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

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"I figure that most of the stuff that you told Cyanna, and me about the stuff my grandmother Araxat did with her Telekinesis is largely exaggerated. First off, you claim that my grandmother could control a person's thoughts and feelings with her mind. However, if this was true. She would have already done so, but she hasn't," Praxat said.

" Then there's the claim that she can reanimate the dead. I don't see any zombies. Which means she can't really do that. Oh, and then there's the whole controlling the weather," Praxat said.

" The weather hasn't suddenly changed. So that points to the fact that my grandmother can't control he weather with her mind either. As for controlling technology. It's mostly likely she has a device that allows her to do that," Praxat said.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

When Sarada landed on the island farm of Grinthorn's, she found that he and Inanna were still talking. She was perplexed. How interesting could magic actually be?!

He chuckles.

“Maybe I’ll pay Father and the Grand Priest a visit. Show them I’m free. Won’t that surprise them?”

!!!

"**** that," she spat. She marched forward and stood between Inanna and Grinthorn. "No one is stupid or gullible enough to free you on purpose, so just squash that thought, you piece of ****. You were bound for a reason and I sure as hell don't plan on letting anyone unlock your shackles."

Well, no one except Sasheem was stupid enough. But, the Majin wasn't there, so it was a moot point.

King Vocado and those who allied themselves with him battled the Dragon thousands of years ago. He and they won, and Eldfin was bound to Earth, his balls scattered. She knew for a fact that at least two of them were on Vocado as she spoke, so there was zero chance of him being able to free himself by gathering all seven together. Besides, he didn't even know they were back in play, so that was yet another thing in their favor.

"I know all about how Vocado and his allies kicked your ass back in the day and you've been slumming it here on Earth ever since. Don't think that's about to change any time soon."

[grampagen]

2 Years Ago

In the middle of the wind-swept sea, the summer's sky brought to light the ocean's bounty. This far from the coast, untouched by man, the scores and schools migrated across their waters. Thousands, tens of thousands of fish broke the surface, their skins stretched into a living mirror that shimmered over that expanse of endless blue. Skipping over the deep as it rose and fell, feather-fins flit in brief rebellion to their habitat, and they struggled to find their the way of the sun to escape the shadows below them; Their path was flanked by the leviathans of the deep.

The ocean seemed to come alive, gathering itself into welling pockets that stretched the tide. The fish's great leaps grew more frequent, yet they bounds far shallower as if the water itself seemed to sink deeper. Over and over again attempting to escape the shadowy maws below, the sea seemed to spite them all by design of the Blue-grey swathes that broke the aquamarine field beneath them. On the surface, great, broad backs spout salt spray before a single fin and the baleen whales widened their enormous bristling maws to sweep their bounty in one big draught. Before their enormous appetites, the lives of fish were nothing, callously sundering the waters before disappearing entiely beneath the frothing waves.

Witness to the sight, Kamesennin Kuki stood balanced upon a spinning orb. Vast tail-fins fell a thickmist of salt spray that parted against his silent aura. As the gargantuan beasts plunged back to the deep fathoms from where they had arisen, in short order, he found himself alone again, gliding noiselessly forward as all signs of life stilled. He had not so much as even the call of a gull for company over that deserted blue, deathly silent as if nothing had occurred at all. The rushing tides rose and fell, drifting aimlessly to nowhere and the sun shone so brightly it was nearly blinding.

"I miss m'cloister."

Though lifeless at the boundary of air and water, despite what met the naked eye the place was teeming with life and with that a chaotic urging, wild and savage. Precarious place. The big fish eat the little fish. They in turn are swallowed whole by something else entirely; and fathoms below, they were all of them the rotted fodder for worms and crabs.

"What's th'ocean but a giant kinda stream anywho?"

Ishii, his little turtle companion, rose up beside him. His shell stilled in its path, wreathed in a second carapace of his own ki, rotating and pushing the air and sea aside. He peeked its head out and shot up over and past Kuki towards their destination. Cheeky little thing. He never taught him that one.

