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

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Facepalming, Dash then looks behind her, "You're hundreds of times bigger than that tiny bird."

Meagan then walks over to Praxat and places a hand on her shoulder. Her touch has a calming effect, "It's okay, everyone has their fears. You just have to learn how to face them."

She then said to Dash, "Don't be so hard on her, or are you forgetting Napier?"

Dash suddenly shivered at the mere mention of that place, then bowed her head slightly, "Yeah, you're right."

Meagan then encouraged Praxat to come out of hiding, "It's time for your evaluations."

after Praxat calms down she comes out of hiding saying "yeah I know it's tiny bird but just seeing a wild bird any wild bird frightens me." " oh and Cyanna you might what to use dissolvent because my saliva is a non-Newtonian fluid. " " in lay man terms it doesn't follow the standard laws of viscosity." " when my saliva goes forward and hits something it's almost like water ,but when I retract my tongue and reel it in my saliva becomes thicker and acts like a adhesive a damn good one."

" much better than those adhesives you can buy at department stores." " so yeah you might not want to touch anything or put your hands together."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Blood poured down the sides of Sarada's face until she rolled over to rise to her knees.

“What do you mean 'no'?!” When she received nothing but silence – an irritatingly reoccurring theme – she growled and kicked her in the stomach. “Answer me!”

No answer came, unless one considered racking coughs to be a response of any kind. “I... *coff* was busy.”

“Too busy to tell people I'm innocent?! It would have meant more coming from you than me!” Sarada looked away, coaxing an angry snarl out of Parsley. She picked her up by the shoulders. “You... you bitch!! There are still people on Vocado who think I enabled a child molester to rape my own sister, and you could find within yourself the decency to tell them they were wrong?!” Eyes wide with unmitigated fury, she glared at her younger sister mercilessly.

Sarada tried to keep her gaze, but couldn't. A guilt ridden frown creased her brow.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was thinking, and why she had remained silent this entire time. Parsley dropped her to the ground. “Because you still thought I did it, didn't you?”

“...yes.”

She swallowed shakily. “..Why?” Her throat was tight and choked up, making it difficult to keep the emotions out of her words.

Sarada rose to her feet, but kept her gaze to the ground. “Because... you've always wanted to tear me down. So, I wanted you torn down too.”

The words were shocking to hear verbalized, but not surprising in the least. That... was the main thing Parsley wanted to reconcile. That it got to this point was only damning proof that she was better at manipulation and getting under a person's skin that even she dared to think.

This was where their relationship had degraded to: one sister purposefully withholding the truth to make sure the other sister suffered in the court of public opinion. This, combined with her own words in the Tournament, resulted in Parsley being completely hated. It didn't matter if she had been dead a year – and thus unaware of how things were on Vocado – it didn't take a scientist to figure it out.

That was Sarada's intention, to damage her beyond repair; that she didn't speak up to voice the contrary, it was obvious her ploy succeeded.

Despite her having done her part to deserve this, Parsley still felt hurt beyond words. She would have thought Sarada would have been more compassionate and more willing to understand how damaging words could be.

Apparently not. It was obvious that despite her sister being a grown woman, she was still a child at heart. Perhaps understandably so, since she was forced to grow up and endure adult actions at such a young age.

“That you would even think of doing this after I was killed doing your bidding,” she spoke harshly. “I've never seen something so selfish.”

“Then you should look in a mirror,” Sarada responded, just as coldly. “You think dying will just magically make everything you did to me disappear, or make it okay? Huh?! You think dying will make me forget all the backbiting and all the passive aggression you threw at me for years! I was nearly thrown into the Meat Market because of you! I was nearly in the same goddamn city as... as him. All because you couldn't stand the fact that I was predicted to become stronger than you one day. Instead of using that as motivation to grow as strong as you could, you decided to sabotage your own sister! And you have the audacity to have umbrage with what I did, when what you did was far worse. Where''s Ishtar, because I smell a hypocrite!”

That word raised in Parsley an intense hatred. It had been thrown around so much yesterday, it lost all meaning. “One would think that a Queen wouldn't be so petty,” she snapped. “But, I guess that's what happens when a child is the strongest of our race.”

“You evidently don't know royalty very well.”

“No, but I know you very well. Or, at least I thought I did. I don't know when you became so self-centered, but it's a horrible look, Sarada. You should know from experience the damage words can do. Or, shall we just pretend you didn't rip into Asha'rah for what she said to Ishtar, in retaliation for what Ishtar said to her.”

