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

[Sion Reaver]

He smiles warmly.

“A pleasure....Ms. Aleka.”

He gestures to a nearby table with refreshments.

“Help...yourself. I was about...to take lunch.”

Aleka first inclination was to politely decline but he was offering and she was slightly hungry so she ended up accepting having a seat. Some of the food she knew but others she wasn't too sure what it was exactly; pretty much a given since she was still relatively new to the planet. "Thank you for the offer. Is it just you in Capsule Corp at the moment?" There was a question in her head that nagged of why he spoke in the matter he did, though it was put on the shelf until she worded it the right way.

What you said and meant didn't as much matter was how you put them together.

[KingofPie]

Like Parsley, he sees the empty pillow and the journal.

"Apologies," she muttered sheepishly. "I have no clue what came over me." Her eyes fell upon the empty pillow and journal. The pillow was, without doubt, where Midori found the dragonball.

The journal, however, was curious. Cautiously, she picked it up and opened it. "That pillow is where The Doctor found the dragonball," she commented.

Blizzar nodded, noting the pillow before a trepidatious look etched across his face as Parsley grabbed the journal. "Careful now...no telling who exactly that belongs to," Blizzar warned, hoping that his fears were unfounded. After all, it could simply be something Midori left behind. If it belonged to thay ever-smiling reptile, however...who knew what sort of trickery lay therein?

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Althena is doing community service. Helping give homes to pets at the animal adoption center, ( I just love seeing the smiles on children's faces.) Althena thought.

( I have been getting images of my home planet Qaceria. Yet This Qaceria I have been seeing in my mind. is not my own yet at the same time, it is. The Toadians on it are very different then the ones I remember or know two thousand years ago,) Althena thought.

( Their technology is so highly advanced. I can't even explain it. To me, it seems like sorcery,) Althena thought.

( Not to mention they have no razor-sharp teeth just like Qaztoh and Praxat. Two thousand years ago before I was frozen the pinnacle of my race's technology was the invention of a pulley system, ) Althena thought.

( Many thousands of years before I was born. The pinnacle of my race's technology was just a sharpened stick. Now my kind has technology that I can't even begin to understand," ) Althena thought.

( Before I was frozen two thousand years ago. My race had a major population problem. I decided to help out my own kind with this problem. Even though they hated me. ) Althena thought.

(Their hatred for me was irrational. I went on a journey across Qacriea to visit my former mentor Doxal at the Gukraimano) Althena thought.

( To seek his advice on how to fix my kind's population problem. When I got there. I learn from a so-called demon. That Doxal had passed away,) Althena thought.

( That so-called demon Zerx froze me with magic and sent me to a dead planet. Two thousand years ago. I failed in my quest to fix my race's population problem,) Althena thought.

(Now it seems like my kind is doing just fine and are preparing for war against the Replitas. I can tell there has been a decline in my race's population. My kind's population is smaller than when I first left to fix it two thousand years ago,) Althena thought.

( So someone managed to succeed where I failed. I find it oddly bizarre. That my kind is going to war against the Replitas. Since before I was frozen,) Althena thought.

( My kind and the Replitas were allies, not enemies, So what happen in those years on Qacriea that I was frozen. That caused my kind and the Replitas to become enemies?) Althena thought.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Aleka first inclination was to politely decline but he was offering and she was slightly hungry so she ended up accepting having a seat. Some of the food she knew but others she wasn't too sure what it was exactly; pretty much a given since she was still relatively new to the planet. "Thank you for the offer. Is it just you in Capsule Corp at the moment?" There was a question in her head that nagged of why he spoke in the matter he did, though it was put on the shelf until she worded it the right way.

What you said and meant didn't as much matter was how you put them together.

He shakes his head.

“Dr. Wheelo and several others are....here. Jinzi....left me....in charge.”

He takes a sip of some lemonade and smiles.

“Forgive my....speech. I’m still getting....used to talking....to people. Hundreds of years....without....speaking have...taken their toll.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The journal appears to be written in a language neither speaks. It is about ten to fifteen pages long, sparsely written, but the last page holds the most interest:

It appears signed by seven people. Two catch their eyes. One written in Earth standard, one in the old Saiyan language.

Zxu’ro, Master of the Chimera School.

Vocado, Lord of the Saiyans.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The journal appears to be written in a language neither speaks. It is about ten to fifteen pages long, sparsely written, but the last page holds the most interest:

It appears signed by seven people. Two catch their eyes. One written in Earth standard, one in the old Saiyan language.

Zxu’ro, Master of the Chimera School.

