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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As Ishtar made ready to resound, a nod from Grinthorn and a parting word cut her off. And what was implied was ...

"Wait." Ishtar stated, before continuing. "Are you in league with Zurvan, and Sihn, then ?" Though as for Sasheem, then Oni sighed.

"Y
But your Majin might prove a dead end. Or at the least untenable. I bound him to a Katchin object, I carry on my person."

He stops and turns, looking at her.

“I am neither with or against. I am my own side. My desires my own, not bound to Zeno or Sihn or Sakin or anyone. Though I will say in respect to Earth....I rather like it. I’d rather it remain in existence.”

He grins and gestures, the knife appearing in his hand. Ishtar’s knife.

Which should be impossible.

He tosses it to her.

“I was aware. Such a thing means little to me. I would say Sheki’hinah or even dear Asha’rah would be preferable, but neither will be willing once my nature is known. Auroc is a no. Koorimaru has potential if Sasheem won’t do.”

[MrSandman]

The dragon grins at her as Zurvan nods.

“Clever.”

He nods to Zurvan and starts walking away.

“Perhaps Sasheem will be more amenable. The...clientele...available to me is slim but he might make the cut.”

"Bloody hell these calculations are a nightmare...." Etrinas voice cuts the air as the mage herself comes out onto the central area of the lookout with her gaze fixed on a book and two more under her arm. "....and with Zaofan on the mission team nobody cooked any breakfast.....damn it I wish I had a Sandwich right now.....Maybe two Sandwi....huh?" Etrina drops her book and stares at the scene unfolding before her.

"........The hell is this suppose to be then....?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

He stops and turns, looking at her.

“I am neither with or against. I am my own side. My desires my own, not bound to Zeno or Sihn or Sakin or anyone. Though I will say in respect to Earth....I rather like it. I’d rather it remain in existence.”

He grins and gestures, the knife appearing in his hand. Ishtar’s knife.

Which should be impossible.

He tosses it to her.

“I was aware. Such a thing means little to me. I would say Sheki’hinah or even dear Asha’rah would be preferable, but neither will be willing once my nature is known. Auroc is a no. Koorimaru has potential if Sasheem won’t do.”

"If you knew, then why bother with the theatricality of it ?" Ishtar said with a grunt, before returning her knife to the storage space inside of her necklace. "Beyond that ... outside of Shek'hinah, all of the individuals you mentioned I have considered killing; or intend to kill. Though ... hearing that Koorimaru is one of your potential 'clients' is curious, and confirms my suspicions." Ishtar replied, before contemplating something.

"Still, I know little of your aims, or of the truthfulness of your words; and you know well I am not inclined to trust you without sufficient reasoning. So ... Zurvan," Ishtar said before turning to the man who raised her.

"You know more of him, and what he is ... than I do; yet have remained largely silent until now. What would you suggest ?"

[KingofPie]

Elsewhere...

Over an arid desert canyon, a stream of liquid flew over the cliffside and drenched several cacti below. Was it a rare case of precipitation? Had a natural damn been unearthed, allowing water to flow once more into one of the driest regions on Earth?

...Nah, Sasheem just had to piss is all.


"Woo boy, ain't that a relief," the Majin sighed, pulling his pants up. "Sasheem thinks he may have drunken far too much water..." The Majin turned around to face a wounded man, bleeding out and lying amongst the sand. The Head of the Pandulce Family as he was once called. Now he was just a future feast for the vultures.

"Matter of fact," Sasheem continued, tossing an empty canteen at the man's head. "It just may have been the last of the water..."

"You...you can't do this..." Pandulce gasped.

"Why do they always say that once Sasheem's already done it?" the Majin shrugged, irritable. The information this ******* provided on Bing Lao's whereabouts turned out to be bust. Sasheem supposed offering to let someone live isn't a reliable method of convincing some overly loyal gangster who thinks he owns the world. ...Not that he was gonna let the fool live anyway.