“I didn't know she said that!”

“But, it didn't stop you from passing judgment on half information. In fact, if I hadn't stopped you, you probably would have said worse.” Her expression grew dark. “You care about other people than you care about me. Ishtar comes as no surprise. But, to believe your own molester and his account, then relay that to the police without so much as getting my side of the—”

“That's not what happened! They were in the room with me! They heard it just like I did.”

“But, that didn't stop you from pressing charges, letting me be arrested in front of my friends, then coming to see me in a jail cell. By that point, I was so angry...” She was so angry, she said she hated Sarada. At the time, she did. She knew exactly why she believed Dashir; because what he said fit into her narrative. That Parsley had been trying for years to tear her down, even to the point of purposefully leaving her in the Market after coming to an agreement with him.

Just thinking about it made her furious. Yet, that fury only sprang up to hide the inconsolable hurt that was ravaging her heart.

Did Sarada really think that little of her? If so, then why did she bother making preparations to wish her back to life? Or, was the wish for those that died on Turrip, which she happened to be a part of.

“You just said you withheld the truth on purpose, so don't try and lie your way out of this,” she continued, voice trembling with barely contained rage.

Sarada couldn't say anything.

That only made Parsley angrier. She couldn't even bring herself to say anything resembling an explanation. The nerve, the gall. “You're a piece of shit.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Parsley punched Sarada in the face, then powered up to match her soon to be increased power again. They exchanged devastating blows, rocking each other with bone-rattling punches and thunderous kicks.

There was no technique, no martial prowess on display. The reality of it was that this was simply two people stripped clean of their composure and were emotionally raw as a result. Much like the ludicrously confusing argument from yesterday, words were no match for the stubbornness of the parties involved. The only other non-violent recourse left was to simply let it be and go their separate ways. As they were both stuck on Earth for the next few days, then needed to work together to save the timestream and Zurvan, that was not an acceptable outcome.

The only positive result would come from letting the tension work itself out the only way they both knew best. A clash of fists until neither could stand any more.

Due to the sparring session just a few minutes earlier, that wouldn't be much longer.

Sarada grabbed Parsley's arm and pulled her into a knee that buried itself in her solar plexus. The air was ripped from her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath and grasping desperately for something to keep from falling.

Sarada still had a hold of her hand, and used it to kick her into a nearby pile of rubble. She quickly followed her, punching her into the ground just moments after she landed. “You think you're so great! You ain't shit, you hear me!” She mounted her and used her dazed state to rip a series of thunderous and unimpeded blows to her face.

Each punch cracked her skull on collision. She could already feel her face swelling up. Like this, she was sure to lose consciousness, and the fight. Thus, she did what she could to turn the tide: she jammed her fingers into Sarada eyes.

“AAAH!”

Parsley kicked her off and lunged to tackled her to the ground. Then, it was her turn to pummel Sarada's face in. It was familiar territory; the very same thing happened a year and a half ago. That, incidentally, resulted in Ishtar falling from the Lookout and ending up in a crater. Would the same happen this time? Only time would tell. What was certain was that Parsley didn't care.

“I should have known this was how you really felt,” she snarled as she clapped a hand around Sarada's throat to hold her still. “Why else would you send me to Turrip alone?”

Sarada grunted and raked Parsley's eyes to gain just a little time to kick her away. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“You sent me to Turrip alone because you knew I'd be killed, didn't you? Admit it!”

That accusation – not just out of left field, but from entirely different planet – gave stunned Sarada. “Wha... what the hell? Why would you—”

“Oh? So you can make baseless accusations about me based on my past proven behavior, but I can't do the same to you? Someone call Ishtar, because I smell a hypocrite.”

“I'm not a hypocrite! And I didn't send you on a suicide mission!”

“Then why send only me? Why not send a team with me, or hell, one more person to watch my back?” The questions were pointed, and Sarada had no answer. As she groped for some kind of response, Parsley exploded forward and buried her fist in her midsection.

“...I...” she wheezed before dropped to a knee.

Parsley kneed her hard in the face, doing further damage to her already badly damaged head. If she didn't have at least a concussion, she would have been shocked.

“...I.. trusted... you...,” she managed to choke out.

“Hmph. You trust someone you genuinely believed at the time collaborated with your abuser?!”

The question was a trap. If she said no, she was a liar. If she said yes, then she was a fool. Either way, Parsley would have plenty of ammunition to make her next point.

