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

[Tami]

Parsley touched down just a few yards from the hole in the ground where a fire elemental was trapped. Surprisingly, it hadn't melted the entire landscape; then again, it was likely too weak to put up much of a fight.

"The others already have a prison in that Namekian. We can kill this thing at our leisure, it seems," she stated.

Dash's stubborn streak flared up, "We ain't gonna kill her, not unless we have to. That's why we brought her here. Ah need you're help in case something goes wrong. But if she surrenders, we take her into custody. Ah don't know where, but there has to be a place for her where she can't cause any more trouble."

[Tami]

"Tried to scry the Hybrid ... He saw me, and we spoke. Said we knew each other ... were friends once ... lovers ? I cannot remember." Ishtar explained. "Knew my name. Said my interference was always troublesome, and tried to erase my memory."

When Sarada asked after Jinzi, the Oni blinked.

"Look around you. We barely knew this was coming ... and it was a diversion."

"Damn, why is it always Jinzi!" Meagan cursed, "I'm going to the geofront to find him."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Dash's stubborn streak flared up, "We ain't gonna kill her, not unless we have to. That's why we brought her here. Ah need you're help in case something goes wrong. But if she surrenders, we take her into custody. Ah don't know where, but there has to be a place for her where she can't cause any more trouble."

Parsley first raised an eyebrow, then narrowed her eyes. "There are several things that can go wrong. A living enemy us a dangerous one, no matter how injuries they may be." In fact, the more injured, the more dangerous they were, simply because with injury came desperation.

"Mercy is only beneficial to the one receiving it. Some take it to heart, others take advantage of it."

She left it at that and approached the mouth of the cave, Observational Focus sharpening her awareness to what laid within the darken passage.

[KingofPie]

Blizzar opened up communications to the Katchin-Squadron. "Squadron, do you copy? There may be something preventing us from heading offworld. I need you to see if your mech can pierce the heavens."

"Roger!" Came the response om the other end. And not too far from where Blizzar stood, Majin-Robo launched itself into the skies, booster jets speeding up it's flight as it attempted to propel itself out of Earth's atmosphere.

As they did so, Blizzar decided to try another line of communications. One to be used only for emergencies and their current predicament certainly qualified as one. "This is Lieutenant Blizzar of the Galaxy Police Earth Branch. Is President Grinthorn available?"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Friends, lovers, and more once upon a time... Ishtar was old, meaning that this Doctor was as old or perhaps even older. Meaning he was at least a few hundred, if not thousands of years old. Given what she had just heard of his capabilities, that placed him high on her enemies list.

Ishtar didn't quite answer what kind of danger Zurvan himself was in, but likely because she couldn't remember.

She glanced at the Saiyans that Totoma and a few others were fighting. They had been getting stronger, even as their numbers dwindled. That could only mean one thing.

Pack Bond.

It was an ancient technique of power sharing the Saiyans of old - really fucking old - used during battle. When one fell, their power was added to the power of the survivors. The more survivors, the smaller the boost they received when one died. However, as the battle of attrition raged on and more Saiyans died, the more powerful the remainder would become, until, eventually - if it reached that point - the final Saiyan would possess such a tremendous power that they overwhelmed whoever stood against them in short order.

It was forbidden ages ago for a few reasons. One, it more often than not led to the strongest in a pack slaughtering the weakest ones to gain their power and grow even stronger; and two, the survivor couldn't accommodate the strain the vast increase in power created, and died shortly after. It hadn't even been taught since it was banned because the only Saiyans who knew it eventually died off, ironically, because of this technique.

If there were primative Saiyans who not only used this ability but also were encouraged by its use, then they were not of the modern era. Zurvan being in trouble meant that - and she was only talking, well thinking, out of her ass - the time line would be absolutely fucked up. It would have been no trouble to pluck whatever soldiers the Doctor needed for his little army out of the timestream when the lord of that timestream was worm food.

Hm.

"Hey, what would happen to time and the time stream or whatever if Zurvan dies?"

Totoma came careening past Sarada, just barely missing her after having been sent flying by his opponent's attack. The rest of the saiyans in the pack had been slain, and she, the sole survivor, had been empowered to levels that absolutely required him to transform into his Hitozaru form.

