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

[Tami]

Ochazuke and Zaofan:

A sudden thought pierces your mind. A thin whisper of something.

No God may cow the human spirit. Do not bow before a false idol. Stand.

And you find an inner reserve to throw back the overwhelming presence on yourself.

Ishtar:

Much like Ochazuke, you too find it easier to stand now. Knowledge of who you are, of Genesis, allows you to stand firm.

Everyone else there:

The spiritual weight is too much, and the rest of you stagger to knees or fall to the ground face first.

Her mind now clear again, Meagan takes Cyanna's hand, then opens her Third Eye once more. As she does, she uses the connection between the three to channel some of the Power granted by Iris into Dash.

Dash, feeling the power within her, seeing the image of Iris in front of her instead of this Auroc guy, gives her some strength to push back.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Much like Ochazuke, you too find it easier to stand now. Knowledge of who you are, of Genesis, allows you to stand firm.

It took a moment to collect herself, but this Hermit God was simply that. Another in a long line of absentee deities, and what was that in the face of GoD incumbent ? Or even Genesis .

A small fish, in a wide ocean.

The Oni's smile widened, as she shook off more weight.

"Now ... what is it that compels Auroc to turn his eyes toward those who are not chosen, hm ?"

"I asked a question, Hermit God. I would hear your answer."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It took a moment to collect herself, but this Hermit God was simply that. Another in a long line of absentee deities, and what was that in the face of GoD incumbent ? Or even Genesis .

A small fish, in a wide ocean.

The Oni's smile widened, as she shook off more weight.



"I asked a question, Hermit God. I would hear your answer."

“I grant a boon, Ishtar. My servent, Anula. Learn her magics. Learn my ways and truths. In time, when you come to me of your own volition, you shall feel my love and know my truth.”

Auroc chuckles, husky and sweet and terrifying.

[Cyke]

“I grant a boon, Ishtar. My servent, Anula. Learn her magics. Learn my ways and truths. In time, when you come to me of your own volition, you shall feel my love and know my truth.”

Auroc chuckles, husky and sweet and terrifying.

Still regaining his breath, Zaofan interjects. "Ishtar, this is Auroc taunting you. It's a straight up challenge! Do you understand what you're getting into?"

[MrSandman]

Ochazuke and Zaofan:

A sudden thought pierces your mind. A thin whisper of something.

No God may cow the human spirit. Do not bow before a false idol. Stand.

And you find an inner reserve to throw back the overwhelming presence on yourself.

Ishtar:

Much like Ochazuke, you too find it easier to stand now. Knowledge of who you are, of Genesis, allows you to stand firm.

Everyone else there:

The spiritual weight is too much, and the rest of you stagger to knees or fall to the ground face first.

Zaofan collects himself as he checks in on Etrina, still on the ground.

Master...?

With that realization, Zaofan kisses Etrina on the forehead, pats her reassuringly on the shoulder, and stands upright.

Master.

"...N..No......I.....won't.....I'm not weak....." Etrina mummbled to herself, even as the ice she had been using to prop herself up cracked and gave way, tumbling her right back to her knees even harder then the first time. Again...she tried to prop herself back up using ice, this time freezing her limbs in place using temporal locking magic...but under the oppressive will of the hermit god even her time magic was weak in holding.

Then she felt a kiss on her forehead, followed by an arm pat.

".......Zaofan......." Etrina grew even hotter in the face then she was before. She was being cowed...like some common swine.......and even thought she knew it was only his compassion for her, it felt like pity.

....and that made her wish to resist all the more pressing.

Again she pushed herself to get up, this time using a combination of ice and time lock to keep her formation stable ".....I'm Etrina Von Stoltengarde, Guardian Magi of Earth.....Student to Time.......I will not be made a mockery.......not now or ever."

[Miburo]

"That's the spirit," Sarada cheered before Held said something stupid. "Of course running into the fray will help. Don't you want to see how powerful this guy is? He made Meagan stagger all the way from...wherever Ishtar and the others are!"

It was getting to be too much for Sarada to bear. The excitement at seeing what the fuss was about, and possibly fighting someone powerful had her tail practically stiff as a board. Well, it would be if it wasn't wrapped tightly around her waist. "Well, I'm going. I'll be sure to save you some ass to kick!" With that, her aura flared and she rocketed into the air, flying at full speed toward where she sensed Ishtar and her sister.

