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

[Miburo]

Faint, distant echoes were the only indication that the others had finally turned their attention onto him. Like Orpheus turning to Eurydice moments before escaping the underworld, his miserable frame must have been a sight to behold. Several sections of his bare skin had grown swollen as if tumor-ridden and the strained flesh had split open to reveal gleaming black scales beneath the viscera. His lips, coated with blood, were peeled back by the emergence of fangs that had pushed out his human teeth. Despite their concerns, the boy had continued to trudge, unaware of their words for he did not have the means to.

Even if he could comprehend them, he could not stop; not anymore.

"Are you content with this, boy?"

The voice was clear, causing Charco's body to shudder as he almost paused in surprise. Glancing up from the floor, he found Old Dragon leaning against the nearby wall.

"Will your blood, sweat, and tears be reduced to this? Ending with the role of the messenger?"

The boy crumpled to the floor as his resolved waivered. What else could he have done? What more could he do as he was?

BGM: "Jee Veerey"

The Old Dragon strode toward him, extending his only hand to Charco, "You were not born to be a sacrifice."

He hesitated for a moment but reached out to take the man's hand.

"You will have to walk a dark path to return home one day, but I will guide you... we all will..."

By this point, the conflict around him had begun as mechanical foes sought to impede their way to the Doctor. During the chaos, he had been left to himself, a mangled body lying on the floor, unable to continue. This would change, however, a pulse of energy could be felt, followed by another like the beating of the heart. Like King Sisyphus pushing the boulder uphill, Charco's energy seemed to make one final stand against the torrent that was Rex.

"Show them you're not finished, not yet..."

A golden glow consumed his left eye as he rose to his feet, the twisted features of humanoid becoming saurian halted as his energy erupted from his core, enveloping him in the jade hue of the aura forged from Kyōryū Ryū teachings. Whatever assistance Old Dragon had given him, Charco's body was once more his, if only for a moment. Planting a foot against the ground, the floor dipped downward, only for the surface level to peel away as he kicked off, launching himself into the fray toward one of the mechas firing upon Erosa.

Rearing back an open hand, it quickly took to a familiar claw gesture, his chi and ki funneling into his fingertips; however, an additional focus of white energy emerged, resting upon of his own clawed hand like a bladed gauntlet. Those claws, those Terrible Bái Hu Claws sought to cut through the steel constructs like a scythe through rotten crops.

Charco had given him no answer, not one expressed in words, anyways. a raging torrent of glimmering Ki raged from deep within him, driving back the dark energy that ensnared him, a roaring flame raging against the darkness within himself.

It was at once mesmerizing, and disconcerting to behold in it's glory. Rather than reassure the Nevadian, it only served to deepen his unease. Whatever had lurked when the Shingan first glanced the boy, it was far too strong, to ingrained, too...malignant, to be driven away for long.

What hell has he been through?

While the snare of Saifa Kensaku held fast upon a number of the targets, only the bestial drones among their number seized by the pull of their own manifest energy. These monoluth sentries, however... Perhaps it was something in their construction; their opponent was above all things a polymath virtuoso. The greater share of the armour is theirs.

Their resistance spoke only to the importance of what lay just past this corridoor. Ochazuke shift his stance to balance, sinking his heels into the surface of refined First Metal surrounding them, and redoubled his efforts.



Shocking against his sense awareness, he felt it then. Lancing claws striking out, a predator seeking to topple a territorial dispute. The Id was formidable, but she stood alone.

As he struggled to maintain his hold over the mechanical creatures, it was fast becoming clear that his efforts could not hold them fast. They would have to go through them.



Just as soon as the predicament had raised itself, there came a change. Through the fugue of decay and inevitability, something concealed deep within the subtle matter of Charco's spirit emerged. As he passed, within the golden light of his eye, Ochazuke was briefly taken with awe, and a sense of the familiar.

The boy's silence said more than enough. Whether or not he yet had voice remaining was immaterial. Time and again Ogatan Charco spoke loudest when the task before him was combat; more than ever this was the fight of his life. Reckless, headstrong...and yet pointed without a wasteful thought. And as the Koryuu-Ryu successor sped headfirst to the conflict before him, so did Ochazuke hear small whispers behind him.

There was not much time for idle contemplation, as it were. Concern over his comrade would have to wait. Charco could fight, as could the rest of them. He pushed such thoughts from his mind, focusing on the goal he--they--had came to complete. To defeat the doctor, and save this universe. The battle had been joined in earnest, Erosa leading the fray, to which the others quickly followed.

Held did not.

He studied the battle, preparing to support whichever--if any--of his allies found themselves in need of support. Either the enemy would be perhaps stronger than expected, or one of them would hope to overwhelm a warrior with greater numbers. Or perhaps his allies would create a opening--

No other way but forward. The words invoked by watchful bird's-eyes, set there against the cold crashing tide. No way forward, but through. Tracing her steps through the knotted roots there upon ancient roads, he at last found the moment to move ahead.

With a surge of power, Ochazuke loosed the restrains, and a burst of Kiai shocked across the expanse of his meditation field, raw force surged upwards to topple the footing of the encroaching enemy.