"Enjoy that stale desert air..." Sasheem whistled happily as he began to walk away, his hands in his pockets. "You seem like you got a strong enough spirit to stay alive long enough to stave off the vultures. The coyote's, however...might prove to be a challenge!" the Majin laughed as he went on his way.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"If you knew, then why bother with the theatricality of it ?" Ishtar said with a grunt, before returning her knife to the storage space inside of her necklace. "Beyond that ... outside of Shek'hinah, all of the individuals you mentioned I have considered killing; or intend to kill. Though ... hearing that Koorimaru is one of your potential 'clients' is curious, and confirms my suspicions." Ishtar replied, before contemplating something.

"Still, I know little of your aims, or of the truthfulness of your words; and you know well I am not inclined to trust you without sufficient reasoning. So ... Zurvan," Ishtar said before turning to the man who raised her.

"You know more of him, and what he is ... than I do; yet have remained largely silent until now. What would you suggest ?"

“I would say he tells the truth to a point. But he was cast out because of...flaws. Isn’t that right, Ancient one? The forefather of all Dragons? The first one Lord Zeno ever created, Alakazah, the Eternal Dragon.”

Grinthorn’s smile widens and widens, teeth and eyes glinting

“I haven’t heard the old name in a long, long time. Send shivers down my spine.”

[bruceleegreyhulk]

nothing to see here

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

“I would say he tells the truth to a point. But he was cast out because of...flaws. Isn’t that right, Ancient one? The forefather of all Dragons? The first one Lord Zeno ever created, Alakazah, the Eternal Dragon.”

Grinthorn’s smile widens and widens, teeth and eyes glinting

“I haven’t heard the old name in a long, long time. Send shivers down my spine.”

Ishtar listened as Zurvan explained.

He wasn't lying, at least so far as was relevant for the moment ... yet something seemed off all the same. Finding out that what she'd seen before wasn't inaccurate -- that he was a Dragon -- did at least go towards calming her nerves however. The name however, set the Oni right back on edge.

"Alakazah ..."

Still keeping her eyes on the Eternal Dragon. Ishtar continued to ask Zurvan's opinion.

"He stands apart from Zeno, and Sakin ... and exists beyond the influence of either. That he seeks to rally an individual to his cause for an as of yet nebulous purpose, is of some concern I must admit. Zurvan, you know better than I how this might go. Tell me. Would it be better to deal with him, myself. Or allow him to wander off and attempt dealings with another ?"

[MrSandman]

“I would say he tells the truth to a point. But he was cast out because of...flaws. Isn’t that right, Ancient one? The forefather of all Dragons? The first one Lord Zeno ever created, Alakazah, the Eternal Dragon.”

Grinthorn’s smile widens and widens, teeth and eyes glinting

“I haven’t heard the old name in a long, long time. Send shivers down my spine.”

"I find that hard to believe...." Etrina tremarked. "An Eternal Dragon would have been able to wish himself a better disguise, unless it was intended you look like a pair of teeth attached to a middle aged man. Now can somebody please tell me what he's doing here..."

The time mage stepped up to Zurvan with her books in hand and took a quick glance for reference. "In any event....I have a sick god to take care of, unless its important he should be on his way."

[Lord Falcon]

Before Leaving the Lookout

Asha'rah was not at peace. It wasn't the seething anger that had come close to overwhelming her when Chrona had kidnapped Erosa. But the calm waves of her soul that afforded her the peace to meditate were calm no longer. They crashed upon the shores of her mind, confused anguish rumbling through her like peals of thunder. She hurt, and she could find no answer.

Away from the room where she had argued just a few hours ago with Ishtar, atop the lookout and behind an outcropping, Asha'rah sat in her manifested form. Breathing deep helped a little, though her breath shuddered. Finding her center helped a little, though it remained buffeted by her emotional state. But it was not enough. So she summoned Tiangou, just a little, the dragon's body occupying a space no larger than a lion. The argument was done for the moment, but Asha'rah would not risk badmouthing Ishtar before their peers. But she wished comfort, which Tiangou was always willing to provide. She leaned her head against the dragon's own, finding in her old friend a rock to lean upon till the aching storm within her resided. Tiangou for her part had wrapped her body around Asha'rah, using her bulk as a comforting blanket to shelter her master in her moment of weakness.