You're not about to get all the excitement in one day, sister!

Held had prepared a pointed rebuttal, explaining that whatever had caught the rest of their team unaware, and put them in such danger was clearly some sort of trap. After all, if they seemed to be after the witch, it seemed far too much of a coincidence that they would be delayed by something that seemed to be exponentially more powerful.

Of course, Sarada spoke her mind at a feverish pace, flying off before Held could mumble much more than:

"Er...."

The Nevadian laughed.

"Screw it. Why not push my luck today....I guess I should have expected the day wouldn't be that easy...."

And I hate to admit it, but Sarada did have a point...I was beginning to get kind of bored, anyways.

He turned towards Charco, annoyed that his plans had been interrupted. "Rain, check, right?"

Held didn't wait for an answer.

Gallop!

In a blink of an eye, The Nevadian vanished from the center of the lookout, his movements kicking up a mighty gale, arriving at the edge of the lookout almost instantly.

Taking a deep breath, he dove from the edge, plunging towards the earth below.

To those on the lookout who bothered to pay attention, they would notice no ki flaring, no flight, nor other sign that Held had opted for anything other than flinging his body at the earth below.

A moment later, a ruby red ship, the Great Galloping rose into the sky, coming to a stop just above the lookouts tallest tower, it's thrusters humming gently as it floated in the sky.

"Feel free to hop on if you're fast enough..." a familiar voice said calmly over the loudspeakers, "If not, I'll see you there, or when we get back."

The ship began to move slowly, doing a half circle around the lookout, before accelerating in the direction of Sarada and the others, it's blue afterburners roaring to life as it departed.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Dash, with Iris’s help, you resist.

Etrina, knowing Zaofan is there and resisting seems to bolster you. You still cannot resist as he does, but you are no longer bowed.

Parsley, something deep within you helps you regain one foot, no longer kneeling.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

To any that show up there by ship, flying, or teleporting (its not far away) you all too feel that same urge to bow before this red and green eye in Anula’s forehead.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

It took a moment to collect herself, but this Hermit God was simply that. Another in a long line of absentee deities, and what was that in the face of GoD incumbent ? Or even Genesis .

A small fish, in a wide ocean.

The Oni's smile widened, as she shook off more weight.



"I asked a question, Hermit God. I would hear your answer."

The closer Sarada grew to where Ishtar was, the more excited she became. She missed out on fighting the undead GoD. She missed out on fighting the giant worm things that attacked the bunker. She didn't really get to fight Jagam one on one like she wanted. She had been blue-balled all day, and it was about to stop. She was going to fight someone, and that someone was going to be this powerful guy Meagan talked about.

She couldn't wait to get a look at him. She couldn't wait to get a load of his power level.

'Ishtar!' she called out to her love as she neared the battlefield. 'I'm on my way. Save plenty of ass for me to kick.'

As she neared, she narrowed the focus of her ki sense to try and detect who they were fighting. From the feel of Ishtar, it didn't seem the battle had started yet. Good. She just may have gotten there right when it started.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"..." Well, being ignored like that was... somewhat expected. Sarada, being young, heard that the others were up against someone strong and like that, shot off. The Nevadian however...

She sighed and put her left hand on Totoma's shoulder, pressing the index and middle fingers of her right hand to her forehead. "Hold onto your ass, boy. We're going in hot."

"Eh?"

Locking onto the gathered ki signatures, she Instant Transmissioned to them, appearing right in front of Parsley, in fact.

"Hmph, alright, who's this powerf--" Before she could even finish her introduction, a great force overcome her and she literally faceplanted into the ground. Well, this... was not exactly the entrance she was hoping to make in this situation. And yet, no matter how hard she struggled, the most she could do was push herself up a bit. "What... in the hell... is this?"

Totoma grunted as he was forced to a kneel as well. He struggled to stand, finding that he could not, no matter how much he tried to force it. Instinctively, he activated his Kizuna with everyone present that it could form with... that is to say, everyone except Parsley.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

To any that show up there by ship, flying, or teleporting (its not far away) you all too feel that same urge to bow before this red and green eye in Anula’s forehead.