Ah, to fly!

Clasping his feet on the edges of the ball of ki, throwing his palm over the top he gave it a bit of a boost, and soon the gleaming saltwater was cut by a line of white foam. To what dwelt below, it was a sure sign of good eatingm but only if they could catch him. The only way they'd draw out this old hermit was with something he wanted.

How long had it been since that day he decided to leave the Turtle School? To start walking until he could walk no further? He ended up in the northernmost region mostly because it was too cold to swim. It was the perfect place, but the Frozen Fall had since shattered into the desolate shores below it. Thus solitude had eluded the Old Turtle once more. All at once he had found he was short of other places to return to.

According to the letter from the Master of the Masters, this Zxu'ro fellow called Young Ocha back to 'The Place of Birth'. In his own way, Kuki sought to return to where his own journey in this started. It'd been ages! He wonderd, did Turtle Island still look the same? Pouring more ki into his little spherical scooter, he began to pick up speed, pushing off against the waves toward a horizon. Slowly, little pieces of civilization picked up, barnacle-flecked bell-buoys bobbing and chiming with the wind, and the fat, smelly trash-birds parked their webbed feet on them. The first thing he saw made his eyes crinkle worse than the reflected sun glare.

Welcome to Turtle Island!

The painted flowers of this peeling touristy sign was lined with rust and streaks of white guano. So much for secret orders, closed-door duels, and rites of honour. They sold out! And when he found Turtle Island itself, the sight was more ghastly and pitiful than he could imagine. Among the ashen grounds where a few whisps of green choked on the salty air, he saw it.

A Martial Arts Battle Royale! Thunder on the Edge of Paradise!

This was meant to be a place of refuge, an isolated spot where Abbot Yoroi founded the monastic order. After he left the side of the Master of Masters, he rowed out to sea and found a storm, and ever since founding Turtle Island, he'd offer it as a refuge for those who wished to listen. Everybody wanted to find a secret to enlightenment, as if it was some cure-all that could be crafted as simply as pressing a pill to pop. As if that was a task for anybody else! How're you supposed to find yourself if you can't even hear yourself think?!

Test your mettle against Simon Battersea! Can YOU claim the crown of the Strongest?

It didn't used to be like this. Not in his day, at least. The warrior's path itself was proof that even the Founder was not so beyond the immediate concerns of this world. Kuki himself had trained to represent the Turtle Monks in the Tournament of Succession, and when that little spitfire went berserk, he was among those that came back with Grand Abbot Umehara that day. Had it been so long that they never shook off the love for violence that they'd decided to host such a thing here? Imbibing empty virtue, all that remained, in turn was emptiness.

Sponsored by Hetap.

Well, truth be told, he hadn't exactly relished the role that he'd soon found himself in. 'Master,' what a conceit. There was hardly a respectful word or deed for somebody who'd come into the role of Master, especially for one of the Illustrious Five...of which there were Four. They used to come at him swinging, seeing legacy alumni as nothing more than a marked man. One week he was an easy target sweeping the steps of the stone temple, the next they'd kowtow and offer an old man a hand. Please teach me, they'd say, after he'd gone upside their heads.

Teach them what?

Everyone was ready to win, to push their way in front of someone else, and they called that a total victory. Pathetic! As if a show of force would make them acknowledged as the Head of the School, completely ignorant that as much as their heads swelled, the weaker the scholarly body became behind them. Easy trap to fall into, really, the unexamined ego is subject to all kinds of insecure animal fear. All the same it wasn't much better whether they were with him or against him. A lot of those folks styled themselves Turtles only because Old Kuki would bail them out if they started some mess; and if trouble came calling for them, well, Old Kuki and trouble, they had reached an understanding.

That wasn't respect. That was fear.