Vocado, Lord of the Saiyans.

The language of the journal was one that Parsley didn't recognize. It could have been a recipe for the perfect roast beef for all she knew. As she slowly, then quickly, flipped through the pages, she realized that attempting to decipher it now was a waste of time. There was perhaps one person who could possible recognize the language -- Ishtar. The Oni had been alive long enough, so hopefully this language was among those that she had encountered in her expansive existence.

She reached the end and closed the book.

Then immediately opened the book again to the final page.

There were seven signatures. Two immediately stood out.

Zxu'ro, Master of the Chimera School, and Vocado, King of the Saiyans.

Her hand began to tremble as her eyes grew to saucers. "No way," she whispered. The first Saiyan king, the first Super Saiyan... had been to Earth at least once before? There was nothing in his journal that even... that even alluded to this fact.

"This book has been signed by Zxu'ro and Vocado, the Saiyan my homeworld is named after," Parsley stated. "Perhaps I was wrong. I... don't think this is Alakazah's shrine. In fact, I don't think this is a shrine at all."

She looked around for anything else of note or interest. "We need to get this to Ishtar as soon as possible. We need to find out what the rest of this journal says."

[Sion Reaver]

He shakes his head.

“Dr. Wheelo and several others are....here. Jinzi....left me....in charge.”

He takes a sip of some lemonade and smiles.

“Forgive my....speech. I’m still getting....used to talking....to people. Hundreds of years....without....speaking have...taken their toll.”

The doctor's name didn't really stick with her, but she logged it away into her memory since it seemed to be a important one. As if on cue to her silent question he did answer about his speech pattern of how it seemed a bit more slowed compared to normal. What really made her almost take a double take, was the fact he claimed to be a few hundred years old. But how? Humans on average were lucky to push close to two hundred even with advanced medical technology.

Her expression softened slightly in understanding. "You're fine. Give it time and I'm sure it'll come back to you. If I may ask, how have you managed to live that long so long in your own world? Humans normally don't live nearly that long."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

One month into the timeskip.



Onboard the Black Diamond. Sonata is addressing his crew." Okay, everyone, do we remember what the plan is? " Sonata said.

Fang raises his hand ." To snatch up Qaztoh on Earth, and Earth children," Fang said.

" that's exactly right!" Sonata said.

Von raises his right hand." Captain, I would like to make a suggestion," Von said.

" Go ahead, Von I'm all ears," Sonata said.

" Earth is well guard by the Galaxy Police. So I suggest we just snatch up children on some other planet," Von said.

" What planet do you have in mind Von," Sonata said.

" I know, let's go to planet Qaceria. We can snatch up children there." Fang said.

" That wouldn't be wise. There's a barrier around Qaceria. Any ship that comes in contact with that barrier will be atomized. The barrier was created by a Toadian who wears a mask to protect the planet from invaders," Von said.

" No one gets on that planet unless she gives the go-ahead. I have been near Qaceria before. I have seen the barrier in action with my own eyes," Von said.

" Okay, then how about we snatch up children on Deoyama?" Fang said.

" The ship would obliterate the moment we got even remotely close to Deoyama by Deoyama's Acoustic Obliterator space defense weapon. So that's a very bad idea," Von said.

" I got it lets snatch up children on the home planet of the Titans !" Fang said.

" Yeah, let's give Helgaria one of the Black Sheep's elite a reason to hunt us down and murder us all. We need to avoid any of the Black Sheep's elites home planets. The last thing we need is one of them coming after us," Von said.

" Okay, Mr. smartypants. what planet do you have in mind?" Fang said.

" Vumpu. We should snatch children on Vumpu!" Von said.

" Vumpu really, that's just a floating junkyard. I doubt there's any life there. Probably nothing but junk and stuff other races discard," Fang said.

" There is life there. Remember the Metalmen?" Von said.

" Yeah, I remember them, aren't they just machines that someone dumped on that planet?" Fang said.

" They are more than just machines. There is more to the Metalmen then meets the eye. Rarely anyone knows that the Metalmen are actually living beings. It's the safest and best place for us to snatch up children on," Von said.

" We won't have to deal with the Galaxy police or anyone coming after us. The Metalmen can be dealt with easily using EMP bombs," Von said.

Sonata thinks about what Von said and nods his head." Okay, Pyrrhos, you take the Black Diamond to Planet Vumpu. I will go alone to Earth in another ship and snatch up Qaztoh!" Sonata said.

" You got it, Captain setting a course to Vumpu, " Pyrrhos said.

Sonata then heads to Earth in his brother's ship while his crew heads to Vumpu.

