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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Some of this may have already been revealed. Perhaps...we might make a connection," he said. "You were there that day, Parsley. You heard him speak."

He lift the photograph of this timeline's Jinzi and Meagan before them all. A lifetime ago they stood as one, the words of the vows they had witnessed their bond. Who could tell if there was a Guardianship to come between them? If there was, they wouldn't know it. A young boy stood close, a baby girl held in their arms. The Chromatic brilliance seemed to shine through them both despite the wear and age of the image.

Whatever weighed upon them behind their smiles? A moment unguarded and it had all burned to ash around them.

"Did he say anything before he sacrificed Koolard? More about his mission? About any of this?"

"He didn't say much," Parsley answered. "Firstly, he insists that he doesn't plan on surviving his quest. In fact, he anticipates that we'll kill him eventually. His plan is to use Zurvan's power to tear the universe apart and undo whatever it was that befell this world and killed his wife and son. The dragonballs on this world are gone, and he spent years searching for other sets. It seems that this is the last resort. He said nothing more before he destroyed Koolard. "

The desperation of a man who had lost everything would rarely lead him to consider this as even an absolute last resort. Only a transcendent mind like Jinzi's could even conceive this, much less make it a reality.

"He spoke with absolute conviction, as if he had already won before the battle had started. Since he anticipates death, there is nothing to stop him from expending every effort to ensure that victory."

[KingofPie]

"The weight of destruction and creation in her hands." This was a motif near to their group. The Creator that dwelt among them was content in her way, to set others to drift toward finding their answer, even all she had brought to bear. Days had passed since then, but the cold frustration Ishtar spoke with seemed to renew itself even here.

"The last time that happened, it set everything into disarray. But there was still one threshold even Asha'rah would not cross. Time, and the natural progression of things, as she would present it." The energies of the Nexus, the intersection point between universes. It was through Zurvan's guidance that the interplay between divergent timelines only began to make sense, but this was within fixed points of a familiar, linear structure. Even the smallest ripple expands.

"If it is a New Genesis this one is after, the pieces have been in motion for over a decade. But it is a familiar pattern, wouldn't you say?"

He continued to trace his hand across the wall, searching for some difference in structure beyond what was apparent.

"Those who speak of new beginnings can never create them, only rip them forcefully from a destructive womb."

Sasheem listened intently on the conversation held between his so called allues, Parsley and Ochazuke. From what he could glean of it, there seemed to be something of a pattern that befell this group when it came to their adversaries. Behind every threat, there was a greater one. A neverending ladder risen up towards the heavens and beyond, woth no end in sight. And where did he rank among these foes? He couldn't even say he was counted among them.

He was more a savior than destructor at this point, something he admitted quite brashly, though not without an instant twinge of regret. He had done many things wrong to get to this point, but he had to be doing something right. Across all of these timelines, he was the only Sasheem to still exist, to his knowledge.

His original goal upon returning to Earth after absorbing P-Sta, was to defeat every one of their foes so he could be at the top of the food chain, but it seemed almost as if the universe was there to let him know that wasn't meant to be...in which case he may have to fight the universe too.

So, where did this all leave him? The sinking feeling in his stomach when that mustachioed Zaofan told him he hadn't heard of him was gone...but this doubt had continued to affect his ambition. He only had a sparse couple of ideas on what could be done, but what he has to figure out is what must be done.

Perhaps he would find the answer once his enemies were reduced a bloody stain slathered around his fist. Or when his friends were. Either or.

So for now, his concentration would remain on finding a way to defeat that pathetic doctor...and then eventually the progenitor of his madness...this Genesis. She honestly...didn't sound half-bad. ...Or more accurately she sounded like a completely incomprehensible form of evil. Which was great. Sasheem could get behind that. Perhaps, she'd care to share trade secrets on planetary genocide before they attempted to kill one another. Another time, perhaps. ...Bah, time.