[grampagen]

There used to be trees on Turtle Island. Now there were only the lichens and dead barnacles stuck to the drowning rocks he set foot upon, a sobering reminder of what the long years had done to the place. Kuki stepped slowly over these cold, nostalgic ashes, haunted by the affect of his memories torn from a place grounded in reality. The old Sanghas did say nothing lasted forever, but it is not so easy for a man to detach himself from his roots.

Eskramato never wanted any part of this. In fact that was part of the reason why he chose him as his successor. There was a spark in that boy that there wasn't on the island. Many came and go, fewer had the drive to win, much the will to work on themselves. But Eskramato, that boy had the wherewithal to learn, and the foresight to teach! Half of the monks weren't even true devotees, even back in his day. What's the world come to when novices and apostates were more sincere than those who pledged their lives? They said the words but never took them to heart, and so they They only took the cloth and shaved their heads to cover their own arses. When he first met the kid, he wanted to take the teachings global, fit them to suit a changing world. Well!

But nowadays that Young Master...

...wait, it must had been over thirty years since he'd left the School in his hands. He's probably well into his seventies by now. Hum.

When Kuki closed his eyes and cast his sensory field about the charred rocks, those ashen tree roots, the hallowed seats ground to dust beneath the crumbling steel arena, he could still see the island as he had remembered it. Long before digital eyes littered this place and made it a spectacle, the core of the island pushed out from of the fiery ocean depths millenia ago, rising into the fertile crescents descending from the mount. The spring falls once trickled to feed the swaying trees, sinking their roots deep into the limestone and shale. They once anchoring the refuge and held it fast to the flux of the elements and ages. As he walked through the grounds, passing through the shattered false-arch where he'd received his initiation, crossing the open-air walkway now ground to dust. The meditation hall had been excised entirely, nothing remained here among the shattered screens and bleachers. This monument to what was once lauded as a temple to man's godlike reason now was an empty grave, a marker of his spent debauchery and vanities. It seemed now that karma came for the Turtle Monks and their empty vows. Built on a foundation of nothing, little remained of this formative world, only stagnant pools under his feet, rippling in the wind. Whatever befell this place assuredly took the shell of the Turtle and stripped its bones bare.

Curiously, the smell of brine spread wide, and he was slightly aghast when he saw why. Seawater gashed through the temple grounds like an open wound, as if something fell from heaven and mortally smote it. Even in this construct of man's cultivation, the Turtle Hermit found the savage ocean once again, the ancient halls of his order submerged in death. If there was anything left, it wouldn't be on the surface, he wold have to take the deep dive into its guts.

As the one-armed hermit leapt into the briny deep waters, in complete pitch darkness, he pulled himself through that inky brine, chasing after the steps of his memory; down, left. Past the old grottos where the shokushinbutsu left their mortal shells sealed forever in meditation, immortalizing the suffering of this material world, soon to be vittles for bottomfeeders like all the rest. Further still, past the ancient archive containing the Elders' choice prayers passed down the ages, fated to be nothing more than washed in and rotted pulp where the waters now touched it. Deeper still, past the Room of the Forbidden Seal, of which his order was forbidden to even speak of, and the Masters of his lineage had long sworn to protect though they no longer knew why.

No, all these fixtures remained in place where they were left years ago. He dove deeper still, and reached out with his subtle sense for something more mundane; a thing that would last. The air held in his body slowly began to burn against his nose and throat, and when his ki brushed against pockets of air, it was not the otherworldly essence in this fell, dark grotto he noticed first, but the pocket of stagnant air. There was another hidden chamber, one time itself refused to move. Holding his hand alight with ki, he found an ancient cask in this alcove. It was passed to him from Abbot Umehara, a sacred testament he'd sworn to secrecy, even from his disciples. By the faint light of a small orb of energy, he seized the lock and pulled it open. Yoroi's testament...this Sapphire Shell. Bit of a vanity for a monk, what was this?