[Miburo]

The Toadian was sent flying from through a magnificent wall of the mansion, his herculean form sent rolling down the stairs up the mountain that seemed endless.

But, alas, all things have an end, and that is where Maximo Frogspierres descent stopped at last.

Slowly, the Nevadian emerged from the damaged wall, Golden Spear gleaning in the sunlight. He glanced down upon the Toadian intruder, before bending his knees, launching himself into the air.

"Well, you're certainly a brave one, aren't you?" The Nevadians voice said, nonchalantly as he landed dozens of stairs above the creature. "Not many people who know me by name would try to pick a fight with me."

He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully.

"Come to think of it, most of the ones who would pick a fight with me are actually work associates of mine...."

The Toadian grunted slightly, rising to his feet little fanfare, the impromptu trip seeming more of a nuisance, than something worth acknowledging.

"....You're also a bit heartier than I thought as well." Held said with a laugh, "But you should stay down....I adjusted the attack just enough to get your attention. If you'd wait a second, I'd like to think we can talk this out without violence...."

The Toadian said little, drawing his sword as he ascended the stairs.

"Eh? You're approaching me so confidently?" The Nevadian asked rhetorically, arching an eyebrow, an amused smile on his face.

"Justice cannot be done otherwise." The Toadian explained simply, the grip on the hilt of his blade tightening as he walked, step by step towards this Nevadian butcher.

"Heh. Is that so? Well, I suppose violence is another language I'm fluid in..."

His Golden Spear spun in his hands, glimmering with the brilliance of the sun, before the edge of the weapon came to a stop, pointing towards his Toadian assailant.

What's his grudge against me? He mentioned an Acrosian...Don't tell me Blizzar sent this guy here as a prank....No, I can tell from that look in his eye that this is a bit more personal than that...

"So, feel free to speak your mind, then."

[KingofPie]

The journal appears to be written in a language neither speaks. It is about ten to fifteen pages long, sparsely written, but the last page holds the most interest:

It appears signed by seven people. Two catch their eyes. One written in Earth standard, one in the old Saiyan language.

Zxu’ro, Master of the Chimera School.

Vocado, Lord of the Saiyans.

The language of the journal was one that Parsley didn't recognize. It could have been a recipe for the perfect roast beef for all she knew. As she slowly, then quickly, flipped through the pages, she realized that attempting to decipher it now was a waste of time. There was perhaps one person who could possible recognize the language -- Ishtar. The Oni had been alive long enough, so hopefully this language was among those that she had encountered in her expansive existence.

She reached the end and closed the book.

Then immediately opened the book again to the final page.

There were seven signatures. Two immediately stood out.

Zxu'ro, Master of the Chimera School, and Vocado, King of the Saiyans.

Her hand began to tremble as her eyes grew to saucers. "No way," she whispered. The first Saiyan king, the first Super Saiyan... had been to Earth at least once before? There was nothing in his journal that even... that even alluded to this fact.

"This book has been signed by Zxu'ro and Vocado, the Saiyan my homeworld is named after," Parsley stated. "Perhaps I was wrong. I... don't think this is Alakazah's shrine. In fact, I don't think this is a shrine at all."

She looked around for anything else of note or interest. "We need to get this to Ishtar as soon as possible. We need to find out what the rest of this journal says."

"Perhaps we should summon the rest of the, erm, 'council'," Blizzar suggested. "They'd all find this information pertinent, I'm sure...." Blizzar glances over to the pillow where the dragon ball once lay and scratched his chin. "And I can only assume...that there are six other shrines hidden in the homeworlds of each of these seven heroes."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Perhaps we should summon the rest of the, erm, 'council'," Blizzar suggested. "They'd all find this information pertinent, I'm sure...." Blizzar glances over to the pillow where the dragon ball once lay and scratched his chin. "And I can only assume...that there are six other shrines hidden in the homeworlds of each of these seven heroes."

Informing the council of this was a fine idea. "Good idea. If there's nothing else of note here, we can call a meeting when we return to the Lookout."

There had been, she found out, an entire section hidden away under the Palace on Vocado with items belonging to the monarchs who reigned prior to Otatop IV. All of it tucked away in his bid to change reality and Vocado's history. It was this way for hundreds of years until someone happened to stumble across it late into Mato's reign.

If that could be hidden, then a shrine of this sort was just as likely. "Perhaps so. I and Sarada will search for the one on Vocado when I return home."

[Miburo]

The Range was different, but equal.

The Nevadian had the high ground, his spear had the length. He moved with precision, pressing his advantages with a series of light thrusts.