"He didn't say much," Parsley answered. "Firstly, he insists that he doesn't plan on surviving his quest. In fact, he anticipates that we'll kill him eventually. His plan is to use Zurvan's power to tear the universe apart and undo whatever it was that befell this world and killed his wife and son. The dragonballs on this world are gone, and he spent years searching for other sets. It seems that this is the last resort. He said nothing more before he destroyed Koolard. "

The desperation of a man who had lost everything would rarely lead him to consider this as even an absolute last resort. Only a transcendent mind like Jinzi's could even conceive this, much less make it a reality.

"He spoke with absolute conviction, as if he had already won before the battle had started. Since he anticipates death, there is nothing to stop him from expending every effort to ensure that victory."

Parsley had drawn Sasheem out of his thoughts, if for but a moment. "Know what?" He spoke, munching on another handful of fries. "This is gonna sound weird coming from Sasheem, but once we kick this loser's ass all the way across time, we shouldn't kill him. Especially if he expects it anyway."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"It's written in some sort of code," Parsley answered. "It seems that whatever was left of Jinzi's psyche determined that to be the best way to hide it from The Doctor once he eventually got his hands on it. Meaning that our Jinzi is the only one able to decipher it."

" Never mind then forget what I said," Praxat said.

"As it is, it is a cipher only one man might be able to read. You would have known its contents, had you chosen to open it rather than sought to capture a specimen."

Ochazuke continued to pour his efforts into analyzing the very walls of the Capsule House. There was a moment there, a choice to make before the chance was surrendered.

"Humour me. As a being with some regard to thought and reason, Praxat, what is it that you see when you survey the field?"

The Tech Rot. That was the term the Doctor spoke of in his video, but the absence of life entirely - seventeen recorded years without sustenance within this little homestead - suggested it was not a singular mode of decay. Blue-green eyes...

"Is it to see something for what it truly is? To find with a different angle the undiscovered, something new within the established law and structure?"

It had resisted the taint of that perfused the rest of this dead world. Genesis...

"Or is it to search for flaws, and to impress your design as a correction?"

Already it seemed Praxat's mind had moved on to the next thing. The mind of a compulsive virtuoso. Ochazuke's palmed the Capsule within his hand.

"Miniaturization. It will change the world, indeed," he said flatly, then spoke openly to the others. "We came here to find out more about the Doctor. There is a difference between him and Jinzi Pantaloon. Do you know what that is?"



"Some of this may have already been revealed. Perhaps...we might make a connection," he said. "You were there that day, Parsley. You heard him speak."

He lift the photograph of this timeline's Jinzi and Meagan before them all. A lifetime ago they stood as one, the words of the vows they had witnessed their bond. Who could tell if there was a Guardianship to come between them? If there was, they wouldn't know it. A young boy stood close, a baby girl held in their arms. The Chromatic brilliance seemed to shine through them both despite the wear and age of the image.

Whatever weighed upon them behind their smiles? A moment unguarded and it had all burned to ash around them.

"Did he say anything before he sacrificed Koolard? More about his mission? About any of this?"

" Never mind then forget what I said," Praxat said.

Praxat rubs her chin. " What I see when I survey the field. is that I see equations and formulas. I see something for what it truly is and my goal as a scientist is to find that which hasn't been discovered yet," Praxat said.

Praxat puts her hands on the wall and examines it closely." Everything has a formula to it, all matter is composed of subatomic particles and molecules. It is subatomic particles and molecules that form the structure of a living organism or objects like these walls, on the surface, this wall I'm looking at appears to be the same across its entire structure. However, if we were to look at this wall on the atomic or molecular level, we might find that different parts of the wall could have a different atomic or molecular structure," Praxat said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Lifting it from the clutter, Ochazuke held the photograph. Even to calloused fingertips, he noticed how the faded surface felt thinner where he grasped it. Brushing his fingers through the surface upon that blunted corner between them, perhaps the picture had been put through this motion countless times before. The edges of the image frayed, whitened where the creases mottled the memory, exposed without a frame, and despite Wilhelm's floating lights, the flickering of the Capsule house obscured the shapes held in the surface.

In an instant, there lay in brilliant colour an array of familiar faces, come together in a shared moment. What silent words did they speak? What was the course of their halted momentum? The gathering of warriors he had known and several strangers, an instance frozen forever.