Cautiously, he laid a hand upon the ancient artifact, and in the ebbing light, reached into it. The broad back of a sea turtle that was hunted to extinction, it nonetheless still held within it an eerie living presence, as if a collective soul had been bound into these plates bones. As he held it in his single hand, Kuki heard the ancient voices rise slowly as he interfaced with its energy, and the matter of his own aged soul resonated with what it held within. A vision of familiar motions, he knew them well, from the first steps, to the nuanced stirrings of a phantom limb on his left side.

These inner secrets were nearly lost, likely since his cohorts had sold out to prop up this 'Simon Battersea.' The rest of the island would likely long forgotten by now, just like this grotto; its wreckage indecipherable. The fate of the Greater Turtle School was left in Eskramato's hands.

Sealed within the Sapphire Shell was the collective consciousness of the Kame-Ryu Soke no Ken: the Originator's Fist. The entire history of the Turtle School since Yoroi the Elder...and a fleeting vision of a lineage he had not seen before.

What's more, this artifact was not rendered by any means the Turtles had at their disposal. He recognized it for he crossed hands many times before: This was a Dragon's technique.

Heaving the adamantine shell over his shoulders, Kuki found his descent back into the pitch black waters that much easier, and as strode out upon the ocean floor, dragging himself to the surface was a fresh new challenge. Still, a turtle bides his time and considers carefully, always forging forward at a steady pace. Records are always twisted by the eye of the beholder, but to experience the Turtle School's deepest secrets in its totality required a more intimate look at the lost memory and testimony. The Master of Masters may have been there at the beginning, but time marches on; and the longer a memory is stretched, the easier it is to forget.

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
Percy Bysshe Shelley "Ozymandias"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Blizzar merely nodded in response to the Oni revealing the location fo the mine. From there he promptly dashed out....through a window smashing it in the process as he sped towards the cavern of hidden riches that had eluded him for si long.

When Blizzar reached the Mine, he realized quickly he could have done this at any time. There were locked gates, or barriers to prevent his entrance. Not even magical wards, or some other manner of hidden trap to deny him the treasure he sought to find ... no. In the end there was nothing more than a simple cavern passage down to the heart of the mountain.

What he'd find at the end of this, however ? A room that contained the one thing that might fill the void he'd attempted to fill his entire life, with material gains.


... all he'd need to do is reach out and grab it. But it couldn't be that easy, could it ?

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

With everyone who'd come strapped in and ready, Inanna chugged her coffee and with a puff of Hakai to erase the now empty cup from existence she couldn't help but wonder as she ran her final checks.

"Wonder if that Necromancer's still there ..."

Not giving anyone time to ruminate on what she'd just said -- and perpahs more worryingly what she knew but wasn't saying -- the golden-eyed woman punched it, and as soon as the First Race craft left orbit it vanished without a trace ... through a conveniently, and rather suddenly placed wormhole ... which violently discharged the craft on the other side of the galaxy no more than a few seconds after they departed.

Before anyone could vomit up breakfast or question Inanna's sanity however, the ship's intercom lit up.

"We've arrived."

Not giving them much more time to think about anything but the feast, and fights to come; the golden-eyed woman then punched it again ... and almost as swiftly as they departed were they on solid ground again. Slipping from the Cockpit then Inanna said to everyone.

"Okay so a few things. First, we've touched down just outside the main gate of Reliquary, the only ... er, main city. Will find who we need to speak to about fighting, and where we'll feast yadda yadda ..." Dropping the ramp then, she made her way off of the First Race Cruiser and added with a chuckle.

"Second, eh ... you'll figure it out."

Again, for as many times in as many minutes, the woman left them on the verge of wondering whether or not she was wholly sane ... but as they made their way down off of the Cruiser they'd find themselves face to face with the world they'd come to save.

Phantasmagoria, World of the Damned.

Blackbosom - FFXIV: Far Edge of Fate

[grampagen]

With a thunderous blast, Ochazukes dodonpa hits the snow some distance behind them, electing a surprised yelp from Morgan as it throws up a cloud of powered snow and dirt.

