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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Bah!" Sasheem spat somewhere on the ground. "If Sasheem's the toilet king, what's that make sumbitch like you who'a gotta clean up his waste?" He pointed at the remains of the hybrid and laugjed.



Sasheem turned to look at Parsley. "Weren't you people suppose to have this shit handled? Sasheem can't even handle his own business without steppin' in to fix your damn problems!" The Majin sneered, scratching his chin.

Now that the fight was over, there was something he wanted to know...among many things he got a read on from whatever fight was goin on, on the Lookout, something was...off. "By the way, wimpanzee, when the hell did a new Majin arrive on the Lookout?" He asked of Parsley. "That energy seemed familiar, but Sasheem never felt that kinda intense disregard for another's life since...well...himself, really."

Parsley sighed heavily. "Who knows? Possibly your replacement," she replied with a sneer. "With hope, they talk less."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"....Erosa....." The burning feeling in her chest intensified. Through bloodshot eyes she looked upon Erosa healed, but still unconscious form. With a growl she digged her hands and steadied herself, resisting the pull as she turned herself around until she was gripping the ground on all fours. Rather then accept the help, she started crawling like a wounded defiant animal. Only the barest prick of reason managed to shine through in her eyes, and they focused on the body of her familiar...her sister.....herself.

With effort she pushed herself to her feet, wobbled, and started stumbling forward.

---

...and through the mage herself wasn't aware of it, Ishtar saw something most troubling. As she stumbled towards them, a rather chipper looking figure was quietly walking beside her. Unseen to her, perhaps not even really there....but to Ishtar, who had touched the void, the figure was both visible and all too familiar.

The figure let her hand brush against the majin mages cheek, and the briefest thread of energy drifted between her fingers. Then with a smile, Hastur put her finger to her lips in Ishtars direction and faded from view.

For a moment there was hesitation in the addled mind of Etrina ... and then a pinprick of clarity that brought with it movement and decisive action; a thing Ishtar found herself greatly relieved to see, given her state. Yet as the currently transformed Etrina made her way slowly to where both the Oni, and Erosa lay ... Ishtar's golden-eyes caught sight of something most troubling.

Hastur.

Not swift enough to speak, and aware that those around had little idea the Voidling was even there; she watched then as a globule of Void -- much like the one she had consumed, herself -- was slipped into the mouth of Etrina, and knowing what that meant ... the Ishtar eye's widened, a cold pit forming in her stomach even as a familiar whispering voice offered two, garbled words, and in hearing them ... Ishtar knew fear, for only the third time, in her life.

... H' uaaah.

"SHES NOT YOURS!!" Etrina screamed and fired a beam on pure void energy. The beam zig-zagged through the air, changing angles on the fly as it passed the ids body, and sliced a route directly through the tendril holding the ids soul.

It happened swiftly then, the beginning.

Etrina, now bound to Void, much like Ishtar herself, grew swiftly aware of the creature tugging on Erosa's soul; and with a cry of rage, and an offering of pure Void Energy the young mage lashed out. Yet the offered words before -- and the cold pit of fear that had formed in the Oni's stomach -- did not begin to make sense, until the beam struck its target ...

The beam cut like a hot blade, severing the tendril and sending a wave of energy up along it until it reached the root of the creature.

Beneath its covered face, Ishtar saw a flickering of something.....a registering of something.....pain....eyes flickering open...

An unseen mouth opened and let out a scream that rattled Ishtars brain in her head, and by the look of it fared no better for Etrina or Eva, the former immediately cupping her head in her hands and collapsing next to Erosa.

Then....in the next moment.....silence had returned. The creature was gone...the pull on Erosa had dissipated to nothing. Her body floated in the immaterial, awaiting return to her body.

Etrina however, had faded into unconsciousness.

... as when it struck, it severed the creature's hold; and with a flicker of pain the Eldritch monster reared back and let loose a howl that addled the Oni's mind and chipped at her resolve before disappearing back thru the Dream to whatever haunt it had crept from. And for a moment Ishtar simply sat there, hunched over and bleeding, her head swimming with the pain of psionic backlash from a creature she had no understanding of at all.

Yet two seemed to.

Hastur ... and that Eldritch Whisperer.

Erosa breaths deep as her soul settles back into her body, alive and well again.

Eva slumps down, beyond exhausted. Anula too, Kai taking hold of her arm and helping her sit. Pike, meanwhile, nods in satisfaction and then makes sure Etrina is ok.