The Toadian was massive, dwarfing the ones that Held had seen in his time, his build making the relatively tall and well built Nevadian look like a child facing a hulking green warrior.

His broadsword might have been shorter, true, but the range of his biology more than made up for it. He was pressed on the defensive, the Nevadians blistering barrage threatening to skewer him in the space between breaths.

Sparks flew as sword and spear clashed.

The Toadian was resolute, pressing forward by an inch, which the Nevadian gladly gave him, retreating by the same space.

The thrusts of the golden spear increased tenfold, making it impossible to tell where one attack ended, and the other began. Somehow, the Toadians defense held up. If Frogspierre found the ordeal exhausting, his stoic visage made no show of it.

A strike from the spear was aimed at a jade leg, and the attempt was made to block, only to find the blow never came.

The Feint was successful, a small opening made in the defense of the Toadian warrior. He moved to recover....

Just a hair to slow, The Nevadian closing range in an instant, his right hand releasing from the spear, an a devastating backhand struck the jaw of the Toadian true, the sound reverberating through the air, sending him sliding backwards from the blow.

But Frogspierre was not deterred, his body as strong as his will. And he had tricks of his own.

In the blink of an eye, his tongue escaped from his opened jaw, shooting towards the ankle of the Nevadian, covering yards in the span of miliseconds.

With a shift of his weight, Held avoided the attack, barely. He lifted his weight slightly, and his foot landed upon the tongue of the green warrior, trapping it, his foot holding it firmly in its midpoint.

Or so he thought. He had never considered the immense strength of the tongue that a Toadian possessed, let alone an absolute specimen like Frogspierre Maximo. Not that he could be blamed. There were none like him, on his home planet, nor any other.

He had also failed to consider just how elastic the tongue of such a being was. It was as malleable as putty, as strong as steel, as flexible as a snake.

The tip of the tongue snaked behind the Nevadian, out of view, swiftly turning towards its prey, intent on impaling his skull with a tongue that could shatter stone.

The Nevadian tilted his head to the side, the tongue barely darting past by inches, before being captured in the free hand of the Nevadians ki coated hand.

He grimaced somewhat, the cold, slimy appendage not endearing itself to him.

"It's not a bad attack, but you're so fast, I could hear it whipping through the wind." He said with a sigh. "Can we stop this now? I imagine this has to be something close to checkmate, yeah."

Frogspierre mumbled something, as it was evidently difficult to talk with ones tongue otherwise occupied.

"Uh, come again mate?" Held replied, tilting his head, "I can't--Urgk"

The Tongue went looser still, somehow gaining more length, quickly wrapping around the Nevadian in a moment, constructing him like a boa. The Tongue flicked out, lifting him up, before slamming him into the stone below, again and again, before finally tossing him to the left, releasing its grip.

A large rumble could be heard as the Nevadian collided with a mountain, shattering a hole in the side of it. Held himself was encased several inches in stone, embedding the mountain with an imprint of his body.

"I said...." The tongue retracted as quickly as it had exited the mouth of the Avenger, who turned in the direction of his prey, "My attack begins here..."

Good Grief...No one ever wants to talk these days.

"It's not a bad move." Held replied, not bothering to move from his impromptu resting place, eyes closed, "But you'll need more than that if you want to get...Uhh...."

He paused.

"What's this about? Money? Women? Beer?"

Frogspierre did not share the casual mood that enveloped the Nevadian, his rippling thighs sending the the Swampan Goliath lunging towards Helds' resting place. His sword was raised overhead, as he prepared to cleave the Nevadian in two.

"THIS IS ABOUT JUSTICE! REALIZE THAT AS YOU ENTER THE AFTERLIFE!"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The doctor's name didn't really stick with her, but she logged it away into her memory since it seemed to be a important one. As if on cue to her silent question he did answer about his speech pattern of how it seemed a bit more slowed compared to normal. What really made her almost take a double take, was the fact he claimed to be a few hundred years old. But how? Humans on average were lucky to push close to two hundred even with advanced medical technology.

Her expression softened slightly in understanding. "You're fine. Give it time and I'm sure it'll come back to you. If I may ask, how have you managed to live that long so long in your own world? Humans normally don't live nearly that long."

He nods.

“It is...a long tale.”

