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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The boarding ramp starts to close on the Coldlight.

“Last call, folks. Everyone on board. We are leaving! And who the hell is the lizard man in the cargo bay?”

The Coldlight starts lifting off.

"Lizard man?"

She couldn't ignore it anymore. She had felt him ever since he exploded out of Charco's ashes after Midori was iced. That fucking... Charco was gone because of him. And she was going to kill him.

The moment she spoke, she tore off her safety harness and quickly dashed toward the cargo hold. Her blue eyes burned with an inferno fueled by loss and vengeance. Rex's hide would be hers!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Over the comms once more.

“Remember all, this is a sealed spaceship. One energy blast and we’re all sucking stardust. I for one can’t survive space, so kindly don’t wreck anything if you can help it.”

[Yun Lao]

His wanderings took him near the entrance to the ship... where the odd energy was. More importantly, it's where Mr Ochazuke was, and while he wasn't the best at sensing others' condition through their ki, he knew enough and was close enough to realize that Mr Ochazuke was either really drained or... unconscious. This he couldn't ignore.

Taking a deep breath, Totoma stepped through the door to the Cargo Bay. What greeted him was... an unconscious Ochazuke, as expected, and some... thing. A lizard alien? And a really strong one at that. Being this close, the being's energy felt... ominous, ravenous, almost. His scowl deepened as he locked his gaze on this thing.

"Whatever you are, you get the hell away from my friend," he said, striding out into the open, his aura igniting into a wildfire. Placing himself between this lizard creature and Ochazuke, he stood tall and locked eyes with the thing.

Totoma would find that this creature was delighted to see him.

He knew him.

"Totoma..." Rex began, suppressing the urge to laugh at the half-Saiyan who had forgotten him, "It's been some time since we last met... although you only saw me acting through Charco."

Relaxing his stance, he allowed the halfling to tend to Ochazuke, having no further plans for the other.

"That's certainly no way to treat someone who brought him on board just in time for our departure."

[KingofPie]

Over the comms once more.

“Remember all, this is a sealed spaceship. One energy blast and we’re all sucking stardust. I for one can’t survive space, so kindly don’t wreck anything if you can help it.”

"What if uh...what if we can't help it?" Sasheem inquired, loudly. "Like a sneeze or somethin'? Involuntarily, of course."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Ishtar had gotten her ass kicked her fair number of times. Finally getting a few wins under her belt made Sarada happy. Not only because, duh, her babe kicked some ass, but also because her training methods had finally paid positive dividends. Now, if they could break that nasty habits of Ishtar's of losing a limb after every fight, that'd be great.

Naturally, one should ignore the fact that two of Sarada's last three fights ended with her losing a body part. Such a trivial detail was unimportant to her overall point and should not be mentioned.

Ishtar simply cracked a smile.

"If you are not careful, you will end up like me." Perish the thought ...

This void **** was confusing. Then again, a lot of the **** Ishtar got herself involved in left Sarada baffled. It seemed to be helping her, so she decided to just let it slide and not worry to much about it. Besides, healing from getting the **** kicked out of her seemed right up her alley. Hm. Maybe I should eat a glob of that void stuff. The benefits seem pretty tempting. ...Nah.

She was sure there was some downside to all this. Like that creep Cthylla suddenly being in her life much more often than she/it was already.

"Sounds nifty. And fun to kickstart. On the kicking side, though there's a certain amount of trollage to be had at getting healed while some jackoff thinks they're beating the **** out of you."

"Not simply that," Ishtar said chuckling. "I can also grow stronger from it. I am becoming ... quite adept at taking a hit and making it work out better for me in the end. Perhaps my body is as tired of losing as I am." Or something. Though without taking the time to truly figure out all of the changes that had happened in the past year -- to say nothing of the year before -- beyond simply understanding them in the now; it was hard to say what the true cause of all of this was.

"In any even-"

"Lizard man?"

She couldn't ignore it anymore. She had felt him ever since he exploded out of Charco's ashes after Midori was iced. That fucking... Charco was gone because of him. And she was going to kill him.

The moment she spoke, she tore off her safety harness and quickly dashed toward the cargo hold. Her blue eyes burned with an inferno fueled by loss and vengeance. Rex's hide would be hers!

"Oh dear."

When Sarada tore out of her seat and made a beeline for ... the Lizard thing, Ishtar was quick to follow. As much to ensure Sarada didn't cause damage to the Coldlight, as it was to learn more about a situation she had just recently been made aware of ... and to figure out what had happened to one of her favorite humans.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Totoma would find that this creature was delighted to see him.

He knew him.

"Totoma..." Rex began, suppressing the urge to laugh at the half-Saiyan who had forgotten him, "It's been some time since we last met... although you only saw me acting through Charco."

Relaxing his stance, he allowed the halfling to tend to Ochazuke, having no further plans for the other.

"That's certainly no way to treat someone who brought him on board just in time for our departure."

His voice... Sarada felt her anger coming to a frothy boil the closer to the cargo hold she drew. With her power compared to his, she could easily tear him limb from limb without a second thought. It would probably be best to go that exact route and save them all the trouble.

