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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

From the looks and sound of it, Parsley's team was already back from their mission. It was quick, so it must have been exactly as Zurvan said. Sarada nodded; that meant that it was time to face the final and most difficult of the errant timelines, and Ishtar's alternate. Thanks to the damage she had taken during her fights at the tournament, she was likely stronger now than she was when she first started, but she still couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness.

Despite what she said to Ishtar, she knew that fighting the Goddess of Ruination wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded. Hakai wasn't a force to be taken lightly. She had only faced it one time, and that was in an extremely controlled environment. Against Alt-Ishtar, she would be facing the full brunt, nothing held back. ****, I don't know how any of us are going to survive that.

Now wasn't the time for doubts, but damn it, they were there anyway. The chances of one or more of them dying and not coming back were high. Real high.

She sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the Lookout, away from the others. The pain of losing Jack and Eva had long since dulled into nothingness since they were brought back, but she still remembered well the initial agony. It was heart-wrenching, and a sinking feeling ebbed through her chest every time it hit her. The very possibility of someone dying for good was too much to bear, not after growing accustomed to having the dragonballs as a backup. Hakai didn't just kill a person, it erased them from existence completely in a way that the dragonballs couldn't reverse. Once they were erased, that was it. They were nothing more than a memory.

Additionally, she wasn't sure if there were even dragonballs in that timeline anyway; so, it someone was just killed the regular way, they likely were dead for good anyway.

So many ways this could go wrong, and only a few it could go right. With so much riding on their victory, they had no choice but to overcome those odds no matter what. Meaning that if someone should die, that death should have counted toward the greater goal.

She didn't want to lose anyone, but it was stupid and foolish to believe that everyone was going to make it back. It was just a foolish to believe that she was going to make it back.

"What's your problem?"

Avoca's voice made her jump slightly. There was no point in lying. "A lot of us may die in this last mission. Ishtar's alternate self is in this timeline, and she has an energy that can erase a person completely from existence."

The older Saiyanness sat down beside her. "That sucks."

If Sarada was expecting more, she was disappointed. She wasn't. Avoca didn't know who any of these people were aside from a scant few. To expect anyone, least of all a Saiyan, to express anything more than the bare minimal empathy required to be considered a decent person was ludicrous, bordering on disingenuous.

"As long as you and Parsley make it back, I don't really care who dies. Oh, and Ishtar too, I guess, but mainly you two." She sighed and looked down at the clouds below. "I guess this mission is too important to just shrug off to someone else, so I won't bother asking."

"It is. There's a lot riding on this, Avoca. I'm not kidding." She frowned and tucked her knees up to her chest. "If we lose, then a lot more people are going to die." Though, The Doctor was going to make sure no one remembered it.

"Oh."

It was hard enough for her to wrap her head around, and she had been involved with this crap from the outset. Trying to understand that without even a nominal understanding of time travel or the stakes was impossible. But, she wasn't looking for reassurance from Avoca; she only wanted her to understand what happened if she or Parsley or anyone else in the group didn't make it back. The consequences were going to be beyond the scope of anything they had undergone up to this point, and would extend far beyond the Saiyans being without their Queen.

Sarada rose to her feet. Sitting around moping wasn't going to solve anything. "Well, better start planning."

"Planning." Somehow, that was when it clicked for Avoca. "You never plan anything."

"I do too! I make plans all the time."

"Name one time."

"..."

"That's what I thought." She stood and punched Sarada in the arm. "Better start planning **** for the very first time in your life. Maybe with some luck, you can stick to it. By the way, what happened to your hair?"

Sarada frowned, then remembered. "Oh, yeah. I got hit with literal acid rain, so I had to cut my some of my hair out."

"Looks nice. Never seen you with your hair down." It was true. Sarada more often than not always had her hair in a ponytail. It felt good to have it waving around free and stuff. "Open a portal. I'm going home. I'm sure this place is decent and all, but I've been bored out of my mind since those things were killed. Sitting around not doing anything isn't nearly as riveting as it sounds."

Sarada chuckled. "Figured you'd duck out eventually." She tapped her wrist to activate her PDD and then opened a portal to Vocado. Upon seeing the swirling wormhole of energy, her smile faded a little. I really miss home. It had only been a few days, but a few days was a long time when away from her people. Earth was nice, but it wasn't home. Humans were fine, but they weren't her responsibility. The Saiyans were, and she had been away from them long enough. There was still a lot of work to be done, including sorting through the mess that was Callion after the civil war. That was a thing she had forgotten about. "I'll see you soon. When I'm finally done here, I'll come home."

Avoca nodded. "Tell Parsley I'll see her at home."

