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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

[Tami]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

Meagan, Cyanna, and Dash summon their weapons and prepare to fight.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Nothing.

Not even a flicker on the scouter.

The ground trembles again, and a massive hand the size of Sarada erupts from under her and grasps her, clamping down with unnatural strength. The hand is skeletal, humanoid, and covered in the stink of carrion and copper from the strips of meat and smears of blood still on it.

Well, that was strange. The incoming creature didn't have a power level. Which meant that it was either somehow an animated corpse or mechanical. Either was, this was a nuisance.

She started to relay this to the others when a massive hand shot out of the ground and snatched her up. It squeezed on her like a vice. "AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!" She didn't know what was worse: the smell -- that of rotting flesh -- or being reduced to someone needing to be rescued. Her pride said the latter; everything else said the former.

The others came to her aid, which was good. She didn't have it in her to breath in so she could let loose a Roar of Defiance. She'd let them have... wait. Since this thing was dead, it should have offered no resistance to Cardinal Touch.

...no, never mind. Memories of it backfiring when she tried it with Jagam made her think twice.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Ishtar had felt it coming for some time now, the feeling of fire, and rage. It is what had guided her, quickly, to begin her bloody work to reform the spell, reverse it, so that they might find passage home. Yet try as she might, she had almost run out of time.

Seeing how much blood she was losing, Meagan made a decision, "Isthar, I can help you. I can convert Ki and other energies into magical energy and use it to boost your power."

Ishtar turns slightly from her frantic scrawling, even as the ground begins to quake and the stench of death rises up from below to permeate the air.

"I do not need power. I need Blo-"

And like that, time was up.

With a shuddering and a vomiting of blood -- which added to the fuel that would be the spell -- Ishtar convulsed once, before falling still. Her Ki, and even the blood flowing from her arm slowing to a trickle as her energy sputtered and died ...

Only for the golden-eyed Oni to reignite all at once, the air around her releasing an audible crackle as her body was enveloped in that golden-black Ki ... and when it faded, there was both Ishtar ... and yet the whispered beginnings of what it was she had finally accepted after so long:

When it was the Oni had settled then, she stared at Meagan quizzically a moment as if attempting to remember something, before turning back to her work.

"I just need blood, all else has been accounted for."

"How much time do you need, Isthar? Cause something wicked this way comes."

Not bothering to turn away from her work this time, Ishtar simply stated.

"As much as you can secure."

[Cyke]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

Seeing the Optic Blast only feeding the creature, and threatened by the sheer smell, Zaofan takes out a lemon and rubs lemon juice on his upper lip, below the nose. "Augh! That stench...!"

Meagan, Cyanna, and Dash summon their weapons and prepare to fight.

Following their cue, Zaofan likewise summons his own. "BOOOOH-JACK!" His trusty katchin staff materializes once more.

Hovering a few inches off the ground, Zaofan then rockets in the opposite direction. Judging from the creature's durability, he'll need the room. Once he gets to a far enough distance, he fires another Optic Blast at the creature, then initiates a burst of his own speed to merge with the blast, turning himself into a red rocket. "Crimson Dynamite Attack!"

The human crimson rocket blasts forward at amazing speeds, making a beeline for the creature's arm, turning himself into a boomerang. With Bojack on the windup, he swings at the best possible moment, just when he passes the creature, slamming the arm and bone with the combined force of the optic blast, the katchin staff, and his own tremendous strength.

The crimson flare ceases as Zaofan's feet drag across the ground, braking to an eventual stop, the bo staff pointed forward from the swing. Standing up, Zaofan then turns around to see its effects on the arm holding Sarada captive.

[Ptrvc]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

"Look out, I think these things drain life energy!"

Jack adjusted his grip on the sword so that he was holding it by the blade. Swinging weapon as a makeshift warhammer, Jack struck the fingers with the hilt.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

Okay. Okay, this was a tight jam. It could absorb ki -- another point for her second guessing her idea -- and doing so made its grip tighter than before. "I... am not... a fucking... damsel!!" Its smell was absolutely horrendous. Whatever appetite she had was gone, evaporated like a drop of water in the center of a desert. Ki didn't work; Jack's sword couldn't break through the bone. There was only one thing left to do.

