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

[KingofPie]

Face to the ground, covered in smoke, Zaofan lifts his hand and reaches out to the Majin. On pure reflex, and with no thought to their past, he yells out desperately: "SASHEEM! He's hunting us down! We all brought back energy from Terra, and he wants us! Run, Sasheem!"

Shingen looks behind him to see Sasheem glibly commenting on the fight. "Hm. Intriguing creature. Magic, yes?"

Zaofan gets up and charges at Shingen, but the demon lord stands his ground and crosses his forearm and wrist again. "Chou Ninpo: Shishin no Ken."

With a small flash, he separates into two copies. One charges forward at the chef and exchanges a flurry of punches, blocks, and parries in a cloud of superspeed. The other copy calmly floats over to Sasheem. "Hm. Fascinating. I like the cut off your jib. You're not really one of Zaofan's friends, are you? My name is Ryu. Ryu Shingen of the Hokuto Shinken school."

Energy? From Terra? Sasheem expressed shock that that husk of a world had any energy left to give off. Interesting, though. As for this assailant, he was apparently a martial artist in his own right. One who reeked of a dark, demonic ki. Also interedting! The old man had introduced himself respectfully enough, so Sasheem figured he'd do the same.

The Majin bowed. "Sasheem. Sole survivor of the Snake School," The Majin stated before looking back at Zaofan. "And Zaofan? Heh, he's so worthless, I barely qualify him as an enemy," the Majin cackled, folding his arms. "So, what's the deal with this Terra energy stuff, anyway? You know it comes from a dead world, right?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Ishtar is grateful for the assistance, horns tearing into the side of the Archon of Lasair with heightened intensity; only to find herself literally drilling into its side as the two orbs at her palms begin spinning her around. At this, the Elemanti bellows, and in a bid to isolate the two throws up massive walls of molten rock and volcanic pyres ... yet in the end its meaningless.

When the call comes from Sarada to disengage, Ishtar does so, letting go of the Archon and literally jumping backwards and crashing through the wall at her back.



Burns covering the majority of her body despite the cloak, she finds the wounds slower to heal, than normal.

Despite this however, her efforts with the Grenade are successful, and as the Archon digs itself from the hole it had been relegated to, it detonates, knocking the Archon to its knees and leaves it wide open for ...



Sarada's attack to strike true.

The ground beneath the Archon gives way, and the area around him for nearly a mile is disintegrated as the explosion rips through its makeshift walls. For several moments until the dust settles, then, there's nothing but the sound of far off volcanic eruptions and the crumbling of ruined earth; until thunder tears through the heavens as the temperature skyrockets.

Pulling itself from ground zero, the others will see that while the Archon is still standing -- and quite livid -- it is in fact, heavily damaged ... and now much weaker than before.



Even though it expecting it, the Archon finds itself initially unable to resist Asha'rah's advances; and as its leg is swept out from under it the Lasair finds itself slammed back down into the crater it had been exploded into.

Asha'rah would find, however, that while her annihilation aura was successful in siphoning away and annihilating the ambient warmth; her grip upon the Archon's own was tenuous at best. This was not simply some elemental, who was comprised of the element from which it drew its name. No, the Archon commanded a mastery of it ... and even weakened, stealing from it was not so simple a thing -- as Meagan herself had learned -- so when it regained its senses, and realized that it was backed into a corner ?

... the Elemanti sneered and displayed that mastery; and at once and created its own Ground-Zero.

It took several moments, but the Archon reappeared, then Meagan felt something hot strike her as a bolt of lightning from above knocked her out of the sky. Far weaker than its other attacks, however, this seemed merely to be an attempt to buy itself time to recover; as it turned from her swiftly and darted off after Ishtar.

Sarada had to give credit where credit was due, this fire creature was a tough son of a bitch. After all that, and he was not only standing, but still fighting ferociously. Whatever reason he had to hate Ishtar must have been important to him to compel him to continue the fight despite having his power depleted by nearly half. Compliments of herself, of course.

Asha'rah pressed the advantage, giving Sarada a chance to catch her breath and think of what to do next. That chance, it turned out, didn't last nearly as long as she would have liked, as the goddess found herself engulfed by the testimony to the creature's mastery of its element. "Shit."