That was perhaps quicker than expected, but the Nevadian wasted little time capitalizing on the opening made.

He galloped forth at a blistering pace, spear at the ready, as he lunged towards the enemy, poised to plunge his spear deep within the center of the cybernetic frame.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Althena does not choose to join the fight yet. Instead, she uses her sumo form to act as a shield to protect the Promethean as she is healing his wounds.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Blizzar readjust himself as he flies through the air, landing his feet on one of the experimental pods containing a dead Arcosian and using it to kick off back towards Kenbo. As he does, he attempts to draw the cyborg Samurai toward him telekinetically to set up his TK.O Punch.

The draw works and the punch lands, but Kenbo seems mostly unharmed. He staggers back and swipes the blade twice, sending two ki blades at Blizzar’s throat.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Blood ? Really ?" Ishtar asked, dodging the incoming attack.

"A poor choice of weapon, though you were never what one might consider to be 'intelligent'." Pivoting and targeting the ceiling, the Oni took note of the intangibility and with that in mind did something ... unusual. Globules of Void Energy formed in each hand, and with a heave Ishtar began lobbing it at Teshub; though she seemed to be missing.

As the ribbon of blood passes by when she dodges, it quickly arcs behind her and expands, attempting to coat her in its essence.

Meanwhile, Teshub keeps a wary eye on the Void globules.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Upon landing after her strike, Erosa hits the ground running to avoid the fire from the second mecha. She attempts to circle around faster then the mecha can turn to strike at it from the rear, while launching a wave of maws down the hallway to attack the incoming dog robots. Once she was in position she stuck at the same weak spot as before, cutting its leg joint to topple it over.

Again, she manages to bring it to its knees, though her maws seem too weak to take the hounds out.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Figures the damn thing wasn't talkative. Sasheem dashes out of the way with his Mamba Boost to avoid Baric's own ki blast. So that answered one question. All that extensive coverage and the oni never even mentioned he'd learned ki techniques!

Sasheem wasn't quite done, resting the waters as it were....next was the one he definitely wasn't sure about. Given the rotting state of the creature, Sasheem surmised that his venom wouldn't do much to subdue him, but it was worth a shot. The Majin first used the Venom Mist, both to see how it would effect Baric and to cover a quick escape where he retreated beneath the floor to a part of the room not yet effected by rot.

As he did made his retreat, he launched his Sunken Fangs, his limbs shooting forth to inject Baric with more venom via the Bear' Claws.

Nothing works. It seems immune to the venom and poison.

Baric stamps its feet, and a weave of sickness and rot expands outward, taking in the entire room.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Tasure jerked her head to the side as well, but as she was slower than the Queen, the gash sickle left was deeper. Smirking, she reached up and wiped the blood with her index fingers, then licked it. "Cute trick. Let me try."

Thrusting her hand forward, the Diamond Fang extended, stretching towards sickle. A few meters in front of her, it split at a sharp angle, one fang attacking from above, the other from below.

They each pass through an afterimage as Sickle disappears, only to plant a kick in Tasure’s stomache that caused her to wretch as she’s sent flying backwards.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Even if she was slapped away and crashed through several pods, Sarada still had a reason to smile. She landed hard on her shoulder and rolled to a stop. "Fast." She rose to her feet and breathed in slowly. As she exhaled, her mind was emptied of all thought. All was left was a need and an action. The need was to kill this piece of shit hybrid. The action remained to be seen.

She turned to face the battle, but didn't engage right away. Instead, her eyes narrowed and scanned for any weakness she could exploit.

Her hand subtly twitched. The energy blasts she fired stopped and hovered in midair, waiting for a command.

She just saw Tasure get kicked away. Now a wave of TK’ed projectiles are flying at Sarada.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Ind--"

Parsley caught an optic blast in the face before she could even finish. One of her reflective panes shifted into the middle of the blast, not only cutting it off, but reflecting it back at Marduk. The power of the blast was cut enough for her to escape and flip head over heels until she was back on her feet.

"You can't hide forever."

Muda Level III hopefully hadn't been swept away by the pilfered optic blast. If it hadn't, the circle would be weakened or snuffed out. Either way, Parsley hung back to see the results.

The circle does seem much...diminished.

Marduk see this and starts casting to strengthen his barrier.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As Althena almost finish healing the Promethean Her overall size and height increase significantly. Her stomach expands immensely. The overall look of her body is that of Sumo wrestler.

OOC: A tremendous boost in strength, stamina, and toughness. At the cost of speed and mobility.

The Promethean stirs and wakes up, pulling himself to a pod door and leaning against it.

“Thank you.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Faint, distant echoes were the only indication that the others had finally turned their attention onto him. Like Orpheus turning to Eurydice moments before escaping the underworld, his miserable frame must have been a sight to behold. Several sections of his bare skin had grown swollen as if tumor-ridden and the strained flesh had split open to reveal gleaming black scales beneath the viscera. His lips, coated with blood, were peeled back by the emergence of fangs that had pushed out his human teeth. Despite their concerns, the boy had continued to trudge, unaware of their words for he did not have the means to.

Even if he could comprehend them, he could not stop; not anymore.