Yet as Ishtar looked down at the corpse beneath her palms as she struggled to return to her senses, she saw the Id's chest rise and fall and a warmth return to her pale skin ... and despite her newfound fear, and the questions that spawned from it; the Oni took solace in the fact that she had -- alongside four others -- managed to save her friend.

Alt Zaofan, however, keeps his gaze to the sky. His special crimson gaze looking not where Glacia has been slain, but elsewhere in the sky, as if searching for some other threat.

When her senses returned in full, she found herself looking up to see Sheriff Zaofan with eyes distant, and piercing ... off and away from the sector of space that Ochazuke had executed Glacia in. So picking herself up, and with a quick check to ensure the safety of both Erosa, and Etrina; the golden-eyed Oni carried herself over to the man, and asked simply:

"What is it ?"

[grampagen]

Glacia screams.

Slammed into the chaff barrier that cannot be passed, her ring ripped from her useless arm, Ochazuke essentially crushes her against an object that cannot yield. Bones break, skin cracks, and blood pours as she is crushed. It is almost a mercy when Asha’rah cuts her heart out, her internal engine now exposed and no longer shielded. It floats out and free of the creature.


The hybrid is slain.

————

Erosa breaths deep as her soul settles back into her body, alive and well again.

Eva slumps down, beyond exhausted. Anula too, Kai taking hold of her arm and helping her sit. Pike, meanwhile, nods in satisfaction and then makes sure Etrina is ok.

Alt Zaofan, however, keeps his gaze to the sky. His special crimson gaze looking not where Glacia has been slain, but elsewhere in the sky, as if searching for some other threat.

Even as they hit the barrier and Glacia's momentum stopped hard, Ochazuke felt himself continue to press forward. The space disappeared between them. Dark, off-coloured blood ran cold where it crept over his shoulder, spat from where his elbow was forced through her. Ragged breaths escaped his parted teeth, his side sweltering blood-hot as muscles strained, quivered and grew rigid.

Unable to alter the course, Ochazuke stood there face-to-face with Glacia as he watched her die, staring into those eyes that saw no direction as they glazed over. The last throe of this cold thing that didn't draw breath was only where he felt the pulse deaden and the flesh fall slack as Asha'rah released her. He held her body by the tail still as it slumped, suspended in thin air and gravity.

The emotion cut a swathe of blooded figments across the psychic array. Disgust, loathing...pitiful end for an unexamined wretch.

"...a Creator's mercy, for her creator's ambition," he muttered as Asha'rah joined him, "stymied if only for the moment.

Ochazuke's flight sagged for a moment, black blood rising in oblong droplets as the Doctor's weapon sloughed off his arm. With a familiar snap, the grisly sight disappeared as the personage was contained in a Capsule leaving nothing more than a damp silhouette that evaporated as it slowly hit the Chaff.

Heaving forward with a groan, the pain welled in raised skin thrashing over broken ribs with every slow breath. Shakily Ochazuke fought to raise his Battle Meditation, and gradually the sense of Kyokushin Keihatsu spread, reached, and sunk swiftly into the environs and reestablished the field of sense-awareness.

It was in this moment, however, that he felt his blood quicken. He grew swiftly aware of a familiar disturbance he'd seen twice before.

"The Chaff, Asha'rah," he seethed, words pressing as his thoughts broadcast to the others, "it ripples..."

Glacia's Ring acquired!
Glacia's Heart acquired!
Glacia's Cadaver acquired!

[KingofPie]

Parsley sighed heavily. "Who knows? Possibly your replacement," she replied with a sneer. "With hope, they talk less."

"If it's really a Majin back there, with any hope it obliterates all your roody pooty candy-ass friends," Sasheem retorted "But we can't be that lucky, can we?"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Even as they hit the barrier and Glacia's momentum stopped hard, Ochazuke felt himself continue to press forward. The space disappeared between them. Dark, off-coloured blood ran cold where it crept over his shoulder, spat from where his elbow was forced through her. Ragged breaths escaped his parted teeth, his side sweltering blood-hot as muscles strained, quivered and grew rigid.

Unable to alter the course, Ochazuke stood there face-to-face with Glacia as he watched her die, staring into those eyes that saw no direction as they glazed over. The last throe of this cold thing that didn't draw breath was only where he felt the pulse deaden and the flesh fall slack as Asha'rah released her. He held her body by the tail still as it slumped, suspended in thin air and gravity.