She decided against that. Not only would any kind of prolonged fight likely destroy the Coldlight, killing all of them except for a few, but it would... well, that was the only reason she needed to avoid a confrontation.

Luckily, she didn't need violence to get her point across. For once.

She stepped inside the cargo hold and surveyed the area. Ochazuke was unconscious against the wall, with Totoma tending to him. Standing a few feet away was him, Rex. Her eyes narrowed as she focused her attention squarely on him. She didn't say a word, merely looked at him.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Totoma would find that this creature was delighted to see him.

He knew him.

"Totoma..." Rex began, suppressing the urge to laugh at the half-Saiyan who had forgotten him, "It's been some time since we last met... although you only saw me acting through Charco."

Relaxing his stance, he allowed the halfling to tend to Ochazuke, having no further plans for the other.

"That's certainly no way to treat someone who brought him on board just in time for our departure."

Just this thing speaking his name sent shivers up his spine... beyond that, how did it know his name, and what did it mean by acting through Charco? Did this thing have some connection to his fallen comrade? How...

His eyes widened slightly. Now he recognized it... this thing's energy. That whole incident at the Gris-Gris Bayou that he and Charco had handled all that time ago. During a pivotal moment, Charco's energy had changed, and at the time he'd just assumed it was some neat new power up his friend had developed and set aside the foreboding feeling it had given him. But this thing before him, its energy felt almost exactly like Charco's had at that time.

No, it hadn't been Charco's...

"...Gris-Gris. Now I remember," said Totoma, his rage boiling as ideas as to just what the hell was going on swirled in his mind. "Whoever--whatever--you are... are you the reason Charco is dead?"

[Yun Lao]

His voice... Sarada felt her anger coming to a frothy boil the closer to the cargo hold she drew. With her power compared to his, she could easily tear him limb from limb without a second thought. It would probably be best to go that exact route and save them all the trouble.

She decided against that. Not only would any kind of prolonged fight likely destroy the Coldlight, killing all of them except for a few, but it would... well, that was the only reason she needed to avoid a confrontation.

Luckily, she didn't need violence to get her point across. For once.

She stepped inside the cargo hold and surveyed the area. Ochazuke was unconscious against the wall, with Totoma tending to him. Standing a few feet away was him, Rex. Her eyes narrowed as she focused her attention squarely on him. She didn't say a word, merely looked at him.

Just this thing speaking his name sent shivers up his spine... beyond that, how did it know his name, and what did it mean by acting through Charco? Did this thing have some connection to his fallen comrade? How...

His eyes widened slightly. Now he recognized it... this thing's energy. That whole incident at the Gris-Gris bayou that he and Charco had handled all that time ago. During that, Charco's energy had changed, and at the time he'd just assumed it was some neat new power up his friend had developed and set aside the foreboding feeling it had given him. But this thing before him, its energy felt almost exactly like Charco's had at that time.

No, it hadn't been Charco's...

"...Gris-Gris. Now I remember," said Totoma, his rage boiling as ideas as to just what the hell was going on swirled in his mind. "Whoever--whatever--you are... are you the reason Charco is dead?"

Rex began to laugh, encouraged by the growing crowd of spectators that came to bear witness.

"That's quite the insult, Totoma. The fact I stand here before you all should tell you that Charco failed in his attempt to stop me."

Rex had not been stopped, but Charco had been successful in slowing him down.

"As for whether his mind remains... that is another story."

Glancing to the rest of them, he was curious about how they planned to confront him. Fighting would be limited as their ship was a fragile one and it was doubtful many of them could survive out in the vacuum. For now, they were his audience, hecklers or not, "If you are to blame anyone, blame those who dissuaded him from allying with me as he should have."

How easier things would have been if Charco had accepted his role. It would have been heartwarming to have someone by his metaphorical side as they set reality aflame.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Once aboard the Coldlight Althena lays Praxat down on the ground. " Now how does this armor come off?" Althena said.

" Don't worry about taking the armor off I can do that. My power armor has a failsafe. This failsafe allows the armor to be removed in case of an emergency. Armor disengaged," Praxat said.

" Failsafe activated, please say passphrase to disengaged armor," a computerized voice said.

" Do not go gentle into the goodnight. Old age should burn and rave at close of day. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" Praxat said in a weak tone.

Praxat's armor suddenly falls off her. Praxat loses consciousness." This is bad Praxat isn't getting enough air. Her skin is too dried to absorb the air around her," Althena said.

" Hopefully my healing power can restore her body's moisture," Althena said.

Althena uses her healing ability on Praxat.

[Tami]

Once aboard the Coldlight Althena lays Praxat down on the ground. " Now how does this armor come off?" Althena said.

" Don't worry about taking the armor off I can do that. My power armor has a failsafe. This failsafe allows the armor to be removed in case of an emergency. Armor disengaged," Praxat said.

" Failsafe activated, please say passphrase to disengaged armor," a computerized voice said.