Silence falls with the newly falling snows......At least until Morgan smashes it with a audible huff. "Honestly! If you wanted me to move faster you could have just asked! No need to put holes in the road." With a exaggerated sigh, the girl turned to continue, seemingly oblivious to Ochazukes motives.

As Ochazuke stared at the settling blast, a shadow stepped forward....or more accurately, lurched. A sickening aura of power was suddenly palpable to the point the others present, even the less magically inclined, felt their stomachs twist. Morgan herself shivered and spun around. ".......Ahhh....."

There was a look of realization in her eyes, That led immediately to fear. "...Oh....Oh no....."

Closer now, darkness gave way to a monstrous visage, its body visible exuding power of a nightmarish sort.



"....no...nooo....." Morgan slips backwards on the ground, clutching at her head as she pushes herself into the corner between the wall segments, hiding and cowering. "....run.....stay away.....it'll kill you...."

Unconcerned with the child, the monster beady eyes focus on Ochazuke. It raises a deformed hand and a booming voice reverberates in his skull. "Ah'legeth! ah'mglw'nafh!" Dark magic gathers at the tip of his finger.

As the snow power burst from the hillside, the flash-fire left Zaofan temporarily blinded in the darkness as his eyes adjusted. The burning smoke curled his nostrils, and the Martial Chef lift his staff to its guard.

"Morgan. Morgan!" As the shadows parted, he found himself quite short of words. Gritting his teeth, he threw himself between their Familiar Guide and this fell creature without question, but soon found that was all he could do once he caught sight of the thing. Even from this distance, the figure that pulled itself from that shroud seemed to tread upon legs not meant to stand on land, its shape, its movements like some sort of gaudy imitation of a man.

Ochazuke who stood before this thing, felt the guttural words spoke through its mass of feelers pierce straight into his mind. The price for his acquired skill of examining the sublime, acute matters of this universe was the totality of what he had seen, and what he beheld here was beyond the pale.

Few would admit it for the fear of shame, but one finds they do not have a choice when mortal terror falls over them. All the same, all that remains in these moments to accept it. The trembling, heavy steps he took away from the carved mural of Snowwall indicated the limits of his resistance; it felt as if the very world would give out beneath him.

Mushin Nehan

As he stared into the unblinking eyes of this twisted creature, he held up his guard, the gnarled chanting sending a crawling chill through his bones, as if his blood stood exposed to the frozen air. A primeval affect, like the white hares native to this continent in its last fatal gasp in silent talons, pronounced itself as he beheld that piece of dark magic.

Reflexively, he struck out at it. Illuminating the darkness and reflecting off the snow, Ochazuke slashed his arms out before him, and dozens of radiant ki orbs gilded with a razor's edge sped forward, a series of Senko Setsudan aimed at the creature's legs.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

OT: For Tami

Speeding things up a bit.

IC

" Killrog, what have you seen my grandmother really do with her ability? Really do, not what you told you she did," Praxat said.

" Well, I seen her do the following with her telekinesis. Control a person's movements. Suspend a person in mid-air, fly, teleport, lifting a building size boulder, Using it to enhance her physical capabilities," Killrog said.

" When I was a child. Araxat used her telekinesis to save me from a Vear. I seen her used her telekinesis to take out the Vear and also seen her use it to mend her wounds," Killrog said.

I don't know how she exactly took out the Vear, but it just suddenly stop as if it had been lobotomized. I seen her use it to perceive her surroundings," Killrog said.

" What do you mean you saw my grandmother use this Telekinesis of hers to perceive her surroundings?" Killrog said.

" Well, you don't know this, but Araxat is blind. She can't physically see. In fact, she doesn't have any eyes, just empty eye sockets. She told me she was born without eyes, So she pretty much uses her telekinesis to see," Killrog said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

When Sarada landed on the island farm of Grinthorn's, she found that he and Inanna were still talking. She was perplexed. How interesting could magic actually be?!



!!!