He begins telling her, voice growing a bit more smooth and comfortable. He tells her of advanced Terra in that other universe, of the wars and the fighting, of how Terra threw back Saiyans, Arcosians, Majins, the First Race, and everyone else before eventually succumbing to themselves. He tells her of his King and Queen, of the oath made to protect their daughter, Karis, and of his long sentinel stewardship as the last man alive on Terra. Of how he had used cryogenics to prolong his life unnaturally so he could continue to serve his oath, and he tells her how the M-Fighters came to meet him and took them back here. Finally, he tells her Karis is to be awoken soon and how he is nervous, for they have never properly met and she has no knowledge of what befell their world.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Informing the council of this was a fine idea. "Good idea. If there's nothing else of note here, we can call a meeting when we return to the Lookout."

There had been, she found out, an entire section hidden away under the Palace on Vocado with items belonging to the monarchs who reigned prior to Otatop IV. All of it tucked away in his bid to change reality and Vocado's history. It was this way for hundreds of years until someone happened to stumble across it late into Mato's reign.

If that could be hidden, then a shrine of this sort was just as likely. "Perhaps so. I and Sarada will search for the one on Vocado when I return home."

There is nothing else of note here.

[Miburo]

"THIS IS ABOUT JUSTICE! REALIZE THAT AS YOU ENTER THE AFTERLIFE!"

Time seemed to freeze as the Toadian closed distance, its visage one of rage and resolve as he prepared to bisect the Nevadian.

The Nevadian kept his eyes closed, perhaps not daring to face what seemed to be inevitable as what was once meters, became yards, became feet, almost instantaneously.

Frogspierre never looked away for a moment, envisioning this day for years. His soul yearned for it. It craved it. This was the day that would give him the most satisfaction. It would be beyond the satisfaction he felt in the past, killing his captors, and earning his freedom.

It would be beyond what he had dreamt of so long ago, before this sordid tale of revenge for a lost people began---The justice and liberation of a people oppressed by petty inept tyrant, followed by pettier, even more inept tyrant--and would allow him to honor the fallen, and finally, find some respite, if only for a moment.

Shingan: Kiai!

And his soul was denied yet again, as the Nevadian finally opened his eyes, the blood red of the Shingan focused upon Frogspierre. Within a moment, an unseen barrage of attacks targeted the Toadians body in its entirety, stopping him dead in his tracks, so close to victory.

He attempted to ignore the pain, as each blow dug deeper into his torso, struck his face, his thighs, his forearms...And for a moment, he almost succeeded, gritting his teeth, slowly, painfully, raising his arms overhead to fling the blade at the Nevadian genocider.

The Nevadian furrowed his brow, and the intensity of the attack doubled, and at last, the Avenger of Agrippa was overwhelmed, sent flying backwards as spittle escaped his mouth.

"Oh, so close..." Held murmured to no one in particular as the Toadian was repelled backwards for a distance of miles, before eventually being violently deposited deep within the ocean.

"....Well, I guess I better put an end to this before this gets too serious....I hope I didn't overdo it, and accidentally drown the guy..."

Growling in discomfort, the Nevadian slowly dislodged himself from the mountain, pulling his arms and legs free slowly. "Hopefully that managed to cool him off enough to realize this isn't the way to solve things."

He fell unceremoniously to the earth below, spear still in hand, before rising to his feet. He took a moment to dust himself off, before looking whistfully at his home, damaged in the commotion.

"Why can't this ever happen when I'm at the lookout, or at Jinzi's?"

Rearing back, the gripped the spear by the center of its shaft, before tossing it into the sky. Before it could fully escape however, he gripped the very end of the weapon, causing it to drag him along with it into the air.

As it sailed through the sky, he pulled himself up, resting his posterior along the length of the weapon.

What the hell is this about? I've not really done that much as of late...There was the Doctor, Auroc, Hammer, Fife...None of them are really good guys in any sense of the word, and I'm not the one who killed them...Really, Fife was dead before I even came to earth....And I've spent more time drinking here, than causing trouble...Is this an offworld thing?

So vexing was this riddle, so deep in thought was the Nevadian, he almost missed the endless sea of large bubbles that hovered meters above the dead sea, disturbingly calm considering the time of day it was.

"Eh?" Ki flowed from the Nevadians body into the spear, powering it with his will, his intent. It's flight began to slow, but the weapon and its user still hovered in the air, looking over the beautiful scene before them. "...Is he trying to hide?"

The cerulean sea, the sun beaming brightly in the sky, its light cascading upon the bubbles, colors reflecting within them like a prism.

I should have someone make a painting like thi---

The Nevadians train of thought was disrupted as he sensed several bubbles near him suddenly generate immense amounts of energy.

"Oh, for fuc--"

A bubble popped, and in an instant, a torrent of energy was expelled at around it, slamming the Nevadian towards the depths.