The emotion cut a swathe of blooded figments across the psychic array. Disgust, loathing...pitiful end for an unexamined wretch.

"...a Creator's mercy, for her creator's ambition," he muttered as Asha'rah joined him, "stymied if only for the moment.

Ochazuke's flight sagged for a moment, black blood rising in oblong droplets as the Doctor's weapon sloughed off his arm. With a familiar snap, the grisly sight disappeared as the personage was contained in a Capsule leaving nothing more than a damp silhouette that evaporated as it slowly hit the Chaff.

Heaving forward with a groan, the pain welled in raised skin thrashing over broken ribs with every slow breath. Shakily Ochazuke fought to raise his Battle Meditation, and gradually the sense of Kyokushin Keihatsu spread, reached, and sunk swiftly into the environs and reestablished the field of sense-awareness.

It was in this moment, however, that he felt his blood quicken. He grew swiftly aware of a familiar disturbance he'd seen twice before.

"The Chaff, Asha'rah," he seethed, words pressing as his thoughts broadcast to the others, "it ripples..."

Glacia's Ring acquired!
Glacia's Heart acquired!
Glacia's Cadaver acquired!

When she had been thrown into the alternate Zaofan, Nevanlinna had noticed the others preparing... something, and had withdrawn to strike when needed. Unfortunately, it had certainly not been needed, as this lot had--once again--pulled some ridiculous means to victory out of their posteriors. Still, she had followed as best she could to witness the ultimate effect of this... whatever it was. She'd arrived to find that human, Ochazuke, finishing off the Arcosian hybrid.

Hmph. Good riddance.

However, the human seemed winded from the effort, but, more seriously, he was wounded. Well, that simply could not do, now could it? Let's see, a scant short time ago, she had healed Sir Luop's most grievous wounds, and the human's injuries were trite in comparison. It followed, then, that attending to him would be comparatively easy?

Now then...

Reaching out her hand towards Ochazuke, she focused, calling upon Vaikuntha's energies to flow through her, so that the human warrior's wounds would be mended. Slowly, but surely, the energy responded, flowing out of her and washing over Ochazuke , his broken ribs setting and mending themselves. The princess maintained this for a few seconds, then gradually cut off the flow and lowered her hand.

"Now then, how do you feel? I believe that should have brought you to a more... proper state for responding to any further threats." She was of course referring to his comment about the chaff rippling, which was certainly a portent of further trouble. Ah, what a tiresome day this had been.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"If it's really a Majin back there, with any hope it obliterates all your roody pooty candy-ass friends," Sasheem retorted "But we can't be that lucky, can we?"

" Wait another Majin seriously I thought you were Like the only one . Well creating that electromagnetic field with my Thunder Tongue barrage came in quite handy , but I really need to add long range projectile attacks to my repertoire." Praxat said


Praxat then powers down out of Boost Mode and approaches Haru's dead body. She takes out her Jobox that she had been carrying with her and takes out a vial from it. Praxat uses the vial to collected Haru's blood and puts it back in her Jobox .

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Chris, Althena, and Held find that the first of the hidden floors (each floor only having about five rooms of moderate size) is filled almost completely with various weapons and the like in each room. An armory of ancient and modern, alien and common, magic and non-magical, legal and illegal greets them.

There is armor too of all types and sizes, including several illegal to own GP mechs of the highest caliber.

Althena examines the armor and weaponry . " I'm not familiar with most of this armory , but I think some of them look familiar to me. I'm not entirely sure but I believe that some of those weaponry might be Replita weapons , In any case the Book of Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam says that one must always be prepared for battle . Well I'm guessing none of this armor probably weighs more than this weighted robe I have on right now ." Althena said

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Alt Zaofan clenches his hands.

“Another presence. Hiding. Invisible. I can just barely catch a glance at it.”

He floats up towards Ochazuke.

“Careful. I think........”

A beam rips out of nowhere and slams into the Sheriff, straight in the heart, sending him careening to the Lookout. Alive or dead is unknown.


A shimmer in the air dissipates from where the beam was fired, the assassin stealthing once more.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Bah!" Sasheem spat somewhere on the ground. "If Sasheem's the toilet king, what's that make sumbitch like you who'a gotta clean up his waste?" He pointed at the remains of the hybrid and laugjed.