"Okay." With that, Avoca was gone.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

As soon as Parsley crossed over through the RoSaT and into the prime timeline, she scanned the ambient powers present for Jinzi's minuscule one and made a beeline for him. In her hand was the notebook which contained Project Parted Glass, the plan alternate Jinzi - what was left of him - devised for someone, anyone to defeat him and undo his plan. At least, that was what she assumed it was. It was encoded, so there was really no telling.

"Pants," she called out. "I have an assignment for you." She opened the notebook and showed him the code. "Your alternate wrote this as a means of defeating the Doctor, but it's encoded. I figure you're the only one who can decrypt it. Also," she showed him the pictures she took of the equations and formulas, "I was hoping you could make sense of this."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

After returning to the main timeline Praxat approaches Jinzi." Jinzi I want to work alongside you, and I have something for you to look it," Praxat said. Praxat takes out a formula from a her right pocket." It's a formula for molecular miniaturization which I been working on for a long time, four years in fact, Praxat said.

Praxat takes out her jobox. " Also, while in that another time line we discover that there was this stuff call tech rot, and I believe my goggles and a device that was on my chest may have been infected. So I am going to be examining them later for any signs of infection," Praxat said.

[grampagen]

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.

Ochazuke briefly glanced over the group photograph, warily sequestering this image behind his palm. They'd come to this desolate place searching for information, but contained in this figment, there appeared to be a rupture in understanding. Memories of things yet come to past, torn from the world that framed it, left to dust, there was a fretful notion that slowly crept into his mind. That in this image was not just a snapshot of a moment, a pivotal instance that marked a change.

That perhaps the Divergence was not simply a linear ripple cast across the surface of Time, but a taste of things to come.

One more glimpse into a false future. On its surface the spiderweb of folds creased the image from where a fretful hand once rest upon it. Across this span shall we measure the difference.

The reflection of the dim light fell upon the uneven, gloss surface. Fragments of dull white split the cohesive whole, obscuring what once was into a faded, shattered mosaic.

Wilhelm pauses as he shuts the computers down.

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

A figment. Nothing more. The thoughts permeated his mind as much to ground his thoughts as much to console them. Ochazuke's glance fell over Parsley and Sasheem for a moment. This is one course. It is not ours.

How much should one glimpse into the future? He had no doubt most of their company would not be so easily swayed, but there were those who would turn from a path entirely for spite's sake. As he approached the assembly at the centre of the house, he approached Wilhelm. Perhaps none would be more guarded of approaching one future than the man who had lost everything.

"We need to talk." Pulling him aside, Ochazuke silently lift the photograph to view. All the faces were familiar except one.

The red-haired woman.

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

As they left the Doctor's homestead and approached the portal, Ochazuke stalled in his step and cast his glance behind him. In this shaded hellscape spinning before a dying sun, only a single structure remained.

"Go on ahead," he said, turning about face to return to the site. "I'll follow shortly."

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.

Their examination of the Capsule House had been thorough, but by the Doctor's own words, this should not have been. When he had touched his hand to it, he felt it. But in the dead silence where every breath, every blink seemed to cut through the air, he could not isolate it. Now Ochazuke sought to uncover the innermost secrets of this corossion.

Banjakuza.

Reaching out towards the walls of the Capsule House once more with his field of sense-awareness, he imbued the structure with his ki, applying Ishiki Toei to stem the erosion. For a span which seemed to stretch far longer than it was, Ochazuke watched, waiting.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Wilhelm nods.

“Char... Banner Gero..., she’s a friend of...Jinzi’s. As smart..., maybe more so in a few...ways.”

————

Ochazuke, your examination yields a minor result. Eventually you see the section start to crumble away to ash, almost disintegrating before his eyes.

Whatever the rot is, it appears to be biological in nature and not technological. But you think it should be safe to capsule the house if you wanted to.

[grampagen]

Wilhelm nods.

“Char... Banner Gero..., she’s a friend of...Jinzi’s. As smart..., maybe more so in a few...ways.”

Now this was not a name that was familiar. Indeed, the knowledge he had of Jinzi was what befell them within the group or of matters held in private confidence. With all the time spent in preparation for battle, it was sometimes easy to forget that Pantaloon's brand had, in a sense, a life of its own. Capsule, Incorporated.

"Is that so." the Old Terran seemed to be familiar with her, which could mean only one thing. "Then I believe an introduction is in order. When we return, I'll escort you back to Capital City."

Ochazuke, your examination yields a minor result. Eventually you see the section start to crumble away to ash, almost disintegrating before his eyes.

Whatever the rot is, it appears to be biological in nature and not technological. But you think it should be safe to capsule the house if you wanted to.