"**** that," she spat. She marched forward and stood between Inanna and Grinthorn. "No one is stupid or gullible enough to free you on purpose, so just squash that thought, you piece of ****. You were bound for a reason and I sure as hell don't plan on letting anyone unlock your shackles."

Well, no one except Sasheem was stupid enough. But, the Majin wasn't there, so it was a moot point.

King Vocado and those who allied themselves with him battled the Dragon thousands of years ago. He and they won, and Eldfin was bound to Earth, his balls scattered. She knew for a fact that at least two of them were on Vocado as she spoke, so there was zero chance of him being able to free himself by gathering all seven together. Besides, he didn't even know they were back in play, so that was yet another thing in their favor.

"I know all about how Vocado and his allies kicked your ass back in the day and you've been slumming it here on Earth ever since. Don't think that's about to change any time soon."

He quirks his head to the side.

“Such conviction. Yet surprising things happen all the time. You yourself have traversed universes and dimensions and timelines, your Majesty. More unbelievable things have happened a dozen times over then me being freed. Especially with...so many interested and interesting parties around.”

He gestures at Inanna.

“God-Ki. What a wonder to sense again. A rarer possibility then my being released, yet here it sits before us. Don’t say never, your Highness. The universe is full of potential and possibilities, and I am...very patient after the last time.”

[Yun Lao]

No words were offered between the mum ... my, and Inanna; but as the individual slipped into one of the seats, a mug of Coffeeception™ materialized in front of it on a katchin platter.

Animating as if the scent of coffee had revived the figure, they reached forth with both hands, grasping the mug before lifting it... only for the mug to slip out and spilled all over the katchin platter and ship's carpeting. Looking to their bandaged hands as if they had betrayed them, the drifter would remain in such a position until they reached their destination, seemingly stuck in time.

With everyone who'd come strapped in and ready, Inanna chugged her coffee and with a puff of Hakai to erase the now empty cup from existence she couldn't help but wonder as she ran her final checks.

"Wonder if that Necromancer's still there ..."

Not giving anyone time to ruminate on what she'd just said -- and perpahs more worryingly what she knew but wasn't saying -- the golden-eyed woman punched it, and as soon as the First Race craft left orbit it vanished without a trace ... through a conveniently, and rather suddenly placed wormhole ... which violently discharged the craft on the other side of the galaxy no more than a few seconds after they departed.

Before anyone could vomit up breakfast or question Inanna's sanity however, the ship's intercom lit up.

"We've arrived."

Not giving them much more time to think about anything but the feast, and fights to come; the golden-eyed woman then punched it again ... and almost as swiftly as they departed were they on solid ground again. Slipping from the Cockpit then Inanna said to everyone.

"Okay so a few things. First, we've touched down just outside the main gate of Reliquary, the only ... er, main city. Will find who we need to speak to about fighting, and where we'll feast yadda yadda ..." Dropping the ramp then, she made her way off of the First Race Cruiser and added with a chuckle.

"Second, eh ... you'll figure it out."

Again, for as many times in as many minutes, the woman left them on the verge of wondering whether or not she was wholly sane ... but as they made their way down off of the Cruiser they'd find themselves face to face with the world they'd come to save.

Phantasmagoria, World of the Damned.

It was perhaps here that the stranger had found their environment as their morbid appearance blended in well with the macabre world. An incoherent wheeze exited bandage-covered lips as they stepped out, soaking in the glow of moonlight.

[Yun Lao]

With a thunderous blast, Ochazukes dodonpa hits the snow some distance behind them, electing a surprised yelp from Morgan as it throws up a cloud of powered snow and dirt.

Silence falls with the newly falling snows......At least until Morgan smashes it with a audible huff. "Honestly! If you wanted me to move faster you could have just asked! No need to put holes in the road." With a exaggerated sigh, the girl turned to continue, seemingly oblivious to Ochazukes motives.

As Ochazuke stared at the settling blast, a shadow stepped forward....or more accurately, lurched. A sickening aura of power was suddenly palpable to the point the others present, even the less magically inclined, felt their stomachs twist. Morgan herself shivered and spun around. ".......Ahhh....."