It could not have been too far a distance, this past, from their present. The unfamiliar faces Ochazuke paid particularly close attention to.

The fixtures of the Capsule House trilled, and with one lapsed angle in the light the shapes were obscured and faded flat grey like all the rest. But for the surface of the thing grasped in his hand, would he have known it to be real? The man who had taken this image held onto it desperately, afraid to let it go.

He could feel all through the worn surface where Jinzi's grip tightened. The shape of this memory had twisted.



"Was it isolation, or was it a forcible removal?" Continue to survey the homestead as the videos played, Ochazuke produced a capsule. "Perhaps he'd taken it for granted, how glibly he would call and all the Universe would answer. A thought and he or Meagan might have it."

Tech Rot... He rest a hand on the house wall, analyzing the resonance of the structure once more. "But somebody wouldn't let them leave. She stole their way out."

A daft theory began brewing in Ochazuke's mind. He would let it steep as the Doctor's words continued.



Genesis. The name was familiar, and certainly not one spoken lightly.

"You're well familiar with the Junjo," Loathsome merchants, "It was during one of their bazaars, selling off plunder and quarry to the highest bidder." Many were ensnared by the prospect of obtaining something rare, exclusivity measured dauntingly by material worth. Plunge deep enough into the darkness and it is possible to take possession of anything, for a price.

"It was here she outbid your sister with five million credits for a cache of Katchin. What designs she could have for it, well..."

A little over a year ago, yet only now did the ripples seem to converge.

"With the manner Ishtar and Asha'rah have spoken of Genesis, perhaps with what she has contrived, one might scheme to fight the gods themselves," he said, turning from his current task to exchange a look with Parsley. "If this is she. Though, it is ironic."



"Is it any less believable than deciding the worth of a book without reading it?"

There are five. One a child held in Sarada’s arms, another a slightly older child in Parsley’s arms.

A man that looked eerily like Sasheem, but somehow more......human? No, less malevolent. Traces of Majin are about him, but he seems more...calm and happy.

Another is a red haired woman standing near Jinzi, a lab coat around donning her shoulders. Char Banner Gero.

The last is an older version of the young girl in the cryotube from Terra. Princess Karis.

The structure of the place is failing. In fact his senses indicate it’s close to collapse as it. Something seems to be eating away at it.

[Yun Lao]

He nodded to her before walking off, his destination firmly in mind.

Despite the soul-erosion warping his emotions into an erratic mess earlier, Charco didn't disagree with his laments; he truly doubted he would win this fight without major sacrifice. Things would never be the same after that point and it was in that uncertainty that he felt the most discomfort.

Pushing open the massive double doors, the boy was greeted with the familiar sight and sounds of countless clocks, ticking away in time. It had been some time since he had visited the Pendulum Room on his own. There was still a small bit of reluctance in the back of his mind as he prepared himself, but he could understand the sensation.

After all, the last time he visited this point in time and space, he had his heart torn out.

The difference this time was that he had grown since that time. If he was anymore arrogant, he would have said he was the Strongest among his comrades. The question was: would it be enough?

Taking a seat in the middle of the room, Charco did his best to focus on the white noise provided by the clocks as he visualized when and where he wanted to go. Soon enough, he could smell the petrichor of the earth as it rained, soon followed by the gentle sounds of raindrops hitting leaves, followed by the gentle pelts of dampness as they filtered down through the dense canopies of the jungles. Opening his eyes, he was once more home. Rising to his feet and brushing off the damp dirt, he made his way to the Dino School Temple as like before, he was confronted by the man who had slain him in this delusion of time and space.

It was Ogatan Phospho, his grandfather.

At this point in time, Rex had already taken over his grandfather's body thanks to the latter's deteriorated mental state; the destruction of the temple was proof enough.

If Charco was going to find a way to overcome Rex, then he would need to surpass Phospho Rex this time.

Previously, his grandfather had the upper hand in both power and surprise; this time, however, such advantages were gone as Phospho's Terrible Claws were swatted aside by a sweep from Charco's hand. The boy's free hand smashed into the elder's sternum with the full-force power of the Ankylo Smash, launching the beast possessed man back several feet.