Meagan was hit next by a lightning bolt, if only to give the creature a chance to get after Ishtar again.

Like hell.

Sarada exploded into motion, moving to intercept it before it reached the Oni. When she reached halfway between them, she stopped and let loose aRoar of Defiance just as it was about to crash into her to knock it off course and give Ishtar an opening.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The large man grins.

“You’re standing in the Bear Shrine. This entire forest was the Bear Shrine.”

[MrSandman]

"Chrona, see to it that nobody disturbs us. I'd like to have a few word with my daughter alone....and uninterrupted." Aiden waved to his servant at the door, who responded with a polite bow and a smile as she closed the door behind her. "Come, my dear...sit down. This talk has been a long time coming."

"I'll stand, you won't be staying long enough for it to matter." Etrina responded, a frown painted on her face. ".....Today is a very important day. I've no time for uninvited guests....and especially not one who I despise."

The Elder Stoltengarde sighed in amusement, the fire crackling behind him. "I'm well aware how important today is my dear daughter.....perhaps your the one who isn't aware just how important. Now please....sit down. As your father I expect at least the respect deserved from my own child."

Etrina was about to shoot back a curse at the man, but a rumble shook the house almost immediately afterwards. The words she had prepared caught in her throat.

"....Oh? Don't worry about that......I had Parsic ensure your guest was otherwise distracted. If you care for his well-being you need not fear....she has been ordered not to kill him." Aiden smirked as the color on his daughters face turned pale. "....that is...unless you prove to be less cooperative then I hoped. Quite the young man you seemed to have caught...I'm sure you mother would have approved, I on the other hand......think you should be associated with someone more on your level." He took a sip from his wine glass. "....and not some lowborn scum."

"SHUT UP! You don't get to come into my house and....and...." Etrina trembled, his previous words creeping into her mind. ".......fine....I'll hear you out if your this desperate......."

Gritting her teeth, Etrina took a seat in the chair across from him. ".........Whats your purpose coming here like this....."

Aiden smiles. "....Yes, of course. I won't waste your time or mine with formalities....though it is good to see how much you've grown since the last time we were together." Etrina responded with narrowed eyes and a groan.

"....childish....no matter. I've allowed you a long leach for many...many years, and as I predicted you've grown quite strong in the absence of your former weaknesses. I'm here to offer you the inheritance you have earned....as the new Stoltengarde Scion."

There was a long pause between the two, interrupted only by the distant sounds outside the manor walls. Etrina looked at him with a perplexed expression.

"I want you to come home, my dear. Your true home.....the family estate. We can finalize your inheritance there. The mansion of course, will be yours.....as will be the gardens, I know you have fond memories of our times there."

The bile in Etrinas throat came close to erupted, but she maintained her demeanor if only to save face.

"......and of course, the servants......they will pass from my service to yours. You may do with them as you see fit. Finally, most importantly of all....you will be bestowed with the family secrets, passed down from the greatest of your ancestors."

Etrina gaze fell to the ground, she seemed to ponder his words for a moment. "....It sounds like your giving me the head seat of the house..........So either you finally went senile or there are plenty of strings attached to this...."

"...None at all.....I just need to confirm that your worthy one final time....and everything will belong to you. Simple..."

"...Nothing is ever that simple....." Etrina spat out her response. "I don't know what your game is in this....but I've built a life apart from my family right here, I don't need your estate or your servants or your secrets..."

"...and what about your mother?" Aiden responded.

The air in the room froze.

"....what..." Etrina stammered.

"I'm not so heartless that I'd allow the one who brought you into this world to miss your coming of age. She waits for you even now at our home.....as my guest." Aiden smiled, sending a chill down Etrinas back. ".....She misses you dearly. It would be a shame if you didn't come home, if only for her."

"....You....You....bastard...." Etrina could feel the cold collecting around her hands.

"Save your anger....it won't earn you anything here, but it may carry you though your final trial if you harness it right." Aiden offered his hand. "...and your mother, and your inheritance....will be your reward. Come, my daughter. Fate is waiting for you."

