Dragonball M, Chapter 3: In Blood, Bone, and Ash! The Way Forward Unlocked!

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

The weight of dozens of ‘spirits’ fueling the curse pushes against her Null Magic Field. Sweat drips down Nevalinna’s forehead as old Magic’s battle against each other.

The curse is halted and is slowly, slowly, being pushed out of Sarada. But the effort is staggering and difficult.

Teeth gritted and her brown glittering with sweat--her, sweating, hmph!--Nevanlinna maintained her concentration. It was quite apparent now that, should she lapse, the Saiyan Queen would be lost to this Dark Sorcery. As long as she drew breath, that would not come to pass.

...odd, not too long ago, she would have simply left the Saiyaness to her fate. How thing certainly change.

More pressingly, she almost got the feeling that this blood magic had a will of its own. Great resistance she had expected, yes, but this... this felt like it was actively pushing back. Her and the queen's efforts were not in vain, because they were winning, but she was not going to be in any shape to be of help after this.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Blobs that were once the Mini-Sasheems rapdily pile up together to form the original. After he fully re-forms, he sits in the sand a bit, shaking his head and trying to refomulate his thoughts as he senses that a good deal of the others are far above the planet. On those ships perhaps. One of which had the device they sought.

Sasheem grinned. As soon as he got his **** back together, he had an idea on how to lend a 'helping hand'.

OOC: How many ships are there left, Cleric?

Two. One still on the ground, with a few dozen fighters pouring out of it, and another slowly being driven back into the sky by Erosa.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Thankfully, as it turned out, the ship was built to be piloted by something with short attention span.....almost a bit too much like an actual ship in fact, not that baby erosa cared.

With the mental beep and boom sound effects to go along with her action, the I’d started up the ships engines with a press of a button and took the wheel...having to spread her arms just to reach both sides. The entire ship was now in her power....the universe at her fingertips.

.....

“GAO!” Erosa realized she had no idea where to go with her new ship. There must be scanners and maps and information around the bridge too.....maybe directions to a local drive through.

Erosa wonders if Space burgers were a thing.

There are many scanners and computer screens with navigational data present.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Teeth gritted and her brown glittering with sweat--her, sweating, hmph!--Nevanlinna maintained her concentration. It was quite apparent now that, should she lapse, the Saiyan Queen would be lost to this Dark Sorcery. As long as she drew breath, that would not come to pass.

...odd, not too long ago, she would have simply left the Saiyaness to her fate. How thing certainly change.

More pressingly, she almost got the feeling that this blood magic had a will of its own. Great resistance she had expected, yes, but this... this felt like it was actively pushing back. Her and the queen's efforts were not in vain, because they were winning, but she was not going to be in any shape to be of help after this.

With a flash of crimson, Sheriff Zaofan knocks the wounded Oni out cold in her peripheral vision as she fights the curse.

Root and stem, branch and vine she fights it. Ripping away and pushing against a malevolence she hadn’t expected. After several minutes, and running near empty, the blood magic curse is removed. It manifests as a sickly ball of blackened red blood floating between Nevalinna and Sarada. The Queen is exhausted, and so are you.

The blood ball squirms, tendrils trying to reach out to either of you.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He senses her and starts fleeing further inside the ship.

Parsley could have given chase, allowing the cowardly creature to lead her on a wild goose chase that afforded him all the time he needed to heal himself. She could have relished in the hunt, letting her natural Saiyan instincts take over as the battle shifted to a game of predator and prey.

But then, if she did that, how could she see the terror on File's face right before she killed him. That, she felt, was more important than any chase.

With that settled, she slid to a stop. File's energy dove deeper into the ship while Parsley's remained stationary. Surely, by this point, the hybrid Namekian felt confusion interlaced with lingering bits of Hope and relief.

Good.

She would take his hope away first.

A grin touched her lips as two fingers touched her forehead.

Perfect Intuition: Instant Transmission

Parsley's form vanished, only to reappear in front of File. "Going somewhere?" she asked before firing the be wide-angle blast she had been charging up this entire time.