The great efforts spent to bring Ishtar back from the dead. Those months they had shared travelling to Illargi. Reuniting Ishtar with Sekhmet, one last time. All the battles they had fought together, all the fields of battle they had bled together on. All discarded in a single argument...or had Ishtar simply been slowly coming to a boil for a long time? It had felt like a spur of the moment revelation, but had that merely been the spark? She could feel the emotion rolling off Ishtar, and whatever regard Ishtar had once had for Asha'rah had apparently evaporated into nothing. All over a charge of hypocrisy, a charge upon which Asha'rah would have readily admitted had she been convinced. But she had not been convinced, based as the charge seemed to be (to her, at least) on an incomplete understanding of her own values. Or an incomplete understanding of hypocrisy. And now Ishtar's wrath felt ripe to attempt extermination upon Asha'rah. No time given for pondering, no period of self-reflection - a friendship ended just like that.

If, in the fullness of time, Asha'rah had come to stand in the way of what Ishtar desired, Asha'rah could have accepted a battle to the death as the course of things when convictions collided. But not like this. Not like this. Ishtar despised Asha'rah on a personal level, not just a philosophical one, and the god could not reconcile the haste to such a judgment of a friend from Ishtar with the Ishtar Asha'rah knew.

...No, that was a lie. She just didn't want to. So she sat with her dragon, her chest tightening with pain and confusion, and cried for a friend lost.

[Lord Falcon]

Another voice speaks up as yet another familiar person swings by.

online image hosting

Alt Dash flies with them now.

“She died defending Jinzi during the invasion.”

TE=Cleric of Hell’s Brigade;4119414]“Oh, she’s off planet with Uncle Held right now. Hunting down a guy named Shimmer.”[/QUOTE]

"A pity. I could use a little self-help."

She shook her head.

"Know that in another time, Etrina was not the villain she has apparently become here. I know her to be an accomplished scholar and magician, and her likeness stands upon my shoulder now. She elected to remain behind, but we hope to maintain communication as we travel."

She turned to White E. upon her shoulder.

"Which reminds me, White One, does your connection with Etrina remain intact?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Althena cross her arms as her skin turns red and anger emoji shows on her high tech pendent and she thinks to herself ( so this ******* know many things about all things huh! that means he knew I was frozen 2,000 years ago and sent to planet in the North Galaxy by a demon like being calling itself Zerx ! he probably knows everything about me how in the hell and supposed to trust some one so shady even if he is a Eternal dragon ?)


Althena clenches her right fist saying " answer me this President Grinthorn or should I call you Alakazah how much to you know about me? ." " yeah I know about you and know you're the fore father of all dragons I was pay attention . " "however how can I be sure that I or anyone else for that matter can trust you?"

[Yun Lao]

Where Ishtar might have assumed a few blows might land, there came only a grazing first strike before she missed completely. Though it did offer one insight.

Charco was faster than he let on.

Though with the first punch managing little more than a graze and the several after striking nothing but air; a blow catching him flush against the temple seemed to dispel that notion ... or at the least revealed the boy was distracted by something. Cyanna, perhaps ? They were certainly fond of each other from what could be remembered.

A leg entering her field of view however, caused her to refocus and block -- just barely -- the full strike from connecting, with her forearm; though not without the imprint of a sole being left on her chin.

"Hm."

Shoving the leg to the side with a gesture, the Oni used the momentary imbalance to step in and strike Charco in the chest; the blow causing the boy to skid across the Lookout's surface. Not waiting to see how he took it, then, Ishtar pressed the attack firing a quick burst of Void Energy before moving to close once more.

He felt the impact of his kick hitting her, yet knew it was for naught. Her defense raised to block his kick, Ishtar was in the prime position to strike him outright which she would rightfully taken advantage of. The wind was launched from his chest as she struck him in the sternum, the power alone from it enough to send him several yards across the Lookout's grounds. Seeking to mitigate the distance, he drove the fingers of one hand into the ground below, leaving five scars in his wake.

Coming to a stop, he finally inhaled but he could not afford the luxury of a breather as a blast of pitch darkness stalked him. With his next exhalation, he was gone, his physical form blurring into empty air before he was suddenly several feet to the side. An upward swipe of an arm and the brief glimpse of a ripple in the air would Ishtar's only warning of the vacuum blade streaking towards her.

I don't think I've ever faced an Oni... Rex commented, a hint of amusement in the tone of a being who had eaten a GoD. I wonder how they taste...