Of course, he'd realized what was up early on, and hadn't held anything back just so he could have a fun fight. And what fun he was having now!

He righted himself, coming to a skidding stop and striking out just in time for his and his opponents' fist to meet. Energy built up between them for a moment, then exploded outward wildly, blowing the two of them apart once again. Both had... absolutely wild smiles on their face. The Saiyaness was the first to speak up.

"Hehe, you strong! Wish had met sooner... so much fun!"

In response, Totoma charged, disappearing just before he got within striking distance. Suddenly, there were several Totomas--afterimages--all around her, created by the half-saiyan Hero moving at incredible speeds. The Saiyaness glanced around, eyes wild with excitement, yet also... calculating. Her smirk deepened and she struck! Her fist met Totoma's cheek, and, likewise, his met hers, blowing the two away from each other again!

The Saiyaness got the more solid hit in, so she righted herself first and, spreading her arms, she began gathering energy into them at an amazing rate. Just as Totoma recovered, she brought her hands together and released a massive energy wave.

Totoma did not dodge. Instead, he charge right into it, shoulder first. Just before the beam hit, a green energy shield sprang into existence--his Razorback technique. Beam met shield and the former stopped as her might struggled against his. Laughing, the Saiyaness redoubled her efforts and the beam washed over Totoma. When the dust settled, there stood Totoma, only a bit worse for the wear, and grinning like an absolute madman.

This served only to excite the Saiyness even more. "Strong... strong! More, more, more!" She took to the sky and began charging yet another of those energy beams. This time, however, it was far, far more powerful... in part because Totoma drew back his own hands and began charging his own attack.

"Kame..."

Blue ki swirled into a fiery ball between his hands.

"Hame..."

The ball of ki he held enlarged, becoming ever more wild and fiery. And then...he thrust his hands forward, with a mighty cry, releasing his attack!

"HAAAAAAA!!!!!"

The Saiyaness did the same and, mid-way between them, the attacks collided! A huge shockwave rocked the entire area as a result.



They were just about evenly matched, and it showed. Their beam clash stalemated. One would gain the upper hand for a brief moment, then the other would dig deeper and push their opponent back. And one could see that both were... quite enjoying themselves. This continued for what seemed an eternity, though it was just a scant few seconds.

Eventually, however, the feral Saiyaness began to falter. Whether it was simply because Totoma's well of power was deeper or because her body had begun to fail from the pack bond was unknown... and irrelevant. Totoma's beam pushed hers back and then completely overwhelmed it, washing over her...

Her massive ki signature disappeared as the beam disintegrated her body, though those with a keen eye would be able to note that the Saiyaness was smiling... almost contentedly as she died. For a Saiyan, there were far worse ways to die than to a powerful opponent after a blood-pumping battle, after all.

Totoma stood there, hands still outstretched, as the dust settled. After a moment, he exhaled sharply, powering down, then dropping out of Hitozaru entirely. Turning to the others, he slowly approached them.

"Uh...hey guys," he said, looking around and noticing that there were basically no enemies to be found anymore. Except the Namekian. "So... guess we won this one, yeah?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The fire elemental lay dead on the ground, or close to dead. Her flames had all but vanished, and sticking out of the base of her skull and her back, penetrating her heart, are two thin, almost invisible, black needles.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Blizzar opened up communications to the Katchin-Squadron. "Squadron, do you copy? There may be something preventing us from heading offworld. I need you to see if your mech can pierce the heavens."

"Roger!" Came the response om the other end. And not too far from where Blizzar stood, Majin-Robo launched itself into the skies, booster jets speeding up it's flight as it attempted to propel itself out of Earth's atmosphere.

As they did so, Blizzar decided to try another line of communications. One to be used only for emergencies and their current predicament certainly qualified as one. "This is Lieutenant Blizzar of the Galaxy Police Earth Branch. Is President Grinthorn available?"

The mech gets halfway out the atmosphere and then shuts off suddenly.

Grinthorn answers after a moment.

“Lieutenant, this is Grinthorn. Is the battle over then? Pantaloon is going mad down here trying to get surface readings.”

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Friends, lovers, and more once upon a time... Ishtar was old, meaning that this Doctor was as old or perhaps even older. Meaning he was at least a few hundred, if not thousands of years old. Given what she had just heard of his capabilities, that placed him high on her enemies list.