Her blutz lamps clicked on, infusing her with the lunar energy necessary to trigger her transformation. This time, she didn't stop, but transformed into a full-fledged Oozaru. If ki didn't work, then she'd match size for size and strength.

[Tami]

Ishtar had felt it coming for some time now, the feeling of fire, and rage. It is what had guided her, quickly, to begin her bloody work to reform the spell, reverse it, so that they might find passage home. Yet try as she might, she had almost run out of time.



Ishtar turns slightly from her frantic scrawling, even as the ground begins to quake and the stench of death rises up from below to permeate the air.

"I do not need power. I need Blo-"

And like that, time was up.

With a shuddering and a vomiting of blood -- which added to the fuel that would be the spell -- Ishtar convulsed once, before falling still. Her Ki, and even the blood flowing from her arm slowing to a trickle as her energy sputtered and died ...

Only for the golden-eyed Oni to reignite all at once, the air around her releasing an audible crackle as her body was enveloped in that golden-black Ki ... and when it faded, there was both Ishtar ... and yet the whispered beginnings of what it was she had finally accepted after so long:

When it was the Oni had settled then, she stared at Meagan quizzically a moment as if attempting to remember something, before turning back to her work.

"I just need blood, all else has been accounted for."



Not bothering to turn away from her work this time, Ishtar simply stated.

"As much as you can secure."

"That creature stinks of blood. "

[KingofPie]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

Sasheem glared at the camera for a minute in annoyance. But there wasn't much time for meta humore when such a rotten sench permeated the air.

"This is unbearable!" Sasheem stated. "And Sasheem knows unbearable after being stuck in a damn toilet for centuries!"

He shoots a blast of Venom Mist at the creature, in the hopes that it would deteriorate it's already rotting form even more.

[MrSandman]

Zaofan wraps his arm around Etrina's shoulders to add support and a kind presence. "We really should stop meeting like this," he deadpans before kissing her on the forehead.

"Then visit me outside of work for once...assuming the planet stops being in danger for more then six months." Etrina chuckled softly. "I have a doghouse outside my estate you could sleep in...at least until you built up the nerve to try something direct."

Zaofan is taken aback by the sight of a frog-man and an old friend. He then takes off his cape and drapes it over Etrina's shoulders for added comfort. "Excuse me. Give me a sec. I'll be right back."

He then takes a few steps over to Cyanna, Jack, and Praxat with a slight grin. "Jack. You know, in the midst of all this action, I never had the chance to properly welcome you back to the land of the living. It's good to have you back, friend." The chef pats Jack on the shoulder with one hand, while extending the other hand for a shake.

He then turns to Praxat with a kind smile. "Pardon me, but I don't think we've been introduced. The name's Zaofan, and I see you've made your way to this motley crew."

"Now that you mention it.....I was wondering why we had a frog looking person around...." Etrina hugged the cape in as she mulled over the situation and Ishtars explanation. "A makeshift spaceship.....not sure how optimal that is....especially without knowing the return point."

Mayhap it was Jack’s attempt to summon a spirit.

Perhaps it was Ishtar’s power seeking to grasp and hold onto the spell, her blood flowing freely, but the earth beneathe them all trembles.

And again.

And again.

Not an earthquake, but something deep below them moving.

Seeking.

Coming closer.

A carrier stench fills the air as the ground trembles again and start to crack apart.

"......and here comes a bother......." Etrina called her foci to her while Erosa brushed herself off and prepared for what was coming.

[MrSandman]

"That creature stinks of blood. "

"Yeah I know.....Isn't it awsome!" Erosa leap forward, a slick of drool forming at the corner of her mouth. "C'mere Big Guy! I wanna try out a new flavor!"