[KingofPie]

"Jinzi!" Blizzar greeted. "A word, if you will. I've come to realize that while I've spent countless hours in thought, contemplating ways to upgrade Eath's security, it's high time I'd invested a bit of time in improving the security of the M-Fighters and allies such as yourself. Especially considering recent circumstances!"

Of course, recent circumstances were the only reason he was considering this in the first place. Not that it wasn't a good idea...but his career was potentially on the line here, if Commissioner Mourn had any say about it.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The goddess sighs.

She bats at the chains and they shatter away, her form becoming full once more.

“Well......not exactly, dear. More a test, really.”

She smirks.

“This body is a simulacrum of my real one. The “Doctor” thought he could sway me to his side through gifts and promises, but I was mostly intrigued to find you. I never thought to see another me. It quite frankly pisses me off.”

“As to holding back....I’m afraid You have me at a disadvantage. See, when I took my power as my own, I....failed to understand a lesson learned in my youth. A flower plucked before it time never blooms as full.”

The chains shattered with a gesture, as if they weren't even there to begin with ... her counterpart smirking even as power seemed to flood back into her; and in feeling it ... seeing it, Ishtar could only nod in understanding.

"A test ..."

The Oni sighed, before looking up at the stars, and moons above. "I knew it was too good to be true." At the least however, there was some pride to be had in the fact that she had succeeded in aggravating her alternate self. Yet knowing it would amount for naught ... "Oh well." Deep down she had always known, after all; and though the tidbit about her failing to make Hakai her own was worthwhile ... that similarly meant little when even now, Ishtar was at a power disadvantage.

Though ... she had suffered the same, with Nergal; and she had been much weaker then ... when she had ... A thought occurred, and the Oni brought her eyes back down toward the Goddess of Ruination and met the smirk with one of her own. If she was to die here, she would make sure it was a night to remember.

"No reason to hold back ... now that death is all but guaranteed, yes ?" The burgeoning Goddess exhaled slowly, before lifting targeting one of the moons over her shoulder. "Starapateñti ... Paņca."

Not bothering to see how the Goddess of Ruination reacted as chunks of a Moon began to rain down around them, Ishtar cast yet another spell -- to facilitate empowerment through pain, via Araska -- as she lunged forward and threw herself at the woman.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

With a flash of crimson, Sheriff Zaofan knocks the wounded Oni out cold in her peripheral vision as she fights the curse.

Root and stem, branch and vine she fights it. Ripping away and pushing against a malevolence she hadn’t expected. After several minutes, and running near empty, the blood magic curse is removed. It manifests as a sickly ball of blackened red blood floating between Nevalinna and Sarada. The Queen is exhausted, and so are you.

The blood ball squirms, tendrils trying to reach out to either of you.

Nevanlinna came in a nick of time. Her experience with Blood Magic, plus whatever this Null Field thing was, helped Sarada repel the blood magic forcibly coursing through her veins.

Sweat poured down the Queen's face as slowly, agonizingly slowly, the magic was pulled out of her. Her mighty roar had long been reduced to a soft whimper.

The strength in her legs gave out as exhaustion settled in. She slumped to her knees, tired beyond any point in her life. Her hair lost its golden glow and fell in her face.

"Ugh," she groaned as the last bit was pulled out of her. She was free, and utterly and completely spent. Any hopes of clashing fists with anyone in this timeline were dashed to pieces. All because of one stupid decision.

The ball of blood stretched its tentacles out toward either her or Nevanlinna, hoping to subvert one of them. The Saiyan Queen limply scooted back. "Damn it, I hate magic!"

[KingofPie]

Two. One still on the ground, with a few dozen fighters pouring out of it, and another slowly being driven back into the sky by Erosa.

Sasheem hides his ki and idly whistles to himself as he sneaks past the fighters, the huge wad of gum he had created earlier now in his hands...but only for a brief moment as he punches a hole near the vessel's engine and sticks the gum inside. He then proceeds to pull it into the air, using the gum as a pulley.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

With a flash of crimson, Sheriff Zaofan knocks the wounded Oni out cold in her peripheral vision as she fights the curse.