Ishtar didn't quite answer what kind of danger Zurvan himself was in, but likely because she couldn't remember.

She glanced at the Saiyans that Totoma and a few others were fighting. They had been getting stronger, even as their numbers dwindled. That could only mean one thing.

Pack Bond.

It was an ancient technique of power sharing the Saiyans of old - really fucking old - used during battle. When one fell, their power was added to the power of the survivors. The more survivors, the smaller the boost they received when one died. However, as the battle of attrition raged on and more Saiyans died, the more powerful the remainder would become, until, eventually - if it reached that point - the final Saiyan would possess such a tremendous power that they overwhelmed whoever stood against them in short order.

It was forbidden ages ago for a few reasons. One, it more often than not led to the strongest in a pack slaughtering the weakest ones to gain their power and grow even stronger; and two, the survivor couldn't accommodate the strain the vast increase in power created, and died shortly after. It hadn't even been taught since it was banned because the only Saiyans who knew it eventually died off, ironically, because of this technique.

If there were primative Saiyans who not only used this ability but also were encouraged by its use, then they were not of the modern era. Zurvan being in trouble meant that - and she was only talking, well thinking, out of her ass - the time line would be absolutely fucked up. It would have been no trouble to pluck whatever soldiers the Doctor needed for his little army out of the timestream when the lord of that timestream was worm food.

Hm.

"Hey, what would happen to time and the time stream or whatever if Zurvan dies?"

Ishtar blinked.

"If he died ? ... Nothing pleasant. As Guardian of the time stream for this and several other universes; without him there is nothing to stop widespread corruption." The Oni explained.

"Things might begin to overlap ... cease to exist ... begin exist that should not in a give time.."

[Tami]

"Damn, why is it always Jinzi!" Meagan cursed, "I'm going to the geofront to find him."

Taking off into the air, Meagan seeks out the entrance to the Geofront. Landing there, she scans it for hostiles before entering.

[Yun Lao]

Eva just comforts him. Let’s him cry, soothing words and warmth replacing despair and anguish.

“I was lost too, once. I was hurt, angry, and had failed my dream. But I came back. You can, too. It is never too late. I’ll help.”

It took him much longer than he was proud to admit to finally calm himself. Still, considering he had broken down in front of everyone, there really wasn't much for him to work with now when it came to pride.

"Thank you..."

Coming to grips with himself, he left her embrace while wiping his eyes. It was doubtful that one could vent several years of problems with a few tears, but he did feel reasonably better than before. At the very least, he felt alive again for now. With this clarity of his current situation, he knew he didn't have very long to address his issues. They might have dealt with the invasion, but it was likely they weren't done just yet.

"What should I do?" He asked, his voice still possessing a bit of a croak.

[KingofPie]

The mech gets halfway out the atmosphere and then shuts off suddenly.

"Uh...this supposed to happen?" Sasheem asked, scratching his chin as the Mecha suddenly plummeted back towards the Earth.

"Not good! Not good!" N-Ten panicked.

"Emergency Power isn't turning on either!" X-Bo exclaimed.

Grinthorn answers after a moment.

“Lieutenant, this is Grinthorn. Is the battle over then? Pantaloon is going mad down here trying to get surface readings.”

Watching the aftermath of Totoma's battle with the Saiyan army, Blizzar responded, "I believe so, Mr. President. And we've managed to capture an enemy general alive. And from our brief interrogation of him, we've received grim news. Outside communications are scrambled..."

Blizzar pauses briefly to use his telekinesis to stop the plummeting Majin-Robo from colliding into the ground below. "In addition to that, a barrier has surrounded the Earth. Departure of the planet has been rendered impossible. It seems the entire invasion was something of a distraction. Their real goal was to entrap everyone on the Earth....and apparently their leader has plans for Jinzi Pantaloon."

[Tami]

It took him much longer than he was proud to admit to finally calm himself. Still, considering he had broken down in front of everyone, there really wasn't much for him to work with now when it came to pride.

"Thank you..."