Sasheem turned to look at Parsley. "Weren't you people suppose to have this shit handled? Sasheem can't even handle his own business without steppin' in to fix your damn problems!" The Majin sneered, scratching his chin.

Now that the fight was over, there was something he wanted to know...among many things he got a read on from whatever fight was goin on, on the Lookout, something was...off. "By the way, wimpanzee, when the hell did a new Majin arrive on the Lookout?" He asked of Parsley. "That energy seemed familiar, but Sasheem never felt that kinda intense disregard for another's life since...well...himself, really."

Jack just flips him off and floats towards the two halves of Haru. Sighing, he uses a capsule to contain both halves after Praxat gets some of it’s blood.

[Tami]

Alt Zaofan clenches his hands.

“Another presence. Hiding. Invisible. I can just barely catch a glance at it.”

He floats up towards Ochazuke.

“Careful. I think........”

A beam rips out of nowhere and slams into the Sheriff, straight in the heart, sending him careening to the Lookout. Alive or dead is unknown.


A shimmer in the air dissipates from where the beam was fired, the assassin stealthing once more.

Some distance away, Dash and Cyanna were arguing over where to go and what to do when Dash suddenuly goes still.

"What...?"

Dash grabs her hand, "Lookout, now."

Cyanna nods then teleports them both back, but in stealth mode. Cyanna using her innate Chromakai ability to make them both near invisible. The arrive on the plaza, but close to the building.

Staying close and moving quickly, they looked around, and everywhere, for what they sensed, for the one who's ki resembles that of Zaofan.

[Tami]

Spidus pauses befor me a mental message comes to her.

‘Uncertain. Your power......uncertain to me.’

Replying through the same means of communication, 'I understand. Still, one lesson I learned long ago. When forced into a fight with an unknown, you can't retreat and you can't stall for time, the best thing to do is to go all out. There is no way to tell unless you test yourself against them. I hesitated because I wanted to fight you at your best, and I felt you were holding back.'

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley felt Alt-Zaofan's PL drop to almost nothing. "Something's happening at the Lookout." Her aura flared as she flew as fast as she could toward the Lookout.

[grampagen]

When she had been thrown into the alternate Zaofan, Nevanlinna had noticed the others preparing... something, and had withdrawn to strike when needed. Unfortunately, it had certainly not been needed, as this lot had--once again--pulled some ridiculous means to victory out of their posteriors. Still, she had followed as best she could to witness the ultimate effect of this... whatever it was. She'd arrived to find that human, Ochazuke, finishing off the Arcosian hybrid.

Hmph. Good riddance.

However, the human seemed winded from the effort, but, more seriously, he was wounded. Well, that simply could not do, now could it? Let's see, a scant short time ago, she had healed Sir Luop's most grievous wounds, and the human's injuries were trite in comparison. It followed, then, that attending to him would be comparatively easy?

Now then...

Reaching out her hand towards Ochazuke, she focused, calling upon Vaikuntha's energies to flow through her, so that the human warrior's wounds would be mended. Slowly, but surely, the energy responded, flowing out of her and washing over Ochazuke , his broken ribs setting and mending themselves. The princess maintained this for a few seconds, then gradually cut off the flow and lowered her hand.

"Now then, how do you feel? I believe that should have brought you to a more... proper state for responding to any further threats." She was of course referring to his comment about the chaff rippling, which was certainly a portent of further trouble. Ah, what a tiresome day this had been.

For a moment, Ochazuke's eyes closed, his expression muted as Nevanlinna's healing go to work. Unlike the certainly of wound edges meeting one another or the closure felt concealed beneath a bound wrapping, there was something that remained strange about the body's response reversing itself.

Bones shift beneath the skin, reset beneath the flesh where it cooled and blood was permitted to resume its flow. Yet in their brief moment of connection, Ochazuke's response was strangely muted.

Still, his reaction was all but affirmed, and as he rolled his shoulder back, he extended to Nevanlinna a brief nod.

Through the skill of Kyokushin Keihatsu, the relative position of the shooter and its target was determined, facing out from where their backs were to the Chaff Barrier. He fell silently into his focus, as his field of sense-awareness restablished itself.

Without being able to see what was concealed, nor hear the silent crest of that ripple, all that remained was to reach out and feel where to uncover the truth of this new assailant.

Alt Zaofan clenches his hands.

