, eyes down on the floor. "I'm sorry.....I don't want to be negative right now. We can only work with whats put before us...."

Slak finds himself.

He is not sure how to feel about that.

"It seems I was successful. I can feel a presence like mine somewhere in the North Continent," he says then frowns. "There is also someone who feels similar to Etrina there."

Etrina gaze drops even further, and for a moment she feels like a cold chill down her spine.

[Tami]

When they can, Jinzi steps aside with her.

“Yes?”

"I wonder if you you know what I'm thinking." She touched his hand, the one with the ring still on it, "It's been a long time since you lost your Meagan. Perhaps its best not to think of us as the same. I might end up sharing her fate, or, if we succeed and free Earth, the one who sent us here might offer us a chance to go back. I don't want to hurt you, I would hate to see you in pain. If given the choice to go back, I may have to. Whatever happens, I just wanted you to know."

[KingofPie]

“Tried. Their comms can’t reach us and their ships that have tried to breach atmosphere have crashed.”

"Damn..." P-Sta sighed, lowering his head. "What the hell are these machines...?" He asked, slumping to the floor. "Whenever we return to the past...measures will have to be taken to prevent this from occuring...though, is that breaking the law? Our very knowledge of the future would probably already alter the past and so...' P-Sta clutched his head. "I'm beginning to think time travel is only outlawed because it's headache inducing..."

He turned to the aged inventor. "Pantaloon...the officers that crashed. I assume these...Lyne creatures have killed them?"

[grampagen]

Standing against the wall eating scattering crumbs contained within a gnarled foil ration, Ochazuke appraised the base around them.

"So this is Charlie Base," he uttered, "Did Rautt finally come to an understanding?"

“Chuan is in capsule storage, Chou was never found. Koorimaru died, Zaofan you died, Charco is still here, and Ochazuke just died two weeks ago. Went out bringing down one of the Lyne’s main hives. Only two left and we’ll have beaten them. Sasheem is dead too, though before the Lyne showed up. Executed by the Galaxy Police.”

"Is this a belief that they can be defeated, or something you know for sure," he asked, "their arrival was not predicted before they sealed off the Earth from the universe. Who can say that this is all they have?"

The coldness of Ochazuke's query cut to the heart of the matter, searching for certainty without compromise. More than that, the picture of his death Jinzi relayed, fighting to fell a hive of mindless drones, carried with it the unspoken intonation that stuck him deeply. His life's work of unifying the Five Schools clearly had not come to fruition if he and Zaofan had fallen so quickly, and with their deaths the legacy of two thousand years was snuffed out entirely.

He had never been a man of much faith, but desperation made fools of them all. He then understood all too well the mechanism of the hive's destruction.

"Empty victories are a poor thing to die for."

“Charco is scouting one such location and so is our Held. They should both be back by tomorrow.”

He nods.

“That’s the idea. There were ten, nown just two. Those gone the Lyne are gone.”

With no way to return to the past by any means they had possessed here, Ochazuke appraised the situation, deathly quiet where he stood apart from the wall.

Once again we find ourselves moved by some cruel design, he thought to himself, The Guardian Evangeline pulled us together in a desperate attempt to intercept a danger to our world. This is a resplendent chaos.

Yet even though ripples may be cast onto the lake below, it was a deed rendered by rain cast from above; so close and near had their sudden excision been from their various works that the action of time-travel had eluded them. Appropriately, so would its purpose. A few questions lingered in his mind. Across the span of long, slow minutes, he would have to hear the answers from the Charco and Held of this timeline.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Adam was very interested in speaking with Shiro and Midori's older selves, but it knew, as always, that it's desires were secondary, far secondary, to the mission. His planet was in danger, threatened by alien technology. Jinzi could tell it much of what happened, but he lacked the same perspective. Adam approaches Old Jack. "Pleas remain still, I will not endanger your life but that is a part of me, I must know what I know."

Old Jack raises his in a stopping motion.

“Easy. Just don’t go taking it into yourself.”

It flows from his eye again and extends a small tendril to Adam.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Damn..." P-Sta sighed, lowering his head. "What the hell are these machines...?" He asked, slumping to the floor. "Whenever we return to the past...measures will have to be taken to prevent this from occuring...though, is that breaking the law? Our very knowledge of the future would probably already alter the past and so...' P-Sta clutched his head. "I'm beginning to think time travel is only outlawed because it's headache inducing..."

He turned to the aged inventor. "Pantaloon...the officers that crashed. I assume these...Lyne creatures have killed them?"

He nods.

“We never found any alive.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Standing against the wall eating scattering crumbs contained within a gnarled foil ration, Ochazuke appraised the base around them.

"So this is Charlie Base," he uttered, "Did Rautt finally come to an understanding?"



"Is this a belief that they can be defeated, or something you know for sure," he asked, "their arrival was not predicted before they sealed off the Earth from the universe. Who can say that this is all they have?"

The coldness of Ochazuke's query cut to the heart of the matter, searching for certainty without compromise. More than that, the picture of his death Jinzi relayed, fighting to fell a hive of mindless drones, carried with it the unspoken intonation that stuck him deeply. His life's work of unifying the Five Schools clearly had not come to fruition if he and Zaofan had fallen so quickly, and with their deaths the legacy of two thousand years was snuffed out entirely.

He had never been a man of much faith, but desperation made fools of them all. He then understood all too well the mechanism of the hive's destruction.

"Empty victories are a poor thing to die for."





With no way to return to the past by any means they had possessed here, Ochazuke appraised the situation, deathly quiet where he stood apart from the wall.

Once again we find ourselves moved by some cruel design, he thought to himself, The Guardian Evangeline pulled us together in a desperate attempt to intercept a danger to our world. This is a resplendent chaos.

Yet even though ripples may be cast onto the lake below, it was a deed rendered by rain cast from above; so close and near had their sudden excision been from their various works that the action of time-travel had eluded them. Appropriately, so would its purpose. A few questions lingered in his mind. Across the span of long, slow minutes, he would have to hear the answers from the Charco and Held of this timeline.

“Because when we took down a hive Queen we managed to salvage some of their digital records. This group of Lyne are outcasts. Even their own kind did not want them. There were ten Hives banished, and we’ve taken out eight.”

Samson Balon walks into the room. Older still, his frame somewhat shrunken, but a fierce determination burning in his eyes. He smiles at Ochazuke and Zaofan, performing the hand signs of greeting to them both.

With him is the still very attractive Willa Rautt. She seems much unchanged, and she simply quirks an eyebrow at them.