Coming to grips with himself, he left her embrace while wiping his eyes. It was doubtful that one could vent several years of problems with a few tears, but he did feel reasonably better than before. At the very least, he felt alive again for now. With this clarity of his current situation, he knew he didn't have very long to address his issues. They might have dealt with the invasion, but it was likely they weren't done just yet.

"What should I do?" He asked, his voice still possessing a bit of a croak.

Half-way to the Lookout, Cyanna paused, her usual impulsiveness restrained fro once in her life as she tries to decide what to do.

[Cyke]

Lifting off the ground, "Dash, you take them there. I'm heading for the Lookout to check on Charco." Cyanna then flew upwards until she was no longer visible.

"Princess, Zaofan, ah'll take you there." Dash lifted off the ground, "It's way north of here, but we can get there fast enough."

As soon as they take to the air, Dash leads them north to the arctic, to the ice cave.

"Well, if it's not one thing, it's another," Zaofan says as he blasts off in pursuit.

Parsley touched down just a few yards from the hole in the ground where a fire elemental was trapped. Surprisingly, it hadn't melted the entire landscape; then again, it was likely too weak to put up much of a fight.

"The others already have a prison in that Namekian. We can kill this thing at our leisure, it seems," she stated.

Dash's stubborn streak flared up, "We ain't gonna kill her, not unless we have to. That's why we brought her here. Ah need you're help in case something goes wrong. But if she surrenders, we take her into custody. Ah don't know where, but there has to be a place for her where she can't cause any more trouble."

Parsley first raised an eyebrow, then narrowed her eyes. "There are several things that can go wrong. A living enemy us a dangerous one, no matter how injuries they may be." In fact, the more injured, the more dangerous they were, simply because with injury came desperation.

"Mercy is only beneficial to the one receiving it. Some take it to heart, others take advantage of it."

She left it at that and approached the mouth of the cave, Observational Focus sharpening her awareness to what laid within the darken passage.

The fire elemental lay dead on the ground, or close to dead. Her flames had all but vanished, and sticking out of the base of her skull and her back, penetrating her heart, are two thin, almost invisible, black needles.

"Hey. HEYYYY..." Zaofan says as he pokes the flameless corpse with his bo staff to see if there's any response. "Hm. I can sense some sort of ki, but not much. I don't know if it's dead."

"I'm no medical examiner, but..." noticing the body slightly ajar at an angle, he tips it slightly up with the staff and crouches down. He then strokes his chin... thusly. "There, look. Needles of some kind. Very thin, but sturdy. Strong enough to partially prop the body."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The fire elemental lay dead on the ground, or close to dead. Her flames had all but vanished, and sticking out of the base of her skull and her back, penetrating her heart, are two thin, almost invisible, black needles.

"Well, if it's not one thing, it's another," Zaofan says as he blasts off in pursuit.









"Hey. HEYYYY..." Zaofan says as he pokes the flameless corpse with his bo staff to see if there's any response. "Hm. I can sense some sort of ki, but not much. I don't know if it's dead."

"I'm no medical examiner, but..." noticing the body slightly ajar at an angle, he tips it slightly up with the staff and crouches down. He then strokes his chin... thusly. "There, look. Needles of some kind. Very thin, but sturdy. Strong enough to partially prop the body."

It seemed someone else decided this creature's fate long before they arrived. A pair of black needles, barely visible to the naked eye, protruded out of its skull and back. The one to the back, which seemed to pierce through the heart, seemed unnecessary unless this creature could survive with something penetrating its brain. Not unheard of, but unlikely.

Parsley took stock of the cave, looking critically for any clue as to the assailant: Latent energy signatures, footprints, smells, anything.

[Tami]

It seemed someone else decided this creature's fate long before they arrived. A pair of black needles, barely visible to the naked eye, protruded out of its skull and back. The one to the back, which seemed to pierce through the heart, seemed unnecessary unless this creature could survive with something penetrating its brain. Not unheard of, but unlikely.

Parsley took stock of the cave, looking critically for any clue as to the assailant: Latent energy signatures, footprints, smells, anything.

OOC: Assuming that someone opened the entrance to the cave

IC: Dash pushes Zaofan away and kneels next to the Fire Elemental. She looks her over, putting her ear to her in hopes of getting a heartbeat of the sounds of breathing, "Dangit," She swore under her breath.