Dragonball M, Chapter 4: Kidnapping! Invasion! A new Threat Strikes First!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The Queen also holds her hands out to Dash.

“The crystal, child, if...you...please.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Momentarily reacting with a look of disgust, Etrina steadied her magic and continued to focus on the Rune while steeling her mind and will to whatever was attempting to worm in.

"...Zaofan, Neva....get ready to pull your energy into the rune. Even the the life energy of this planet is clean....we'll purge every last bit of taint with this." Her hands flashed, weaving a symbol in the air. Above her, her four foci connected with the Rune below them by tethered strings of mana....binding to the run array and focusing their efforts on preparing it to receive the purifying energy for delivery.

Internally, Etrina gritted her teeth. ".....you'll not bother me...whatever you are.........I'm busy....."

Pain lances through Etrina’s kind as someone attempts to take her mind over.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sasheem rushes back up towards Auroc with his Mamba Boost, his Naga Palm out once again as he uses two of his arms to grab Auroc's in an attempt to swiftly wrap them into a pretzel.

Auroc grunts as he does so, trapping him.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Nothing.

Not surprising; if this being was able to cross universes despite the lock the God of Gods placed on theirs, then he was far beyond her mind to comprehend. Regardless, his reasons - the ones with which he was forthcoming - were in line with her own.

He allowed Goku to pass over into her universe so he could help her achieve the next ascension. "Let's do it!"

The man nods.

“Excellent. You have only a few minutes before this rare convergence ends, and Goku will have to go back to his universe. So your best.”

The man fades from sight as Goku nods determinedly.

“Here.”

He indicates placing his hand on her head.

“So we can move around psychically in a battlefield. We won’t be able to trigger you in our current states.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Hrrk---" Blizzar doubled over almost as the fist hit him. He wasn't going to let that stand as he returned the punch in kind, aiming at the smaller figures chest. A few punches. More than a few. It was his volley of Meteor Jabs! While the intent was to hurt his opponent it was more to gauge the strength of whoever this new adversary was.,

The opponent is weaker, but quicker. Your first blows land and rock them, but their speed lets them get away.

They appear behind you, grabbing your tail, and swinging you into and through multiple boulder chunks of ruined shrine before smashing you into the ground.

[Tami]

The Queen also holds her hands out to Dash.

“The crystal, child, if...you...please.”

Reacting with a slight start, "Oh, yeah, right, of course." She then moves quickly back over to them, then hands the Crystal to the Queen. Relieved that the crystal will be put to good use and that she no longer had to worry about it, Dash steps back again. As she does, a wave of ki gently washes over her, taking her Fire Armor with it and leaving her in her basic Spider Armor.

Unless something happens, she felt almost confident that enough of her own ki remained to resummon one of her Elemental armors if needed. To be sure, she powered down to conserve as much as possible.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The man nods.

“Excellent. You have only a few minutes before this rare convergence ends, and Goku will have to go back to his universe. So your best.”

The man fades from sight as Goku nods determinedly.

“Here.”

He indicates placing his hand on her head.

“So we can move around psychically in a battlefield. We won’t be able to trigger you in our current states.”

She wanted to ask the man again who he was, but she was also sure she wouldn't have gotten much but a vague answer. The whims of these higher beings were beyond the thoughts of mere mortals like her, to the point that even learning his name would have melted her mind.

Or something.

At the moment, it wasn't really a concern of hers. There was power to be unlocked and a pretender to be killed. From the feel of things, the battle with Auroc hadn't ended yet; she had time to get a few shots in to repay him for his actions on Vocado.

When Goku placed his hand on her head, she hesitated, but reciprocated. Psychic training was an unfamiliar, but interesting notion for her. "So everything we do in this psychic battlefield will translate to the real world?"

[Tami]

"Yeah, I'm fine. A mage did attempt to suffocate me, though. The thought of having the moisture of my skin dried out and suffocating made me angry, and it wasn't normal anger either. It was different when I got angry, I had felt a surge of bioelectricity run through my eyes briefly," Praxat said.

" It was something that has never happen before when I got angry," Praxat said.

Reacting with a slight start, "Oh, yeah, right, of course." She then moves quickly back over to them, then hands the Crystal to the Queen. Relieved that the crystal will be put to good use and that she no longer had to worry about it, Dash steps back again. As she does, a wave of ki gently washes over her, taking her Fire Armor with it and leaving her in her basic Spider Armor.

Unless something happens, she felt almost confident that enough of her own ki remained to resummon one of her Elemental armors if needed. To be sure, she powered down to conserve as much as possible.