Reinforcing the structure, Ochazuke continued to feed ki into the Capsule House to test its reaction.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Now this was not a name that was familiar. Indeed, the knowledge he had of Jinzi was what befell them within the group or of matters held in private confidence. With all the time spent in preparation for battle, it was sometimes easy to forget that Pantaloon's brand had, in a sense, a life of its own. Capsule, Incorporated.

"Is that so." the Old Terran seemed to be familiar with her, which could mean only one thing. "Then I believe an introduction is in order. When we return, I'll escort you back to Capital City."



Reinforcing the structure, Ochazuke continued to feed ki into the Capsule House to test its reaction.

Wilhelm nods.

“She is....upgrading...Adam. She should be...back by now.”

Ochazuke, your ki reinforcement seems to strengthen the walls against the rot, and you can see the rot abate. It doesn’t reverse, and eventually it will eat through the ki and then attack the capsule once more.

Further investigation points out that The Doctor rigged a solar generator to the capsule walls to feed energy into them to keep the rot at bay.

[grampagen]

Wilhelm nods.

“She is....upgrading...Adam. She should be...back by now.”

At the mention of the cyborg, it became implicit just where Banner-Gero's expertise lay. The malleable machine-man was, after all, the legacy work of a man since departed. Jinzi's manner of design in matter synthesis was evident all through the Capsule Geofront - perhaps the structure of the nanite-concrete and the Healing Pods were the current limits of his understanding.

Adam, nanites. Technorganic rot. Far too much for this to be a coincidence. Ochazuke nodded somberly to Wilhelm as he palmed the photograph.

"I'm certain our company will be eager to meet them both."

Ochazuke, your ki reinforcement seems to strengthen the walls against the rot, and you can see the rot abate. It doesnÂ’t reverse, and eventually it will eat through the ki and then attack the capsule once more.

Further investigation points out that The Doctor rigged a solar generator to the capsule walls to feed energy into them to keep the rot at bay.

Energy, focused and applied to the structure itself, stemmed the advance of the rot, but only for a time. So it does not pursue consumption indiscriminately...otherwise we would have died in moments...

There was a curious device on the roof, its mottled surface reaching toward a blackened sky. With what they now knew, under the circumstances, the application of solar power seemed a little off-putting. Curious. Why was this piece of technology not consumed?

Ki, the expression of living energy; the sun, the life-giver. Imbuing a non-living structure with some facsimile of living energy slowed the entropy, but only just so. Yet there was not so much a blade of grass on the ground or any sight of even the lowest vermin that he could sense. Its residue continues to eat away, but there is no immediate source. Like finding a faint residue of toxin, this was only the lingering effect of the design.

Maintaining the reinforcement of Ishiki Toei over the majority of the dome, Ochazuke test yet another variable. He focused on a certain section of the wall, lift his hand toward it, and fell Kongosho upon it to survey the effects of a net energy neutralization.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

At the mention of the cyborg, it became implicit just where Banner-Gero's expertise lay. The malleable machine-man was, after all, the legacy work of a man since departed. Jinzi's manner of design in matter synthesis was evident all through the Capsule Geofront - perhaps the structure of the nanite-concrete and the Healing Pods were the current limits of his understanding.

Adam, nanites. Technorganic rot. Far too much for this to be a coincidence. Ochazuke nodded somberly to Wilhelm as he palmed the photograph.

"I'm certain our company will be eager to meet them both."



Energy, focused and applied to the structure itself, stemmed the advance of the rot, but only for a time. So it does not pursue consumption indiscriminately...otherwise we would have died in moments...

There was a curious device on the roof, its mottled surface reaching toward a blackened sky. With what they now knew, under the circumstances, the application of solar power seemed a little off-putting. Curious. Why was this piece of technology not consumed?

Ki, the expression of living energy; the sun, the life-giver. Imbuing a non-living structure with some facsimile of living energy slowed the entropy, but only just so. Yet there was not so much a blade of grass on the ground or any sight of even the lowest vermin that he could sense. Its residue continues to eat away, but there is no immediate source. Like finding a faint residue of toxin, this was only the lingering effect of the design.

Maintaining the reinforcement of Ishiki Toei over the majority of the dome, Ochazuke test yet another variable. He focused on a certain section of the wall, lift his hand toward it, and fell Kongosho upon it to survey the effects of a net energy neutralization.

With no energy, the rot quickly consumes the section.

The solar generator on top appears to be made of a familiar fluid machine like substance. Portions of Adam were able to keep the collector from being rotted away.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As soon as Parsley crossed over through the RoSaT and into the prime timeline, she scanned the ambient powers present for Jinzi's minuscule one and made a beeline for him. In her hand was the notebook which contained Project Parted Glass, the plan alternate Jinzi - what was left of him - devised for someone, anyone to defeat him and undo his plan. At least, that was what she assumed it was. It was encoded, so there was really no telling.