There was a look of realization in her eyes, That led immediately to fear. "...Oh....Oh no....."

Closer now, darkness gave way to a monstrous visage, its body visible exuding power of a nightmarish sort.

"....no...nooo....." Morgan slips backwards on the ground, clutching at her head as she pushes herself into the corner between the wall segments, hiding and cowering. "....run.....stay away.....it'll kill you...."

Unconcerned with the child, the monster beady eyes focus on Ochazuke. It raises a deformed hand and a booming voice reverberates in his skull. "Ah'legeth! ah'mglw'nafh!" Dark magic gathers at the tip of his finger.

To look at the creature was to drive an icy shiv into her gut. It was like her confrontation with the Beast, threatening to cow her into terror, but unlike him, every fiber of her being told Shōchū that this... thing shouldn't exist. Her organic mind reeled trying to comprehend what the monstrosity was, unaware of the threat it posed as it began to chant. Fortunately for her, her cybernetic mind was more focused on the wellbeing of those within her party and her body moved in accordance.

Shifting into a defensive stance, the hidden naginata blade within her staff emerged, its crystalline metal sparking with an energy reminiscent of brilliant white lightning. As the energy intensified in power, so did the audible crackling, resonating like a thunderstrike. Rearing back her weapon, the light of ki trailing behind it, the intensity reached its peak as she swung forward, complimenting Ochazuke's Senko Setsudan with her own Ptera Slash: White Lightning. The blast left a trench of destruction in its wake, melting the ice and snow and blasting apart the frozen earth beneath but the monstrous sorcerer would be sorely troubled should it focus on the flashing light of destruction. A poor herald of ill omen, the lightning-like blast was instead the carrion following the super-sonic slash its proceeding sonic-boom vacuum blade.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He quirks his head to the side.

“Such conviction. Yet surprising things happen all the time. You yourself have traversed universes and dimensions and timelines, your Majesty. More unbelievable things have happened a dozen times over then me being freed. Especially with...so many interested and interesting parties around.”

He gestures at Inanna.

“God-Ki. What a wonder to sense again. A rarer possibility then my being released, yet here it sits before us. Don’t say never, your Highness. The universe is full of potential and possibilities, and I am...very patient after the last time.”

God-Ki? That was the first she had ever heard of that. It sounded... amazing. And Inanna had this?

Sarada glanced back at her love, then again when Grinthorn gestured to her. "First off, Inanna won't be the only one with this so-called God-Ki." She smirked and jabbed a thumb at herself. "I plan on harnessing this power for myself and transcending what it means to be a Saiyan. I'll be a... a Saiyan God!" Yeah, Saiyan God sounded good. Ruling the Saiyan Empire as a God-Queen with the power to rebuff any threat. No one would threaten her people's safety and peace again.

But, that could come when she got home.

"But, enough of that. Don't know why you're gesturing at Inanna. Surely you don't think you can convince her to release you without me finding out and slapping some sense into her? Because you'd be mistaken. My Queen is a curious little minx, but my pimp hand is strong and always ready to smack a bitch back into reality." She pointed a stern finger at him. "And that reality is that you'll die long before you even sniff freedom, you got that!"

[KingofPie]

He does.

A thrumming resonates within him, and he almost hears a hiss?

Samson meanwhile backs up, face set. He holds his hand spit, breathes in, out, then widens his stance and opens his mouth.

“Dragon’s Breathe!”

A gout of ki flame roars from his mouth and strikes the Dragon sigil. After a moment, the fire cuts off and the sigil glows, as if activated.

"Okay...think I get how this works now..." Sasheem mused aloud. "Problem is, it has symbols from all Ten Schools and we don't know **** about two of 'em."