Root and stem, branch and vine she fights it. Ripping away and pushing against a malevolence she hadn’t expected. After several minutes, and running near empty, the blood magic curse is removed. It manifests as a sickly ball of blackened red blood floating between Nevalinna and Sarada. The Queen is exhausted, and so are you.

The blood ball squirms, tendrils trying to reach out to either of you.

Heh, it was done. Exhausted, Nevanlinna fell to her knees, panting and sweating heavily. With that done, all she had to do was... rest a...

...why was the blood magic not dissipating? Was it? Her eyes widened as the thing sent out tendrils to ensnare one--or both--of them. The princess stumbled to her feet, but, having utterly drained her reserves, stumbled backwards right onto the ground. And this time she had not the energy to move--or at least not move faster than the--

--Nevanlinna's thoughts were interrupted by her body careening through the air, courtesy of a saiyan armor-clad foot. The attacker landed, turned to the... thing, and held out their hands.

"Diamond Wall." came Tasure's familiar, calm voice.

An almost translucent shield of energy shot forth, seeking to envelop the sphere of malevolence.

Nevanlinna came in a nick of time. Her experience with Blood Magic, plus whatever this Null Field thing was, helped Sarada repel the blood magic forcibly coursing through her veins.

Sweat poured down the Queen's face as slowly, agonizingly slowly, the magic was pulled out of her. Her mighty roar had long been reduced to a soft whimper.

The strength in her legs gave out as exhaustion settled in. She slumped to her knees, tired beyond any point in her life. Her hair lost its golden glow and fell in her face.

"Ugh," she groaned as the last bit was pulled out of her. She was free, and utterly and completely spent. Any hopes of clashing fists with anyone in this timeline were dashed to pieces. All because of one stupid decision.

The ball of blood stretched its tentacles out toward either her or Nevanlinna, hoping to subvert one of them. The Saiyan Queen limply scooted back. "Damn it, I hate magic!"

Almost simultaneously, a familiar individual landed between Sarada and the blood curse--Totoma. He too held out his hands, focusing his energy. And when his mother intoned, so did he.

"Razorback!" A brilliant green shield of energy burst into existence and shot forth to join with his mother's Diamond Wall. When they met, the two shields flowed into each other, encapsulating the thing in an energy shield to, hopefully, isolate it from its targets.

[Sion Reaver]

Aleka finds a similar crystal as the one from the Doctor’s timeline floating in a security tube. The crystallized nexus is there. The tube needs to broken or accessed to gain the crystal.

.

It wasn't entirely what she expected once she got there, though in fairness she hadn't known exactly what she'd run into once she got there. But regardless, she had a job to do and she intended to finish it to the letter. First thing first was breaking those tubes so she quickly began to get to work on that and while apart of had been tempted to blast them and be done with it she didn't simply because it felt like a bad idea. Low concentrations in certain areas? Yes. Large spots where it could hit something and potentially create some really bad side effect? Not so much.

Heh, it was done. Exhausted, Nevanlinna fell to her knees, panting and sweating heavily. With that done, all she had to do was... rest a...

...why was the blood magic not dissipating? Was it? Her eyes widened as the thing sent out tendrils to ensnare one--or both--of them. The princess stumbled to her feet, but, having utterly drained her reserves, stumbled backwards right onto the ground. And this time she had not the energy to move--or at least not move faster than the--

--Nevanlinna's thoughts were interrupted by her body careening through the air, courtesy of a saiyan armor-clad foot. The attacker landed, turned to the... thing, and held out their hands.

"Diamond Wall." came Tasure's familiar, calm voice.

An almost translucent shield of energy shot forth, seeking to envelop the sphere of malevolence.



Almost simultaneously, a familiar individual landed between Sarada and the blood curse--Totoma. He too held out his hands, focusing his energy. And when his mother intoned, so did he.