“Yes. I trusted you because I thought you could do what I couldn't: stay calm under pressure and focus on the mission instead of just blowing everything away. I knew you would stay out of sight and do what I needed you to.” Sarada struggled to rise to her feet. Her knees were wobbly under her, barely able to support her weight. “I didn't want you to die, Parsley.”

She had been preparing to call Sarada a fool for trusting someone who she thought hurt her in the past, but her explanation gave her pause. Sarada trusted her with the mission, and only her, because she knew that Parsley was better for it than she or anyone else was. The latter already made known when she was given the mission. The former, she was only just then learning.

“You didn't want me to die?” She had suffered so much at the hands of Appel and her henchmen. All because of a decision Sarada made; a questionable one at that. Just like Sarada suffered so much at the hands of Dashir. All because of a decision Parsley made; a questionable one at that.

Then, with those two thoughts, she saw the parallel between the two of them. Both of them suffered unspeakable trauma because of an action taken by the other sister. Neither intended the other any ill, but that was what happened.

They had more in common than either of them realized.

“It may not mean much now,” Sarada continued, more steadily now that her breath was returning, “but, I'm sorry.”

She hadn't been expecting an apology from someone like her sister, let alone a genuine one. She swallowed and looked down at her feet. “I'm sorry, too. For what it's worth, I always regretted the things I said.” She shrugged. “But, I guess the pressure to be the best, and the guilt from what happened in the Meat Market, clouded my judgment. It's not an excuse, but that's my reason.”

She looked up from the ground when she heard boots scuffling against the broken earth beneath them. Sarada was in front of her a few moments later. “I'll be sure to make a statement saying you had nothing to do with what happened. I don't know if it'll help, but the truth will be out there.”

She nodded. “Thank you.” She was hoping her untimely death after making a solo effort to rescue those survivors had put her in a more favorable light. That was the hope, anyway. Reality had a habit of not lining up with one's hopes and dreams. Speaking of, “Did those five people make it out okay?”

“Yes. They're all fine. When they heard you died, they offered their gratitude and condolences.”

“Good.”

“Meagan gave you these flowers that don't need to be watered. A good thing, because I don't know shit about gardening. Hahah!”

“I'll have to thank her when we get back to the Lookout.” To the amazement of no one, fighting it out was the best possible thing they could have done. They worked out their animosity and pent up aggression toward one another in a constructive way. Now that it was over and they talked it out afterwards, there was nothing but a clean slate between them on which to build.

“Okay. I... should get back and check on Ishtar. And explain what happened.” Also, undoubtedly, to gloat that the Saiyan method of therapy was superior to any other method. “Oh! I forgot to tell you, but Avoca said she's going to kill you the next time she sees you.”

Parsley frowned. Why would she say such a thing? One would think she'd be overjoyed to see the love of her life alive and—

“I'll see you soon,” she told Avoca when they finally went their separate ways. She kissed her softly on the lips, then on the back of the hand.

She nodded and smiled softly. “Don't die.”

“I won't.”

“If you do, I'll kill you.”

“I don't doubt you'll try.”

Oh.

“Oh.” She did make a promise, and she didn't break her promises; the few that she bothered to make, anyway. It was why she didn't make many to begin with. She hadn't given it much thought, as wrapped up in her own head as she had been. Avoca loved her dearly, but hadn't seen her since right before she left for Earth to fight Jagam.

She had missed Avoca dearly, but it never occurred to her that she missed her just as much, and possibly more. It never occurred how much it hurt to have to look at her gravestone every day. “I... will make it up to her.”

Sarada waved her off. “I think she means to kill you through exhaustion.” She grinned and lifted into the air. “Well, that was fun, but I really need food. Bye.”

Parsley watched her sister disappear over the horizon. There was much left to be worked out, but they were off to a good start. The hidden animosity between them had been worked out in the best way possible. After beating on one another until neither could barely stand, there was nothing left to do but come to an agreeable accord. And that was just what they did. With that done, there was nothing left to do but move forward together and try to rekindle the relationship they had when they were kids.

“Let's get stronger together, sister.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Marduk," Ishtar replied with simply, as she considered how best to tag the slippery Sheriff.

Clearly wasn't doing much, her teleporting in. Didn't help he was fast enough to simply block her, either ... and that there was three of them certainly proved an issue. Perhaps a different approach ? Or at the very least something he couldn't avoid.

Heh.

Charging her limbs with Void Energy, the Oni closed the distance.