That gave Dash an idea. Turning to Praxat, "Come on. Ah think ah know where there may still be some fightin left to do an ah want to test somethin out. Besides, we're just in the way down here anyway." She then gave her friend a pat on the shoulder, "Are you up for it? Cause ah'm itching to do something other than standing still an doin nothing."

[MrSandman]

Pain lances through Etrina’s kind as someone attempts to take her mind over.

"Ochazuke....." Etrina muttered with a wince. "Do you detect anyone nearby.....someone is....trying to poke my brain a bit here, little distracting....."

The Mage tried to focus in on the source while maintaining her array. It was possible the source was close enough to have something be done about it before it became too much of an inconvenience.

[Tami]

"Ochazuke....." Etrina muttered with a wince. "Do you detect anyone nearby.....someone is....trying to poke my brain a bit here, little distracting....."

The Mage tried to focus in on the source while maintaining her array. It was possible the source was close enough to have something be done about it before it became too much of an inconvenience.

Still standing nearby, Dash overhears this and looks around. She then closes her eyes for a moment and a blue wave of Ki washes over her, her armor transforming into the Water Armor, her hair and eyes both turn blue as it does.

Water is life, if there is anyone hiding nearby she should be able to sense them as she senses the water within them. At least in theory.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

That gave Dash an idea. Turning to Praxat, "Come on. Ah think ah know where there may still be some fightin left to do an ah want to test somethin out. Besides, we're just in the way down here anyway." She then gave her friend a pat on the shoulder, "Are you up for it? Cause ah'm itching to do something other than standing still an doin nothing."

" Yeah, I'm up for it," Praxat said. Praxat then hurries back upstairs and searches around.

[Tami]

" Yeah, I'm up for it," Praxat said. Praxat then hurries back upstairs and searches around.

"You go on ahead, ah'll catch up with you." Dash then begins to move around the basement area carefully, trying to sense-out who might be trying to attack Etrina and disrupt the ritual.

[grampagen]

The Queen nods, closes her eyes, and reaches out.

Across the entire planet, small sparks of light start appearing to Ochazuke’s senses. Some are thin, barely able to provide any energy, but others are still power houses.

‘Come, let us throw the shackles off finally. Let us be free! Join me, my people, and let us take Reshlan back once and for all!’

A flood of energy becomes available to Ochazuke, the Queen calling upon and receiving aid in their time of need.

As his sense-awareness resonated with the multitudes of Threshling souls no longer silenced, Ochazuke's thought briefly turned to the past. Years ago he wouldn't have known such a thing. By the way Jagam made his fanatical prayer to his leige, the boisterous challenge of the Bronze Knight come to their company on Earth, the might of this Hermit Empire came time and again in its forceful possession. So convinced they'd been of their superiority, that their desire for cruelty seemed only to be a manner of course.

How strange to find himself standing shoulder to shoulder with their exiled champions in this moment, struggling against the primordial darkness that had grown so familiar through the universe.

As the flood of energy washed over them, Ochazuke gathered these small sparks of hope summoned by the Threshling Royalty, and with this expansion of power came an exponential increase in his sensory ability as he guided their manifest intent towards a fixed point.

Nevanlinna did the same, but rather than reach out, she reached in. Not just to draw out all the magical energy she could muster, but also her Hozon. In a moment, that subtle, calming energy flowed from her and into the array, carefully molded by her will towards stabilizing it while the others did their parts. While she had some issues manipulating at first, after today's battles, it had become more... natural to her, despite her physical fatigue. By no means did she understand all of its deep secrets, but simply using it in a simple and direct manner like this was nearly as easy as using and shaping her ki or magical energy by this point.

And, oddly, she felt as if she were fulfilling her life's purpose with all this. Like she'd been born to facilitate the purging of Auroc from this world and the universe at large. Of course, given Vaikuntha and this Hozon, this... power to preserve, perhaps she had been.

With the added strength of the millions of Threshling Common cresting upon the flow of Genki drawn on the planet, with the augmented power came with it a greatly heightened awareness. Certainly, they had heard the voice of their Queen, but the view of their salvation had turned to the returning princess.

This is good. If they should throw off the veil Auroc placed over their eyes, perhaps then...

No words or thoughts could articulate the spectacle he'd seen now that his view had expanded to a scale of planetary awareness. Their blood and spirits had been sapped to build the font of belief that had crafted this spell. All the multitudes needed to take it back was galvanization. Gradually, by the will of the Preserver, it began to gather.

"Ochazuke....." Etrina muttered with a wince. "Do you detect anyone nearby.....someone is....trying to poke my brain a bit here, little distracting....."

The Mage tried to focus in on the source while maintaining her array. It was possible the source was close enough to have something be done about it before it became too much of an inconvenience.