"Razorback!" A brilliant green shield of energy burst into existence and shot forth to join with his mother's Diamond Wall. When they met, the two shields flowed into each other, encapsulating the thing in an energy shield to, hopefully, isolate it from its targets.

This particular blood magic seemed pretty vile, and volatile as well.

Never the less, not wanting to be idle while her loved ones got to work, she used her own shadows to create a barrier and assist with the efforts going on. When this ordeal was done she made a mental note to try to learn some purifying or dispel magic of some kind.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley could have given chase, allowing the cowardly creature to lead her on a wild goose chase that afforded him all the time he needed to heal himself. She could have relished in the hunt, letting her natural Saiyan instincts take over as the battle shifted to a game of predator and prey.

But then, if she did that, how could she see the terror on File's face right before she killed him. That, she felt, was more important than any chase.

With that settled, she slid to a stop. File's energy dove deeper into the ship while Parsley's remained stationary. Surely, by this point, the hybrid Namekian felt confusion interlaced with lingering bits of Hope and relief.

Good.

She would take his hope away first.

A grin touched her lips as two fingers touched her forehead.

Perfect Intuition: Instant Transmission

Parsley's form vanished, only to reappear in front of File. "Going somewhere?" she asked before firing the be wide-angle blast she had been charging up this entire time.

The blast takes him in the left arm, obliterating it, but he takes it and uses his other arm to snake around, extending, and slamming it into her throat as hard as possible.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Jinzi!" Blizzar greeted. "A word, if you will. I've come to realize that while I've spent countless hours in thought, contemplating ways to upgrade Eath's security, it's high time I'd invested a bit of time in improving the security of the M-Fighters and allies such as yourself. Especially considering recent circumstances!"

Of course, recent circumstances were the only reason he was considering this in the first place. Not that it wasn't a good idea...but his career was potentially on the line here, if Commissioner Mourn had any say about it.

Jinzi is......acting oddly.

He seems almost in a trance, mumbling slightly as he looks at a data pad, then at a normal, then again at the datapad.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The chains shattered with a gesture, as if they weren't even there to begin with ... her counterpart smirking even as power seemed to flood back into her; and in feeling it ... seeing it, Ishtar could only nod in understanding.

"A test ..."

The Oni sighed, before looking up at the stars, and moons above. "I knew it was too good to be true." At the least however, there was some pride to be had in the fact that she had succeeded in aggravating her alternate self. Yet knowing it would amount for naught ... "Oh well." Deep down she had always known, after all; and though the tidbit about her failing to make Hakai her own was worthwhile ... that similarly meant little when even now, Ishtar was at a power disadvantage.

Though ... she had suffered the same, with Nergal; and she had been much weaker then ... when she had ... A thought occurred, and the Oni brought her eyes back down toward the Goddess of Ruination and met the smirk with one of her own. If she was to die here, she would make sure it was a night to remember.

"No reason to hold back ... now that death is all but guaranteed, yes ?" The burgeoning Goddess exhaled slowly, before lifting targeting one of the moons over her shoulder. "Starapateñti ... Paņca."

Not bothering to see how the Goddess of Ruination reacted as chunks of a Moon began to rain down around them, Ishtar cast yet another spell -- to facilitate empowerment through pain, via Araska -- as she lunged forward and threw herself at the woman.

The Goddess roars and charges forward, tainted ice claws forming a she tears into Ishtar. Where the claws land, Ishtar feels parts of her energy being torn away.

On an alien planet, amidst a shower of moon fragments, two Oni battle and a world shakes. The Ruination Goddess grabs her and starts trying to slam her over and over again into the ground.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sasheem hides his ki and idly whistles to himself as he sneaks past the fighters, the huge wad of gum he had created earlier now in his hands...but only for a brief moment as he punches a hole near the vessel's engine and sticks the gum inside. He then proceeds to pull it into the air, using the gum as a pulley.

The ship is pulled upwards, the exited crew looking up in shock.