"How dare you!" "Phospho" snarled, briefly clutching his bruised chest before lowering his hands, "No matter, soon you will understand and regret your decision..."

"I already understand and regret you, Rex," Charco said, his words directed more to the currently dormant entity in him than the phantasmal memory he fought. Lunging forth, he struck the recovering Phospho with a flying knee, once again launching his foe back to the point where they were just outside the courtyard of the Dino Temple. It was a humbling position to be in; realizing just how much he had progressed since the last time. Back then, he had gone from fearing he was too strong and would hurt his companions to fearing that he had fallen behind them in all accounts, to now, where his journey to gain more power had become a fight for his very body and soul.

"Phospho" growled at the indignity he currently suffered, clawing at the loose stones beneath them as he rose to his knees. "This body is still weak from inaction," Tearing off his kosode, Charco could see the rapidly expanding patches of scales overtaking Phospho's human flesh, "I had wanted to savor remolding this vessel to my liking, but I will just have to settle for your anguish screams instead." The possessed man's power level exploded upwards as Rex's influence began to fully shape his physical form. Charco would not interrupt this transformation as this was his true intention from the get-go.

If this was to be the nightmare he would one day experience, he wanted to see it at its worst.

Bones crunched and crackled as Phospho's shin curved backward and his lower face bulged forward as a reptilian snout that was quickly filled with sharp carnivorous teeth. Fingers extended with the ends of the digits hardening into sharp talons while large crown-like crests jutted forth from the forehead and his spinal cord grew, becoming a full-sized tail. A thunderous roar from the creature signaled the complete take over of Ogatan Phospho, his body was now the Beast Possessed, Host of Rex.

"I, the Strongest, have returned at last! All will know me and fear my wrath, starting with you!" Raising his hand, Rex conjured forth the corrupted energy of the dead, gathering the dark gray smoke-like ki Fukushuu in a growing mass, "Rejoice! For you are the first to see this in countless ages!"

Charco braced himself as the Yucatan Crash loomed above him with grim determination, having now seen the true effects of Rex's victory. This was what he would strive against becoming.

A hand rested gently against his shoulder, nearly startling the boy as he did not recall another person in this memory.

"A brave man may stare down a tsunami before it consumes him, but he dies the same death as the coward."

BGM: "Huo Yuan Jia (Fearless)"

The intruder was an elderly man in a dark changshan with a face lined with the many wrinkles of age and his salt and pepper hair pulled back into a braided tail, still clinging the last bits of youth while his long beard had fully succumbed to the color of wisdom. An eyepatch rested over the man's left eye, on which a golden dragon emblem had been embedded in, yet it was not his only injury as the lower half of his left arm sleeve uselessly fluttered in the growing winds.

"You!" Rex hissed, the Yucatan Crash at full strength by this point, "You've woken from your sleep too late, Old Dragon! I have won!" Bringing down his arms, the massive ball of morbid ki descended upon the both of them. The Old Dragon stepped past Charco, raising his remaining hand. For a brief moment, Charco thought he saw the symbol of yang on the back of it, but a sudden surge of pain struck his senses as Lain's Fang reacted to the magic at work.

"The coward becomes the brave man with enough power, but power is not the answer to his problems." As the Yucatan Crash reached them the old man reached out and gentled touched it with his hand and with that, the warped Fukushuu energy grew bright, the purple of the Hakai energy that it had once been burning through the impurities before the orb ceased to the be, purged from existence.

"A tsunami is not something you can overpower or ignore. The one you face will not be the last, so the answer lies in how you accept this knowledge."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" My fingers are sensitive to electric fields . My fingers can interact with electric fields and that allows me to climb pretty much any surface," Praxat said.


Praxat moves her hand across the wall." If I had the right tool I could examine the wall at the molecular level without even touching it. I could take a sample of it to examine, but that could be dangerous , dammit if only I bought Qaztoh's bot Mr. Gazakai with me," Praxat said.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley pulled the Nexus from her pocket and activated the doorway back to the RoSaT. "We're leaving."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"..." The complete disregard for forethought made Sarada appear to be prone to scrutinizing every possiblity before acting.