" Do not go gentle into the goodnight. Old age should burn and rave at close of day. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" Praxat said in a weak tone.

Praxat's armor suddenly falls off her. Praxat loses consciousness." This is bad Praxat isn't getting enough air. Her skin is too dried to absorb the air around her," Althena said.

" Hopefully my healing power can restore her body's moisture," Althena said.

Althena uses her healing ability on Praxat.

OOC: Would getting her some water help?

[MrSandman]

Gazing into the loading bay and the canopy, Zaofan mentally counted each prescence he could ascertain.

Ishtar, Parsley, Ochazuke, and Nevanlinna were still a short ways off...a couple of straggling strangers...

"...have you seen Erosa or Etrina anywhere?"

"Oh! Zao! God damnit!" Held shouted, as something went off in his head.

"Come to think about it, Etrina did go through the trouble of undoing my dibs...I guess if she wasn't just being a jerk, she might be hoping to find something of value before this place explodes..."

The truth of the matter was....she had gotten lost.

Etrina Stoltengarde, Master Mage of Time and the Arcane, inheritor of the legacy of her family.....had taken a left when she should've taken a right. By the time she had realized her mistake, and made the correction amiss a storm of cursing...she was emerging into the docking area just in time to see the ship start to move.

The boarding ramp starts to close on the Coldlight.

“Last call, folks. Everyone on board. We are leaving! And who the hell is the lizard man in the cargo bay?”

The Coldlight starts lifting off.

"NONONONOSTOPWAITCEASE!!!" Etrina charged up the docking ramp, mading an over dramatic leap for the safety of the closing ramp and catching it in time to throw herself inside.....rolling to a stop at the back of Rexs feet. "Ughhhh....."

[MrSandman]

Rex began to laugh, encouraged by the growing crowd of spectators that came to bear witness.

"That's quite the insult, Totoma. The fact I stand here before you all should tell you that Charco failed in his attempt to stop me."

Rex had not been stopped, but Charco had been successful in slowing him down.

"As for whether his mind remains... that is another story."

Glancing to the rest of them, he was curious about how they planned to confront him. Fighting would be limited as their ship was a fragile one and it was doubtful many of them could survive out in the vacuum. For now, they were his audience, hecklers or not, "If you are to blame anyone, blame those who dissuaded him from allying with me as he should have."

How easier things would have been if Charco had accepted his role. It would have been heartwarming to have someone by his metaphorical side as they set reality aflame.

"Stupid lizard doesn't know when to close his mouth....I'm blame whoever I want ero." Came a hiss from somewhere in the room. If it hadn't been apparently before, it was now obvious to rex something had been staring at him quite maliciously from somewhere he couldn't quite put his finger...claw...on.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"What if uh...what if we can't help it?" Sasheem inquired, loudly. "Like a sneeze or somethin'? Involuntarily, of course."

“Then I’ll remind you, and everyone, that we are on the far side of the universe, quite literally in the back of nowhere with no active star charts, and this Nebula is riddled with gravity anomalies. The Coldlight goes bye-bye, and anyone who survives will A) not be able to escape the Nebula, and B) even if they did will spend a few centuries in utter nothingness, presuming that doesn’t kill them with space’s inherent dangers, before the closest star or planet becomes available.”


“So play nice and hold it in.”

[Tami]

“Then I’ll remind you, and everyone, that we are on the far side of the universe, quite literally in the back of nowhere with no active star charts, and this Nebula is riddled with gravity anomalies. The Coldlight goes bye-bye, and anyone who survives will A) not be able to escape the Nebula, and B) even if they did will spend a few centuries in utter nothingness, presuming that doesn’t kill them with space’s inherent dangers, before the closest star or planet becomes available.”


“So play nice and hold it in.”

Putting the puzzle pieces together, Dash is just as angry as some of the others. Calling out, "Ah vote we grab that sleazy dinosaur an toss him out into space. Let's see if he can survive rapid decompression. "

[Yun Lao]

"Stupid lizard doesn't know when to close his mouth....I'm blame whoever I want ero." Came a hiss from somewhere in the room. If it hadn't been apparently before, it was now obvious to rex something had been staring at him quite maliciously from somewhere he couldn't quite put his finger...claw...on.

"Ah yes, you..."

The less said about that one, the less his anger rose.

Putting the puzzle pieces together, Dash is just as angry as some of the others. Calling out, "Ah vote we grab that sleazy dinosaur an toss him out into space. Let's see if he can survive rapid decompression. "

"Weaklings who faltered before mere golems have no say in this conversation." Rex mockingly stated, recalling Dash's pleas for assistance.

It appeared the entirety of the group was crowding the cargo bay at this point, despite Jinzi's requests to keep the peace. The thought of a lynch mob, full of self-righteous anger and fury, made him laugh.

It was like things had never changed.

"So what now? Do you all threaten the safety of all aboard for your vengeance?"

Holding up a fingertip, Rex conjured up a small orb of fukushuu energy.

"As much as I have grown fond of Charco, I can always start anew."