Etrina clenched her hand, momentarily allowing her gaze to drift back towards the door. Closing her eyes, she let her breath escape and took her fathers hand...making sure to let the cold magic linger so it wouldn't be a pleasant touch. ".....Fine.....damn you......"

[Tami]

Ishtar is grateful for the assistance, horns tearing into the side of the Archon of Lasair with heightened intensity; only to find herself literally drilling into its side as the two orbs at her palms begin spinning her around. At this, the Elemanti bellows, and in a bid to isolate the two throws up massive walls of molten rock and volcanic pyres ... yet in the end its meaningless.

When the call comes from Sarada to disengage, Ishtar does so, letting go of the Archon and literally jumping backwards and crashing through the wall at her back.



Burns covering the majority of her body despite the cloak, she finds the wounds slower to heal, than normal.

Despite this however, her efforts with the Grenade are successful, and as the Archon digs itself from the hole it had been relegated to, it detonates, knocking the Archon to its knees and leaves it wide open for ...



Sarada's attack to strike true.

The ground beneath the Archon gives way, and the area around him for nearly a mile is disintegrated as the explosion rips through its makeshift walls. For several moments until the dust settles, then, there's nothing but the sound of far off volcanic eruptions and the crumbling of ruined earth; until thunder tears through the heavens as the temperature skyrockets.

Pulling itself from ground zero, the others will see that while the Archon is still standing -- and quite livid -- it is in fact, heavily damaged ... and now much weaker than before.



Even though it expecting it, the Archon finds itself initially unable to resist Asha'rah's advances; and as its leg is swept out from under it the Lasair finds itself slammed back down into the crater it had been exploded into.

Asha'rah would find, however, that while her annihilation aura was successful in siphoning away and annihilating the ambient warmth; her grip upon the Archon's own was tenuous at best. This was not simply some elemental, who was comprised of the element from which it drew its name. No, the Archon commanded a mastery of it ... and even weakened, stealing from it was not so simple a thing -- as Meagan herself had learned -- so when it regained its senses, and realized that it was backed into a corner ?

... the Elemanti sneered and displayed that mastery; and at once and created its own Ground-Zero.

It took several moments, but the Archon reappeared, then Meagan felt something hot strike her as a bolt of lightning from above knocked her out of the sky. Far weaker than its other attacks, however, this seemed merely to be an attempt to buy itself time to recover; as it turned from her swiftly and darted off after Ishtar.

The burns were extensive, yet minor and easy to ignore. the lightening attack staggered her, sending her downward. Catching herself before hitting the ground, she quickly regained her altitude.

As the others fought, Meagan headed higher, upward into the atmosphere. Opening her senses, what she sought out, somewhere on the planet, was moisture.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sarada had to give credit where credit was due, this fire creature was a tough son of a bitch. After all that, and he was not only standing, but still fighting ferociously. Whatever reason he had to hate Ishtar must have been important to him to compel him to continue the fight despite having his power depleted by nearly half. Compliments of herself, of course.

Asha'rah pressed the advantage, giving Sarada a chance to catch her breath and think of what to do next. That chance, it turned out, didn't last nearly as long as she would have liked, as the goddess found herself engulfed by the testimony to the creature's mastery of its element. "Shit."

Meagan was hit next by a lightning bolt, if only to give the creature a chance to get after Ishtar again.

Like hell.

Sarada exploded into motion, moving to intercept it before it reached the Oni. When she reached halfway between them, she stopped and let loose aRoar of Defiance just as it was about to crash into her to knock it off course and give Ishtar an opening.

It beats Sarada there, only barely; but before it can do much of anything to Ishtar he's blown back by the Roar of Defiance.

Reacting quickly however, the Archon of Lasair fires a blast of thermal energy at Sarada's face, while at the same time ripping up chunks of earth below to hurl several dozen molten chunks at her. Finding himself distracted by the Saiyan though, Ishtar uses this opportunity to catch its in between its shoulder blades with force enough to elicit a pained cry.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The burns were extensive, yet minor and easy to ignore. the lightening attack staggered her, sending her downward. Catching herself before hitting the ground, she quickly regained her altitude.