"You're taking a piece of tech rot infesting wall with you... to examine? Fine. Go ahead."

She pulled the Nexus from her pocket and activated the doorway back to the RoSaT. "We're leaving."

OOC: I like to point out that when you post this I was in the middle of editing my post.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Parsley pulled the Nexus from her pocket and activated the doorway back to the RoSaT. "We're leaving."

Praxat walks into the portal," I wish I could take a sample of the wall back with me. I could examine it and figure out what tech rot actually is , and if I know what it is I could probably figure out solution to it. However it's far too dangerous to bring a sample back with me," Praxat said.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

at the Lookout Qaztoh is in her room still programing the software for her virtual reality simulator ." Virtual reality is the future of testing. It takes care of the one problem that plagues physical testing. Which is the risk factor . Virtual testing may not be as accurate as physical testing, but I'm wiling to sacrifice accuracy for safety," Qaztoh said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat walks into the portal," I wish I could take a sample of the wall back with me. I could examine it and figure out what tech rot actually is , and if I know what it is I could probably figure out solution to it. However it's far too dangerous to bring a sample back with me," Praxat said.

Wilhelm pauses as he shuts the computers down.

“Maybe.....maybe not. A risky thing without further........examination.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Wilhelm pauses as he shuts the computers down.

“Maybe.....maybe not. A risky thing without further........examination.”

"Can you save those videos and the audio recording for the others?" Parsley asked.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Wilhelm pauses as he shuts the computers down.

“Maybe.....maybe not. A risky thing without further........examination.”

" You think so? Anyways I probably would take a sample of the wall , but I have a feeling that the others would see it as reckless, However science is all about taking risk to discover new things or solutions to problems . I stand by physical testing as being the best method for research and experimentation. I will be doing examinations on my goggles and the device on my chest, because there's a slim chance they might be infected," Praxat said.

Praxat takes off her goggles and Quantum Ambient Toxin Collector , then puts them in her jobox." Especially the device on my chest since it's function is to collect ambient toxins from a air to fill or refill my poison glands. Which means that all the time we been here the device has been collecting ambient toxins from the atmosphere," Praxat said.

[Yun Lao]

Charco braced himself as the Yucatan Crash loomed above him with grim determination, having now seen the true effects of Rex's victory. This was what he would strive against becoming.

A hand rested gently against his shoulder, nearly startling the boy as he did not recall another person in this memory.

"A brave man may stare down a tsunami before it consumes him, but he dies the same death as the coward."

BGM: "Huo Yuan Jia (Fearless)"

The intruder was an elderly man in a dark changshan with a face lined with the many wrinkles of age and his salt and pepper hair pulled back into a braided tail, still clinging the last bits of youth while his long beard had fully succumbed to the color of wisdom. An eyepatch rested over the man's left eye, on which a golden dragon emblem had been embedded in, yet it was not his only injury as the lower half of his left arm sleeve uselessly fluttered in the growing winds.

"You!" Rex hissed, the Yucatan Crash at full strength by this point, "You've woken from your sleep too late, Old Dragon! I have won!" Bringing down his arms, the massive ball of morbid ki descended upon the both of them. The Old Dragon stepped past Charco, raising his remaining hand. For a brief moment, Charco thought he saw the symbol of yang on the back of it, but a sudden surge of pain struck his senses as Lain's Fang reacted to the magic at work.

"The coward becomes the brave man with enough power, but power is not the answer to his problems." As the Yucatan Crash reached them the old man reached out and gentled touched it with his hand and with that, the warped Fukushuu energy grew bright, the purple of the Hakai energy that it had once been burning through the impurities before the orb ceased to the be, purged from existence.

"A tsunami is not something you can overpower or ignore. The one you face will not be the last, so the answer lies in how you accept this knowledge."