"Pants," she called out. "I have an assignment for you." She opened the notebook and showed him the code. "Your alternate wrote this as a means of defeating the Doctor, but it's encoded. I figure you're the only one who can decrypt it. Also," she showed him the pictures she took of the equations and formulas, "I was hoping you could make sense of this."

Jinzi smiles a bit, thinking of Meagan and visiting her soon thanks to the portal, when she approaches him.

Jinzi starts flipping through the book, pauses, then frowns.

He takes a closer look at the pictures and his eyes start to glaze over. He blinks rapidly, eyes moving back and forth as he quickly stands, book in hand, and moves to his mobile lab as if in a trance. His fingers start flying over the keyboard, info flying across the screen as he gets absorbed into his work.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

After returning to the main timeline Praxat approaches Jinzi." Jinzi I want to work alongside you, and I have something for you to look it," Praxat said. Praxat takes out a formula from a her right pocket." It's a formula for molecular miniaturization which I been working on for a long time, four years in fact, Praxat said.

Praxat takes out her jobox. " Also, while in that another time line we discover that there was this stuff call tech rot, and I believe my goggles and a device that was on my chest may have been infected. So I am going to be examining them later for any signs of infection," Praxat said.

Jinzi would have replied had he not suddenly stood and moved to his mobile lab, absorbed in what Parsley had shown him. His fingers are flying across the keyboard at an inhuman speed, faster then he should be able to Praxat would think.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Her worry eases a bit, as she looks back up at Eva, "Thank you, Lady Eva. The big question now is, will Charco agree to this? or will he back out? Men can be so strange at times. It's like... asking for help is an unforgivable sin. Yet they expect you to read their minds and know everything." Cyanna then wraps her arms around her chest and leans back slightly, "If Charco refuses to ask or help, maybe I'll go in his place. Either way, he's going to get help. Too many people have helped me out all the time. I'm old enough now to take care of myself and others, I'm not a little kid anymore."

She then relaxes, letting her arms drop to her sides, "There is something else. I have heard from Dash that she met another Dash, yet no one has said that they have actually met other versions of my sister or me. Then again, I guess the odds of actually meeting alternate versions must be pretty high, huh? Do you think there are alternate versions of you? Of Charco?"

Shrugging her shoulders, "Guess I'm being silly again. It's just, it feels like there is a cosmic conspiracy against brother Jinzi. If anyone tried to hurt him, or Charco, or Meagan, and I saw it happening, I'd knock their lights out. I just want them to be happy. "

“There are versions of us all, I’m sure. And I know how you feel, Cyanna. Jinzi, for all his manic nature, has been a dear friend for a long time. If anyone seeks to harm him I’ll stand beside you and punch them out.” She says, smiling at her.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat walks next to Wilhelm." Wilhelm I will be examining my goggles and the device that was on my chest for signs of tech rot. Also I will be requesting schematics for that space ship Jinzi requested, and I will be testing out my molecular miniaturization formula which I been working on for four years," Praxat said.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Jinzi smiles a bit, thinking of Meagan and visiting her soon thanks to the portal, when she approaches him.

Jinzi starts flipping through the book, pauses, then frowns.

He takes a closer look at the pictures and his eyes start to glaze over. He blinks rapidly, eyes moving back and forth as he quickly stands, book in hand, and moves to his mobile lab as if in a trance. His fingers start flying over the keyboard, info flying across the screen as he gets absorbed into his work.

As Parsley hoped, Jinzi took to the new information with the gusto and otherworldly enthusiasm that only a transcendent genius could muster. She posited silently that it wouldn't be long before he made a breakthrough on at least the encrypted plans. The equations would likely take longer, but that was safely on the backburner for the moment.

She nodded to herself and stepped away, leaving him to his work.

"Avoca said she'll see you at home," Sarada said.

"Oh. That's fine." She had been hoping Avoca would stay, if only for her own sanity. There was only so much foolishness she could tolerate before she said something... unbecoming. Not that that stopped her in the past, but she had been withholding her otherwise sharp tongue when it came to the likes of Praxat and the other frogs. Any more and she was going to cut them to ribbons.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Later Praxat approaches Blizzar," Blizzar can you contact GP I would like to request schematics for the spaceship Jinzi requested. I need to go over the schematics of the ship so I can repair it if suffers any damage," Praxat said.

Meanwhile Qaztoh has finished programming the software for her virtual testing simulator and walks out of her room," Okay now that's done I'm going to head over to Capsule Corp and do research on biotechnology and genetic engineering for the liquid solution for my Egg production reducer," Qaztoh said.

Qaztoh than uses her watch to teleport to Capsule Corp.

Meanwhile Althena is still in Eva's library and is reading a book, " I'm learning a lot from reading these books, and they are so interesting ," Althena said.