"In this timeline. Marduk and I are at odds. He wished to purchase an Oni child to kill, consume, and steal power from. I stopped him ... then he lost his arm. Not my fault, directly, the arm." Ishtar explained, for Alternate Zaofan's benefit, and once the Oni got within range of the nearest clone, she darted forward and tried to engage with him in more hand-to-hand. "As far as I am aware, he is out there somewhere, nursing a grudge and a missing arm."

That this alternate version was in league with the alternate version of herself however ... and that this same alternate lost both of her legs ...

Huh.

Ishtar had traded her arm to save the lives of multiple people -- first suffering damage during the accidental attack directed at, at that point in time, her acquaintances; only to lose it completely to spare Nunlil -- yet this version of herself lost both legs, in an attempt to do the inverse. How passing strange. Though, at the mention of this Deputy Charco, and this alternate version of Totoma and his wife, presumably Karine ? Ishtar found herself curious about one thing.

"If she returns while you are away, do you feel those you left behind to come here, will be able to stop her ?"

It would be at this point, assuming that the clone she targeted engages her, that the Void Energy she had been gathering would discharge in the form of a sizable explosion, on the next blocked punch.

One Zaofan ‘pops’ and the other two seem surprised by the blocked punch that did him in.

“Charco and the others? Yeah, they’re all stronger than me. If anyone can pull through it will be them.”

Crimson energy builds in both the remaining Zaofan’s eyes.

[Tami]

after Praxat calms down she comes out of hiding saying "yeah I know it's tiny bird but just seeing a wild bird any wild bird frightens me." " oh and Cyanna you might what to use dissolvent because my saliva is a non-Newtonian fluid. " " in lay man terms it doesn't follow the standard laws of viscosity." " when my saliva goes forward and hits something it's almost like water ,but when I retract my tongue and reel it in my saliva becomes thicker and acts like a adhesive a damn good one."

" much better than those adhesives you can buy at department stores." " so yeah you might not want to touch anything or put your hands together."

Meagan lifts the power blocks, returning everyon's powers to their normal levels. She then points to Cyanna, "You have ten minutes, get back to the Lookout and find Jinzi. I Know he has something in his lab kit you can use to clean off the Toadian Saliva. Clean up and get back here as soon as you can, and don't get distracted."

Cyanna nods, then vanishes in a teleport.

Turning to Dash, "You held back, didn't you?"

Dash smirked, "Well, maybe a little. Ah didn't want to hurt Cya."

"Cyanna will never learn if you keep coddling her. When she returns, you two keep sparing, at full power now. No ki techs, just the basics. She might not be as fast as you, though her evasion is improving. Work on that." Meagan spoke as an after thought, "Oh, and what you did at the lake was a good example of thinking before acting. Something else you can help Cyanna with."

Meagan then looked at Praxat, trying to find the right words, "You definitely have some useful skills and techniques. Using them effectively and efficiently, however, is something you need to work on. If you are up for it, I want to do speed training with you. You and I will spar, and just the basics, hand-to-hand. No ki, no special techniques, which includes using your tongue or anything like that. I want to test your reaction time. Afterwards, we can talk about ways to improve your stealth."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

After a lengthy time away hashing things out with her sister, Sarada returned to the Lookout beaten, bloody, and bruised. Without the benefit of adrenaline or something to preoccupy her mind with, the intense pain from the violent conflict through which they worked out their issues made itself manifest. "Ah!" she hissed when the pain hit her. She limped and shuffled to the steps leading inside and sat down. "Can I get some healing?" she asked anyone who happened to be outside.

She really wished she hadn't given Erosa the last of her healing food. Damn that stupid Id.

[Tami]

After a lengthy time away hashing things out with her sister, Sarada returned to the Lookout beaten, bloody, and bruised. Without the benefit of adrenaline or something to preoccupy her mind with, the intense pain from the violent conflict through which they worked out their issues made itself manifest. "Ah!" she hissed when the pain hit her. She limped and shuffled to the steps leading inside and sat down. "Can I get some healing?" she asked anyone who happened to be outside.

She really wished she hadn't given Erosa the last of her healing food. Damn that stupid Id.

Coming from around a corner, a woman, young looking, tall and fair, long black hair tied in a single braid, her distinctive silver eyes glinted like mirrors. She stopped her movements to look down at the young Saiyan, "Others are busy right now, if you wish I can heal you." She said simply.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Coming from around a corner, a woman, young looking, tall and fair, long black hair tied in a single braid, her distinctive silver eyes glinted like mirrors. She stopped her movements to look down at the young Saiyan, "Others are busy right now, if you wish I can heal you." She said simply.