"Are you content with this, boy?"

The voice was clear, causing Charco's body to shudder as he almost paused in surprise. Glancing up from the floor, he found Old Dragon leaning against the nearby wall.

"Will your blood, sweat, and tears be reduced to this? Ending with the role of the messenger?"

The boy crumpled to the floor as his resolved waivered. What else could he have done? What more could he do as he was?

BGM: "Jee Veerey"

The Old Dragon strode toward him, extending his only hand to Charco, "You were not born to be a sacrifice."

He hesitated for a moment but reached out to take the man's hand.

"You will have to walk a dark path to return home one day, but I will guide you... we all will..."

By this point, the conflict around him had begun as mechanical foes sought to impede their way to the Doctor. During the chaos, he had been left to himself, a mangled body lying on the floor, unable to continue. This would change, however, a pulse of energy could be felt, followed by another like the beating of the heart. Like King Sisyphus pushing the boulder uphill, Charco's energy seemed to make one final stand against the torrent that was Rex.

"Show them you're not finished, not yet..."

A golden glow consumed his left eye as he rose to his feet, the twisted features of humanoid becoming saurian halted as his energy erupted from his core, enveloping him in the jade hue of the aura forged from Kyōryū Ryū teachings. Whatever assistance Old Dragon had given him, Charco's body was once more his, if only for a moment. Planting a foot against the ground, the floor dipped downward, only for the surface level to peel away as he kicked off, launching himself into the fray toward one of the mechas firing upon Erosa.

Rearing back an open hand, it quickly took to a familiar claw gesture, his chi and ki funneling into his fingertips; however, an additional focus of white energy emerged, resting upon of his own clawed hand like a bladed gauntlet. Those claws, those Terrible Bái Hu Claws sought to cut through the steel constructs like a scythe through rotten crops.

Charco obliterates one of the large mechs, claws tending it apart like a hot knife through butter.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat joins in on the fight and sends a concentrated heat beam at Marduk Using electrical resistors in her power armor to transform electrical energy into heat energy.

The barrier around Marduk flutters, but still manages to absorb the attack.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

While the snare of Saifa Kensaku held fast upon a number of the targets, only the bestial drones among their number seized by the pull of their own manifest energy. These monoluth sentries, however... Perhaps it was something in their construction; their opponent was above all things a polymath virtuoso. The greater share of the armour is theirs.

Their resistance spoke only to the importance of what lay just past this corridoor. Ochazuke shift his stance to balance, sinking his heels into the surface of refined First Metal surrounding them, and redoubled his efforts.



Shocking against his sense awareness, he felt it then. Lancing claws striking out, a predator seeking to topple a territorial dispute. The Id was formidable, but she stood alone.

As he struggled to maintain his hold over the mechanical creatures, it was fast becoming clear that his efforts could not hold them fast. They would have to go through them.



Just as soon as the predicament had raised itself, there came a change. Through the fugue of decay and inevitability, something concealed deep within the subtle matter of Charco's spirit emerged. As he passed, within the golden light of his eye, Ochazuke was briefly taken with awe, and a sense of the familiar.

The boy's silence said more than enough. Whether or not he yet had voice remaining was immaterial. Time and again Ogatan Charco spoke loudest when the task before him was combat; more than ever this was the fight of his life. Reckless, headstrong...and yet pointed without a wasteful thought. And as the Koryuu-Ryu successor sped headfirst to the conflict before him, so did Ochazuke hear small whispers behind him.

No other way but forward. The words invoked by watchful bird's-eyes, set there against the cold crashing tide. No way forward, but through. Tracing her steps through the knotted roots there upon ancient roads, he at last found the moment to move ahead.

With a surge of power, Ochazuke loosed the restrains, and a burst of Kiai shocked across the expanse of his meditation field, raw force surged upwards to topple the footing of the encroaching enemy.

And does so, the one Charco didn’t destroy on its back, easy prey now.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

BGM - Yellow Line

"Alright then," Zaofan grinned, "let's see if we can close the gap!" After all, if the mountain won't come to the molehill...

His form then shift into a blur, his white aura streaking down the pathway and straight towards the Oni. Bojack held steady in his hands, he crossed to one side, deked left, and drew it back...

Until his concealed movement was telegraphed by the drag on the air, transforming the hallway into a wind tunnel. Building up the Pressure Kicker in his legs and kicking off into the Wolf's Prowl, Zaofan had outraced his own Before Image!

Now to test the limits of this magic circle! Throwing his head forward, The Dragon's Fire spread to take advantage of this feint on top of the opening Parsley's Muda . If Marduk had a blind angle, hopefully they'd be able to coax it out.

Already weakened by Parsley and then absorbing Praxat’s blast, Marduk doesn’t have time to enchant the circle again before the Dragon’s Fire shatters the circle. The Oni moves back, hand cupping a bolt of electricity that he flings into Zaofan’s face.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Giving the woman a nod, Dash then focused on the fight ahead of her. One foot slid slightly to the side as she adjusted her stance. The lab was very large, but still limiting to a wild mare like herself. Summoning her ki, she readied herself to either defend or fight.

A bunch of stuff gets TK’ed at her by Sickle.