[KingofPie]

When Blizzar reached the Mine, he realized quickly he could have done this at any time. There were locked gates, or barriers to prevent his entrance. Not even magical wards, or some other manner of hidden trap to deny him the treasure he sought to find ... no. In the end there was nothing more than a simple cavern passage down to the heart of the mountain.

What he'd find at the end of this, however ? A room that contained the one thing that might fill the void he'd attempted to fill his entire life, with material gains.


... all he'd need to do is reach out and grab it. But it couldn't be that easy, could it ?

...why, what was this? No defenses, no guards?! No deathtraps, hidden hazards, deadly beasts? What kind of cavern full of riches was this?! This was no mine, why...it was just some cave! Of all the...

Wait...what was this? Perhaps this was it! The treasures lying therein were implied to magical were they not? It made sense if they were sealed within a container or chest of some sort due to...some...kind of mysticism. Yes! Perhaps all was not lost! All Blizzar would have to do was...simply grab it....but wait!

The Arcosian retracted his hand before it could even get to within a foot of the prize. No, no, this would require a bit more caution...After all, perhaps the true hazards lay therein. Carefully, Blizzar drew it towards himself using his telekinesis...

[Sub-Zero MKA]

With everyone who'd come strapped in and ready, Inanna chugged her coffee and with a puff of Hakai to erase the now empty cup from existence she couldn't help but wonder as she ran her final checks.

"Wonder if that Necromancer's still there ..."

Not giving anyone time to ruminate on what she'd just said -- and perpahs more worryingly what she knew but wasn't saying -- the golden-eyed woman punched it, and as soon as the First Race craft left orbit it vanished without a trace ... through a conveniently, and rather suddenly placed wormhole ... which violently discharged the craft on the other side of the galaxy no more than a few seconds after they departed.

Before anyone could vomit up breakfast or question Inanna's sanity however, the ship's intercom lit up.

"We've arrived."

Not giving them much more time to think about anything but the feast, and fights to come; the golden-eyed woman then punched it again ... and almost as swiftly as they departed were they on solid ground again. Slipping from the Cockpit then Inanna said to everyone.

"Okay so a few things. First, we've touched down just outside the main gate of Reliquary, the only ... er, main city. Will find who we need to speak to about fighting, and where we'll feast yadda yadda ..." Dropping the ramp then, she made her way off of the First Race Cruiser and added with a chuckle.

"Second, eh ... you'll figure it out."

Again, for as many times in as many minutes, the woman left them on the verge of wondering whether or not she was wholly sane ... but as they made their way down off of the Cruiser they'd find themselves face to face with the world they'd come to save.

Phantasmagoria, World of the Damned.

Blackbosom - FFXIV: Far Edge of Fate

"Ah, **** me!" Avoca leaned forward in a desperately futile attempt to keep her lunch exactly where it was and not sprayed all over the seatback in front of her. She had no idea the relevance when Inanna told her they were going to be traveling via First Race ship. She knew what it was, thanks to Parsley telling her literally everything over the course of a few years; she didn't know how it worked and that it had fucking wormholes or portals or ****. The double lurching had her stomach doing backflips.

"Ugh..." That stupid Oni...demon... whatever was being too mysterious and chipper for her taste. All she wanted to do was fight and eat. It wasn't much, but she felt she was going to have to go through a lot of bullshit before she got what she wanted.

Sarada charged out of the ship and down the gangplank. "Whoa," she exclaimed once she got a load of their new surroundings. "This place is dank as ****."

"It's like a horror movie," Parsley noted, walking up beside her.

Avoca was the last of the trio to exit the ship and look around at this unknown planet. "What the ****?" It looked like a literal graveyard. Graves with plus signs on top of them filled her eyeline. The air was foggy, adding a chilling ambiance to an already unnerving environment. Avoca wasn't afraid, but she was wary. Whatever they were to fight before their feast was likely watching at this very moment. And thanks to Sarada having the focus of a gerbil and thus unable to use Parsley's observation ability, they would never know.

"So... let's head to that building over there. Seems like a great place to fight some monsters," she suggested.