“Another presence. Hiding. Invisible. I can just barely catch a glance at it.”

He floats up towards Ochazuke.

“Careful. I think........”

A beam rips out of nowhere and slams into the Sheriff, straight in the heart, sending him careening to the Lookout. Alive or dead is unknown.

A shimmer in the air dissipates from where the beam was fired, the assassin stealthing once more.

The consequence of his Battle Meditation were not always beneficial. The increased focus required to use the skill required the utmost composure. Often the engaged pursuit of awareness left him receptive to everything; when he was alert to the greater expanse and nature of hidden things, he was all-too aware of his own limitations.

Zao-!

Many times,the knowledge granted by heightened sense-awareness was an absolute certainly there was absolutely nothing he could do.

A resonance bound from the planet itself, the manifold field of energies resonated from Muhen Seikai Keihatsu, revealing the living essences of those raised here and the interlopers that tread in its space.

Flickering before the glimmer above, the Doctor's barrier seemed to twist the visible spectrum where the light danced into tapering aurora. In pursuit of this new attacker, Ochazuke's expanded field of sense-awareness served as both a means to uncover and as his medium of attack.

Burn.

Coursing without a spark, the spectral flame of Karura no Kaen leapt out invisibly, immolating all mediums of concealment their attacker stole away within; and the very spiritual essence they brought to being.

[Miburo]

Chris, Althena, and Held find that the first of the hidden floors (each floor only having about five rooms of moderate size) is filled almost completely with various weapons and the like in each room. An armory of ancient and modern, alien and common, magic and non-magical, legal and illegal greets them.

There is armor too of all types and sizes, including several illegal to own GP mechs of the highest caliber.

"Well, Shit."

The Nevadian laughed loudly, before whistling appreciatively.

"Incenio certainly knows how to live, I'll give him that. Is he about to start a war or something?"

He licked his lips as he took measure of the room. While originally, Held had intended on ascertaining the truth of Chris' statements before liberating Incenio of his treasure, he suddenly felt it was more prudent to liberate him of his war inventory, and if, by cirucumstance Incenio was innocent, the Nevadian would apologize heartily as he returned his property.

"I was hoping he kept some of that champagne down here, but this is almost as interesting...But, it's not what matters, is it?"

But, assuming all was as it was stated, it would have been foolish of Held not to properly examine what the Acrosian had on hand, and perhaps procure something or other that might be of use to himself, would it not?

" We should focus on the gem..." Held muttered to someone or other, as he gingerly poked and prodded the inventory, getting a feel for the Incenios personal tastes, while seeing if anything stood out amongst it.

"So...We'll all focus on different things. Chris, you said something about people, right? Althena is the only one who can sense the gem, and I....Well, I suppose I'll handle this kind of thing by default. Unless anyone has any better suggestions."

I normally don't like to split up with partners like this, but if nothing else, it would give us an idea of how anxious Chris is to double cross us...He'd likely try to take me out, if he's really after the gem.

[KingofPie]

" Wait another Majin seriously I thought you were Like the only one ." " Well creating that electromagnetic field with my Thunder Tongue barrage came in quite handy , but I really need to add long range projectile attacks to my repertoire." Praxat said


Praxat then powers down out of Boost Mode and approaches Haru's dead body. She takes out her Jobox that she had been carrying with her and takes out a vial from it. Praxat uses the vial to collected Haru's blood and puts it back in her Jobox .

Sasheem had barely known the frog at all, in fact this battle may have been their first conversation, so Sasheem was a bit confused. Not as confused as he was as to why dinner was talking.

"Here, hold this for a minute, " he eventually responded tossing a piece of rubble into the air and zapping it, causing a cloud of salt to fall over Praxat's head. "Hmm, can't just need salt...Sasheem's sure that stupid chef has a recipe book somewhere..." the Majin grumbled, before turning his attention to other things. This particular culinary dilemma could be easily solved once whatever chaos was brewing had settled down.

Parsley felt Alt-Zaofan's PL drop to almost nothing. "Something's happening at the Lookout." Her aura flared as she flew as fast as she could toward the Lookout.

"See what Sasheem means?! Just can't rely on you people..." Sasheem shook his head following her. In truth , he didn't really care just what was going on at the lookout. He just wanted to know the source of that malevolent energy. Was it really a Majin? Only one way to find out. Mamba Boost activated, he sped towards lookout following Parsley.