With blinding speed she shot forward and leapt onto the emerging head of...whatever it was....digging her claws in and igniting them into white hot fire as she racked them across and tried to find something she could sink her teeth into.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"You're not really trying to do what I think you are, Ishtar...."

His eyes narrowed slightly, as he scanned the Oni, connecting the dots between words and deed.

The Nevadian was no stranger to Runic Arts, having dedicated a considerable amount of time and energy to unlocking the power latent in his spear during his training. Tomes had been poured over, and all manner of secrets revealed. While the various styles of runes had different rules and such, the power that blood provided was a common thread found in the arts studied by the Nevadian.

"I don't know if Oni blood works differently, but even if you had that much more power for some reasons, we'd probably have to bleed you dry to pull it off."

Ishtar's bloody spell taking shape now as her clawed finger continues to carve the star map of the universe she was set on returning them to, the Oni nodded as Held realized what it was she planned for.

"If I do not try, we will die here. That much is certain."

Whether by this Skeletal Abomination or by natural processes failing do to an eventual lack of food, or water; most present would die if something was not done. That there was a chance they might as a result of the spell, in the end made little difference.

"So do what you can to make sure that protection should I drop us into airless space, is completed by the time the spell is finished... and ensure that one of those Hell Fruits is saved. I will need it when I am finished."

[Miburo]

Ishtar's bloody spell taking shape now as her clawed finger continues to carve the star map of the universe she was set on returning them to, the Oni nodded as Held realized what it was she planned for.

"If I do not try, we will die here. That much is certain."

Whether by this Skeletal Abomination or by natural processes failing do to an eventual lack of food, or water; most present would die if something was not done. That there was a chance they might as a result of the spell, in the end made little difference.

"So do what you can to make sure that protection should I drop us into airless space, is completed by the time the spell is finished... and ensure that one of those Hell Fruits is saved. I will need it when I am finished."

"I've got to stop coming back to this plane--"

He paused, remembering that wherever they were, this was not the planet they had been on previously.

"Earth. I've got to stop finding reasons to keep visiting that hornies nest...."

Protecting against suffocating? I don't even know if my aura could be of any help for myself, let alone the rest of them....I could probably manage to keep dying and reviving until my ki runs out...But that sounds worse than just dying itself....

Held shuddered slightly, as the vision of him awakening time after time, just to endure another miserable death appeared in his mind.

"...You make a good argument, I suppose. I'll see what I can do."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"I've got to stop coming back to this plane--"

He paused, remembering that wherever they were, this was not the planet they had been on previously.

"Earth. I've got to stop finding reasons to keep visiting that hornies nest...."

Protecting against suffocating? I don't even know if my aura could be of any help for myself, let alone the rest of them....I could probably manage to keep dying and reviving until my ki runs out...But that sounds worse than just dying itself....

Held shuddered slightly, as the vision of him awakening time after time, just to endure another miserable death appeared in his mind.

"...You make a good argument, I suppose. I'll see what I can do."

"If need be, I can simply draw everyone into Vaikuntha to ensure their survival," said Nevanlinna. "I am impressed that my brother was able to work sorcery like that, however haphazard it was"

There was a slight pause. "Do you require any assistance, Ishtar? I am, of course, more experienced with Threshling sorcery than anyone here, and this lot has... impressed me, thanks to that battle."

[Lord Falcon]

Meagan and Zaofan’s efforts are absorbed into the hand, no damage done, and indeed seems to make its grip on Sarada even tighter.

Jack’s sword does take a chunk out, but the bone is unnaturally hard. More of the arm breaks free from the earth, and soon the crown of a skeletal head starts to break free. The smell is horrible, rank and sweet and rotten, enough to even make a majin gag.

Asha'rah laid one hand gently upon the massive fingers gripping Sarada, breathing deeply as if she were without a hurried thought in the world.

Orb of Destruction.

A sphere of violet and black formed in the nest of her palm, reducing what it touched to the nothingness from hence it came.

"A grappling attack is a questionable gambit when outnumbered, my large friend."