"I'm here!"

Sarada landed next to Ishtar, primed and ready to clash fists and take ass. She grinned and looked around, only to find... Anula, the Threshling witch... and no one else. And it seemed Anula was just about done.

"What the fuck? I came all this way for this... Hng!"

What? A sudden feeling came over her, one that compelled her to kneel before the witch. "What... the... hell?" Wait, no, not the witch. That... eye on her forehead. She had never seen it before, but she knew that this was what Meagan was talking about.

Her knees buckled under the tremendous strain her spirit was under. The attempt to subjugate her was powerful, but she wasn't bowing to anyone. She didn't come all that way to bend at the knee before some eyeball. She came to fight!

"I don't know who you are, you bastard," she snarled, the strain to stay upright evidently in every word. "But, I don't bow to anyone." Her foot stomped forward to keep herself upright.

[Miburo]

To any that show up there by ship, flying, or teleporting (its not far away) you all too feel that same urge to bow before this red and green eye in Anula’s forehead.

?!

The compulsion came about so suddenly that Held barely had time to react, his forehead slamming violently into the yoke of his ship, after a moments token resistance. The Nevadian saw stars from the strength of the impact.

Through the absent daze of impact, he felt the ship jerk violently, his steering thrown off course by the moments of his body that were not his own.

What the hell? That came out of nowhere...Is this what stopped the others from proceeding further?

Held felt the pressure of gravity as the ship plunged towards the earth, setting off all manner of alarms.

"...Fuck." He growled through gritted teeth, attempting to right his course, despite the compulsion, to no avail. His arms seemed to be stuck in place, much like his forehead, still affixed to the ships yoke.

...This is bad....I didn't think that anyone would be able to target me so easily....

"...Ship...." He grunted slowly, each word painfully being forced from his mouth, "Engage...."

The proximity alerts grew greater as landfall came closer, or vice-versa.

"Auto...Pilot...."

[Tami]

Dash, with Iris’s help, you resist.

Etrina, knowing Zaofan is there and resisting seems to bolster you. You still cannot resist as he does, but you are no longer bowed.

Parsley, something deep within you helps you regain one foot, no longer kneeling.

Unsteady at first, Dash struggles to her feet until she is standing. "Wanna be god who bullies his way to power ain't nothing. Your weakness is isolation, needs to see others down on their knees to feel powerful. Without that, your just another Jagam, pathetic."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

“I grant a boon, Ishtar. My servent, Anula. Learn her magics. Learn my ways and truths. In time, when you come to me of your own volition, you shall feel my love and know my truth.”

Auroc chuckles, husky and sweet and terrifying.

Ishtar's eyes sparkled at the 'boon', and despite that sickly sweet chuckle guided by the unseen God -- save for the eye that stared, bloodshot, and sickly -- spilled forth from his ... Anula's lips, the Oni's fell silent as it was considered.

It was after all, what she first sought.

Knowledge enough to piece the veil that shielded the Threshling from prying eyes ...

Yet Zaofan, the Well-Meaning, spoke true. This was a taunt, a challenge, and a smug assertion all rolled into one offer, one boon ... a paltry pittance.

Yet Ishtar knew well, who she was. What she would be. Understood better now her place in this Universe, and what had transpired to bring her into this fated existence. She knew well too, that there were beings who transcended even this God. Nergal, even sealed as he was a familiar if unlikely threat. Marduk, the Oni Eater ... and again, Genesis.

So again, what was the Hermit God to her ?

A thing to be broken.

The moment passed then, Ishtar's decision made, and through parted lips and fanged grin; the golden-eyed Oni offered her response.

"I ... accept. But know this, O mighty Auroc." Ishtar added, eyes now twinkling with her own inner fire. "When we meet in the flesh, you and I ... I will show you the meaning of fear."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Dash, with Iris’s help, you resist.

Etrina, knowing Zaofan is there and resisting seems to bolster you. You still cannot resist as he does, but you are no longer bowed.

Parsley, something deep within you helps you regain one foot, no longer kneeling.

Something... something was happening. Parsley didn't know, but she could rise to one foot. There! That's what I need to resist! She dug down and searched within herself. Whatever this thing was inside her, she sought to find more of it.