As the others fought, Meagan headed higher, upward into the atmosphere. Opening her senses, what she sought out, somewhere on the planet, was moisture.

It takes time, and effort on Meagan's part; but she is able to find moisture on the far side of the planet. Gathering the energy is similarly possible, but doing such will take time.

[MrSandman]

Parsic squashed one of the glowing pandas, paying no heed to the energies that ate at her large hand. It was a reminder that, harmful or painful though it might be for her to brave the energies of creation, she was still a powerful being from beyond. One could put out a certain amount of fire simply by rolling one's own bulk in it. Asha'rah spared a glance to Zaofan, noting his struggle to recover, and returned her attention to Parsic.

"I have come for a lot of things. First among them a question for you, that I have yet to resolve in all my meditations: You hate the universe and all of creation's fruits, do you not? You think of creation as a cancer upon the void, hurting and displacing the rightful beings who swim beyond. Why then show mercy to Etrina? Why be so quick and defensive to point out that, during her countless attempts to complete the maze, you killed her as painlessly as possible?"

"Your mistaken....I hate the creators. I will undo everything they have touched and created. But Etrina has done nothing to earn my ire...she was born not by her own choice, but a system that you and your ilk placed. She will grow, suffer and die....the essence that makes up her life will return to the eternal engine that powers this filthy system to be reborn and start the process all over again. She is as much a victim as any other. She is also...an important person. If I can minimize her suffering, I will do so....."

Parsic flexes her long metal fingers, a dark sphere blinking into existence over her palm. ".....I cannot however....bring myself to show the same mercy to you....."

In the blink of an eye, Parsic had closed the distance between the two and slammed her palm, and by extension the void sphere, into Asha'rahs midsection.

The force of the impact blows the goddess backwards with incredibly force, ripping the ground apart as she flies backwards several hundred yards.

At the same time the sphere embeds itself into Asha'rahs stomach and ignites in destructive void energy as it starts to agonizingly eat away at her internals.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

It beats Sarada there, only barely; but before it can do much of anything to Ishtar he's blown back by the Roar of Defiance.

Reacting quickly however, the Archon of Lasair fires a blast of thermal energy at Sarada's face, while at the same time ripping up chunks of earth below to hurl several dozen molten chunks at her. Finding himself distracted by the Saiyan though, Ishtar uses this opportunity to catch its in between its shoulder blades with force enough to elicit a pained cry.

Another thermal wave was hurled at Sarada, followed by a series of molten rocks. Unlike before, she didn't intend on standing there and taking the full brunt of it. She launched herself to the right to avoid the blast, then reactivated Reflexive Evasion to weave around the molten rocks.

The creature wasn't going to go down without a fight, she had to admire that much about it. Good. It had been a nice long time since she had encountered a punching bag this ferocious.

A satisfied smile touched her lips as she watched Ishtar re-engage it, even coaxing out a pained cry.

I need an opening.

A purple ball of ki started to form in her hand the moment before she shifted into Offensive Intuition. She watched its movements closely, looking for an opening to finish the fight.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Some distance away, a golden-eyed Oni materializes.

That she had forgotten it was Etrina's birthday was certainly problematic ... that she'd arrived late was, perhaps more so given the girl's true nature. Yet Ishtar's reason for both remembering -- and ultimately arriving now -- had little to do with a sudden realization. A shard of magicite had been embedded in her arm over a year ago, by her step-sister, Chrona; and for the better part of a day it had been throbbing dully in its setting, only transitioning to a very sharp pain less than five minutes beforehand.

Given the view when she appeared, the reason was certainly obvious ...

Dropping down from her perch, she watched as one of the familiars she can come to know ... perhaps too intimately, began toying with Zaofan; and despite knowing the Cookman was in danger, she waited. The Magicite would tell her when. Instead she simply approached the remnants of a steam engine that had seemingly crashed through the estate -- and its kitchen -- and took it firmly in hand.

When the familiar turned on Asha'rah, and hit her with concentrated corruption, the Magicite flared, and the glowing-horn Oni grunted.

Time, then.

Dragging the fragment of train-car behind her, she broke into a sprint ...

At the same time the sphere embeds itself into Asha'rahs stomach and ignites in destructive void energy as it starts to agonizingly eat away at her internals.