The nullification of the Yucatan Crash was not something Rex could have ever anticipated. Despite his inhuman features, his face could not hide the complete shock plastered across it. A beast in panic, the saurian lunged towards the old man, who fended him by a casual swipe of his hand. The familiar gesture of the hand, the lines of bloody that bloomed across Rex's chest, Charco initially believed it to be the Terrible Claw, yet it was not. The channeling of chi might have been the same, but the old man's technique utilized outward ki as well, evident by the faint blade-like arcs of silver ki hovering over his fingers and fingertips.

The Pendulum Room shuddered, either from Rex, the old man's influence, or the combination. The rainy night in which Rex took Phospho melted away and only the two of them remained. Needless to say, but the winds had been taken from Charco's sails as all of his motivation had been undone by this complete stranger. Sighing, the boy sat down on the... floor? Hard to tell with everything being nondescript darkness.

"So, what's your deal, old man? Are you connected with my school?"

"Yes... and no." The old man said, then chose to clarify, "I am not affiliated with the Kyōryū Ryū, however, you could say our schools are related. One influenced by the other..."

So the old man was a practitioner of a style influenced by the Dino School? It wouldn't be surprising, considering the state of the school now; however, something about the man's tone suggested otherwise. That would be quite the claim, considering the Dino School was one of Earth's oldest martial arts. Despite the absurdity of it, Charco couldn't help but feel like it could be given the benefit of the doubt with the casual frame of thought equivalent of the sky being blue. The more he lingered on the thought, the more familiar this felt.

Not wanting to deal with another mystery, he pushed his thoughts aside, "So what is this answer you felt the need to interrupt me to push? That I should accept this fate?" Despite having such thoughts of despair of the same, the boy couldn't help but sound disgusted with someone else saying it.

"No. Far from it." The old man quickly retorted, "I am here because you have fallen into the same cycle as all the others have. You believe this to be an obstacle with only two outcomes: overcome or succumb."

"And just who the hell are you? You seem to know a lot about my school for someone not related to it?"

"Me? I am just an unremarkable old man who just happened to have done just enough remarkable things in my youth that people believe me important." He admitted, "I once thought myself to be a teacher, but my students ignored my teachings save for one who excelled in those regards. I would have made her my heir, but she was ignorant of my existence. For now, I content myself with giving a few words to those in need from time to time."

"Wow... uhh... I apologize for your lot in life, man. I'm sure you could visit some homeless shelters and get back on your feet." It was official in his mind, some homeless nutcase must have snuck into the Pendulum Room and messed with things. He just had to find a way to get out and...

The void gave way to a new setting, this one of a familiar setting of a fighting tournament. Cheers and jeers thundered throughout the building and colorful displays peppered the walls, looking upon them, Charco realized he recognized them. Tiger, Turtle, Crane... and Dino; this was the tournament in which the Dino School sought recognition from the Five. Glancing further about, the boy discovered he himself was in the ring.

Climbing into the ring was his opponent, Ogatan Penhuoqì, the woman whose Rex's possession had dismantled the golden age of their school.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

At the Lookout Qaztoh who is in her room is about to finish up programing the software for her virtual testing simulator when she gets contacted by Nadila. Qaztoh picks up her cell and puts it on video chat." Nadila what's wrong, you long like you're in a panic?" Qaztoh said.

" That's because F#$King I'm! I recently sabotage The Black Diamond," Nadila said.

" Wait, what in the hell did you do that for?" Qaztoh said.

" To buy time to F$#king warn you!" Nadila said.

" Warn me of F#$king what?" Qaztoh said.

" To F#$king warn you that Sonata and the others are coming to Earth!" Nadila said.

" Wait, why is the Captain Stratovarius is coming here? He told me that he would leave me alone," Qaztoh said.

" That was an f#$king lie, Sonata had no attention on allowing you to leave the crew!" Nadila said.

" I see I can't believe that F#$king bastard lied to me. Nadila where are you right now?" Qaztoh said.

" I'm in a taxi heading to Earth, hopefully I can get there before Sonata and the others do," Nadila said.

Qaztoh hangs up her cell phone and puts in her right pocket." Sonata that f#$king bastard he gave me his word that he wouldn't come for me, that he would leave me alone. I was a fool to believe a word he said!" Qaztoh said.