Sarada noticed the silver woman walking toward her. She remembered seeing her at the pairing ceremony with Meagan yesterday. "Uh, Raimi, right?" Or something like that.

"Yeah, sure. I appreciate it."

[Tami]

Sarada noticed the silver woman walking toward her. She remembered seeing her at the pairing ceremony with Meagan yesterday. "Uh, Raimi, right?" Or something like that.

"Yeah, sure. I appreciate it."

With a slight, bemused smile, "It's Reimi Himizu, Queen Sarada." She then took to one knee and held out her hands. As she did, her fair skin began to transform, taking on a silvery, metallic appearance, though only up to her elbows.

From her hands, a light came forth, one that was more magic than ki, though a little of both. The energy flowed into Sarada like water into a sponge, and as it did her injuries began to mend. In a matter of moments, her body was healed enough to be functional though she still felt some exhaustion from her fight.

Standing up again, "It is usually best to learn to self heal. Depending on others is a high stakes risk."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

With a slight, bemused smile, "It's Reimi Himizu, Queen Sarada." She then took to one knee and held out her hands. As she did, her fair skin began to transform, taking on a silvery, metallic appearance, though only up to her elbows.

From her hands, a light came forth, one that was more magic than ki, though a little of both. The energy flowed into Sarada like water into a sponge, and as it did her injuries began to mend. In a matter of moments, her body was healed enough to be functional though she still felt some exhaustion from her fight.

Standing up again, "It is usually best to learn to self heal. Depending on others is a high stakes risk."

"Nice to meet you."

The healing energies from Reimi flowed into Sarada like water being sucked up by a sponge. She sighed tiredly as she felt her injuries being healed and broken facial bones resetting and mending together. She was still tired, but that could be mended by taking a nap. It was good to not be hurting so badly any more.

"I don't have time to sit and learn magic," she answered. "It'd be nice, but other responsibilities take priority." Besides, healing gives people like Chuan and Slak something to do since they've now taken a more background role.

[Tami]

"Nice to meet you."

The healing energies from Reimi flowed into Sarada like water being sucked up by a sponge. She sighed tiredly as she felt her injuries being healed and broken facial bones resetting and mending together. She was still tired, but that could be mended by taking a nap. It was good to not be hurting so badly any more.

"I don't have time to sit and learn magic," she answered. "It'd be nice, but other responsibilities take priority." Besides, healing gives people like Chuan and Slak something to do since they've now taken a more background role.

"Then I wish for you the constant companionship of your friends and family. The strength of your people depends on the strengths of your relationships."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Then I wish for you the constant companionship of your friends and family. The strength of your people depends on the strengths of your relationships."

"Yeah, don't I know it." Sarada smiled softly. "I have the best relationship a person can ask for. If it wasn't for my mate, I wouldn't even be a queen."

[Tami]

"Yeah, don't I know it." Sarada smiled softly. "I have the best relationship a person can ask for. If it wasn't for my mate, I wouldn't even be a queen."

"Is that the only relationship you are thankful for? Others who offered you support when you needed it. Others who lent you their strength when you were weak. Others who shielded you when your own defenses failed. These are the ones you will one day call upon in a time of need. They are your strength, never forget them."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Is that the only relationship you are thankful for? Others who offered you support when you needed it. Others who lent you their strength when you were weak. Others who shielded you when your own defenses failed. These are the ones you will one day call upon in a time of need. They are your strength, never forget them."

Sarada frowned. "I didn't that. Just that my mate is the best one I could ask for. She's helped me a lot over the last two years. There's also my care-nurse, the woman who raised me from birth. And obviously, there's Eva and my friends here in Earth and abroad."

She hoped one day soon to be able to include Parsley in that list. Until then, that was a work in progress."

[Tami]

Sarada frowned. "I didn't that. Just that my mate is the best one I could ask for. She's helped me a lot over the last two years. There's also my care-nurse, the woman who raised me from birth. And obviously, there's Eva and my friends here in Earth and abroad."

She hoped one day soon to be able to include Parsley in that list. Until then, that was a work in progress."

Reimi seemed pleased with that, "Then perhaps we too shall be allies one day. If you will excuse me, I have work to do." She then stepped around Sarada and headed into the building.