And Parsic would notice all too late, that a new challenger had approached:

The split second before the train-car came slamming into her, however, she'd hear a familiar voice.

"Hello again, Parsic. This is your stop."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Another thermal wave was hurled at Sarada, followed by a series of molten rocks. Unlike before, she didn't intend on standing there and taking the full brunt of it. She launched herself to the right to avoid the blast, then reactivated Reflexive Evasion to weave around the molten rocks.

The creature wasn't going to go down without a fight, she had to admire that much about it. Good. It had been a nice long time since she had encountered a punching bag this ferocious.

A satisfied smile touched her lips as she watched Ishtar re-engage it, even coaxing out a pained cry.

I need an opening.

A purple ball of ki started to form in her hand the moment before she shifted into Offensive Intuition. She watched its movements closely, looking for an opening to finish the fight.

Whipping back around to face Ishtar, the Archon an the Oni -- the latter having sensed the former's weakness -- begin trading blows with reckless abandon.

As the trade continues, Ishtar slowly getting the better of the Lasair despite her own injuries, Sarada will be quick to pick up on the fact that the Archon is beginning to slow, occasionally failing to block strikes from the Oni, while favoring his right slightly and a gap of a roughly a second appears as it moves to block/strike its glowing-horn opponent.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Whipping back around to face Ishtar, the Archon an the Oni -- the latter having sensed the former's weakness -- begin trading blows with reckless abandon.

As the trade continues, Ishtar slowly getting the better of the Lasair despite her own injuries, Sarada will be quick to pick up on the fact that the Archon is beginning to slow, occasionally failing to block strikes from the Oni, while favoring his right slightly and a gap of a roughly a second appears as it moves to block/strike its glowing-horn opponent.

There.

That second-long gap was her moment.

Ishtar was too close for her to fire the Galick Gun, but she had another idea.

Sarada wanted no time and moved hastily into position. Her first coated in violet energies, she reared back and slammed her fist into it's right side just as it was moving to strike Ishtar, leaving himself open.

She then detonated the energies wrapped around her hand, the full power of the Galick Gun concentrated into the size of a fist.

[Tami]

It takes time, and effort on Meagan's part; but she is able to find moisture on the far side of the planet. Gathering the energy is similarly possible, but doing such will take time.

Though the atmosphere is thinner, and dry, the heat from below is already creating currents. Controlling that energy should speed up the process, which in turn should draw the moisture laden air in this direction.

Using the heat from below, Meagan alters the pressure and density of the air, creating a moisture laden low pressure front to move in. When they collide, a massive rain storm forms.

At first the drops don't reach the ground, but as the storm intensifies, boosted by her own energy manipulation abilities, the rain creates steam, releasing energy and cooling down the molten surface below.

[MrSandman]

The split second before the train-car came slamming into her, however, she'd hear a familiar voice.

"Hello again, Parsic. This is your stop."

"....Is that..." Parsic turned her head in time for the front end of the train to slam into her. Rather then push her forward, the train compartment buckles forward as though it hit something hard and unmovable....at which point the sudden jolt tears both the front engine and fuel tanks open with such force it instantly detonates the train car.

The explosion blows debre in all directions, and Parsic herself is sent flying backwards...making short work of a few trees before smashing through some rocks and coming to a stop.

"...Is that a joke...." Parsic continued her previous thought, pushing herself up out of the dirt. "......Perhaps I shouldn't have left that train lying there." Parsic cracks her neck, a momentary look of annoyance passes her slowly healing eyes. ".......The Oni right? More bother....I was only suppose to play with the cook for awhile, not deal with every one of you..."

[Tami]

With a nod, Cyanna again tries to do as instructed, tries to access Mana and filter it through her Ki. Holding out her hand, she aims it at Mini-E, speaking under her breath, 'mana through ki, mana through ki'. Her hand then glows, and glows, and glows brighter. With effort she releases the energy in the form of a flash of blinding light.

As she did, she reflexively used her other arm to cover her eyes as she closed them to the light. Once it had faded, she opened her eyes and looked for Mini-E.

OOC: Was this responded to?