He felt the twinge of want from the spirit yet it was far from a true effort to seize control. Rex was testing him, flexing his muscles in the confines of his prison in order to feel for any weakness. Ishtar's only clue of this inner conflict in the boy was sudden and sharp upward spike of his power level. Charco had steeled his resolve since the aftermath of the fight with Luop, but the spirit had been emboldened by the taste of freedom.

"Jeez, I can't take you anywhere..." He retorted to himself before snapping off a few quick bursts of energy at the oni.

[Tami]

Before Leaving the Lookout

Asha'rah was not at peace. It wasn't the seething anger that had come close to overwhelming her when Chrona had kidnapped Erosa. But the calm waves of her soul that afforded her the peace to meditate were calm no longer. They crashed upon the shores of her mind, confused anguish rumbling through her like peals of thunder. She hurt, and she could find no answer.

Away from the room where she had argued just a few hours ago with Ishtar, atop the lookout and behind an outcropping, Asha'rah sat in her manifested form. Breathing deep helped a little, though her breath shuddered. Finding her center helped a little, though it remained buffeted by her emotional state. But it was not enough. So she summoned Tiangou, just a little, the dragon's body occupying a space no larger than a lion. The argument was done for the moment, but Asha'rah would not risk badmouthing Ishtar before their peers. But she wished comfort, which Tiangou was always willing to provide. She leaned her head against the dragon's own, finding in her old friend a rock to lean upon till the aching storm within her resided. Tiangou for her part had wrapped her body around Asha'rah, using her bulk as a comforting blanket to shelter her master in her moment of weakness.

The great efforts spent to bring Ishtar back from the dead. Those months they had shared travelling to Illargi. Reuniting Ishtar with Sekhmet, one last time. All the battles they had fought together, all the fields of battle they had bled together on. All discarded in a single argument...or had Ishtar simply been slowly coming to a boil for a long time? It had felt like a spur of the moment revelation, but had that merely been the spark? She could feel the emotion rolling off Ishtar, and whatever regard Ishtar had once had for Asha'rah had apparently evaporated into nothing. All over a charge of hypocrisy, a charge upon which Asha'rah would have readily admitted had she been convinced. But she had not been convinced, based as the charge seemed to be (to her, at least) on an incomplete understanding of her own values. Or an incomplete understanding of hypocrisy. And now Ishtar's wrath felt ripe to attempt extermination upon Asha'rah. No time given for pondering, no period of self-reflection - a friendship ended just like that.

If, in the fullness of time, Asha'rah had come to stand in the way of what Ishtar desired, Asha'rah could have accepted a battle to the death as the course of things when convictions collided. But not like this. Not like this. Ishtar despised Asha'rah on a personal level, not just a philosophical one, and the god could not reconcile the haste to such a judgment of a friend from Ishtar with the Ishtar Asha'rah knew.

...No, that was a lie. She just didn't want to. So she sat with her dragon, her chest tightening with pain and confusion, and cried for a friend lost.

Before Leaving the Lookout

Cyanna was outside on the plaza when she heard the soft sounds of crying. It took her a few minutes to realize where it was coming from.

Taking to the air, she levitated upwards until she was close enough to see the sad goddess, clinging to her pet dragon.

Moving in closer, "Whats' wrong? Why are you crying?" she spoke gently. "Do you want to talk?"

She then took a seat nearby, "You have a beautiful dragon. What's his name?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

TE=Cleric of Hell’s Brigade;4119414]“Oh, she’s off planet with Uncle Held right now. Hunting down a guy named Shimmer.”

"A pity. I could use a little self-help."

She shook her head.

"Know that in another time, Etrina was not the villain she has apparently become here. I know her to be an accomplished scholar and magician, and her likeness stands upon my shoulder now. She elected to remain behind, but we hope to maintain communication as we travel."

She turned to White E. upon her shoulder.

"Which reminds me, White One, does your connection with Etrina remain intact?"[/QUOTE]

If she checks, she is surprised to find that it does stay intact.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Grinthorn smirks as Zurvan responds.

“He cannot use his wishes on himself. In fact, unless certain criteria are met, he cannot wish at all. He was sealed from his dragon form. Only a wish of a peer or an Angel or a God can release him.”