With the concentrated reserve of an entire planet currently empowering his spiritual awareness, though the expanse of the emergent creature's presence certainly was dwarfed by the resonance between the poles and meridians of this ring-crowned world, the presence that was attempting to corrupt Etrina was one Ochazuke became silently aware of in short order.

Seated there facing the rune and the gathering charge of worldly energies, the attacker had no face, but its spiritual anchoring yet possessed some bearing, some subtle form...upon which it stood narrowly exposed nonetheless.

And while he could not hear what this thing in the ether whispered in Etrina's ear, with the use of a Mastered Kiai he targetting its very presence and uttered a command.

"Silence."

OOC: Genki Charge 7; technique executes next post

[Miburo]

The crystal seems to be a control nexus to Ochazuke, something Auroc could use to better control the various energies he was siphoning and feeding in through his taint.

As you realize this, a massive surge of power seems to make the entire planet shudder. Anyone who is sensing the planet and can sense Auroc’s taint in it can feel a slow but steady pulse of pure unadulterated purification.

The leylines seem to cry out in relief as Held’s attack travels like liquid quicksilver through the energy veins of the planet, scouring away Auroc’s taint on the inside like a high power pressure washer.

His taint remains in the air and soil, but his access to nearly limitless energy is gone, not can he siphon from his people anymore.

The Runic Sigil of destruction remains primed however.

The Nevadian exhaled in relief as the putrefaction of the leylines ceased, cleased by the spiraling power of his pure, cleaning light.

Using his left forearm, he wiped sweat from his brow, fist still gripping the silver spear tightly.

"I love it when a gamble comes together....Although---"

"You conduct yourself well... Nevadian," came a cool, calm voice from behind the Admiral. Suddenly, there was a power... a massive, oppressive, overwhelming power behind him, as if it had simply appeared out of nowhere. "You, however, are an invader, and I, Sefiroth the One-Winged Knight of Auroc, shall expel you and your kind, including the Infidel princess, from Holy Reshlan."

Behind him, he would find a threshling knight, clad in black armor, and with long flowing white hair. In his hand he held a sword... a ridiculously long curved sword. Far too long for any sane man to wield, but one got the sense that this 'Sefiroth' could wield it with deadly speed, power, and precision far beyond what one would expect from its impressive length.

The hairs on the back of the Nevadian's neck stood on edge at the sudden, unexpected energy, his power dwarfing the Nobles he had dispatched by orders of magnitude.

A confident introduction was made as Held turned to face his newest foe----And it went on deaf ears as the Nevadian looked on in utter bewilderment at the knights weapon of choice, a massive, lengthy sword beyond the pale of anything he had witnessed not wielded by giants.

Intuitively, he could sense this was more than a fashion choice, able to tell from a glance that the Threshling was as skilled with the weapon, as the weapon itself was odd.

"Prepare yourself!" The knight raised his hands and dark clouds formed, swirling inwards until an ominous twilight had settled upon the region...


...more oddly, a distinctive, almost "boss music" orchestral theme began playing just as the clouds gathered. The Nevadian would not have time to enjoy the music, however, as Sefiroth, with amazing speed, charged at the Nevadian, swinging his blade towards the Nevadian's neck.[/QUOTE]

The Nevadian had intended on making some witty comment, perhaps linking the size of the blade to the Knight's insecurity--True or not, it was always a valid battle tactic-- but found himself placed on the defensive quicker than expected.

The sudden shift in the environment was disconcerting, but hardly beyond the pale. All manner of madness was to be found in the universe, after all.

It was the music that completely baffled the warrior. Was this the song of his people, that the Knight proudly paraded? More importantly, where was it coming from? It sounded far too close, and too crisp to be simply an audio recording.

Did this ponce bring a choir to their battle, complete with an orchestral? Held could swear he heard chanting, albeit vaguely.

Held found himself more annoyed by this pretension on a very personal level. Was he going to recite poetry over his corpse, if the battle went as he planned? Perhaps throw a rose or whatever the Threshling equivalent was on him as well?

"Is that bos----"

So completely caught off guard by this turn of events, even with the Knight warning him to prepare himself, the Nevadian barely registered the attempt to sever his head from his body in time to react.

However, distracted or not, a Warrior's instincts rarely failed them.

His dual spears were raised across his person in an X configuration, the Shafts of both crossing over near the front of his neck as he braced himself.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"You go on ahead, ah'll catch up with you." Dash then begins to move around the basement area carefully, trying to sense-out who might be trying to attack Etrina and disrupt the ritual.

" Right," Praxat said. Praxat leaves the basement area and continues searching around the temple. As she searches, she relies on her Paranomic vision, Infrasound hearing, and Ki sensing to search around. ( Hmm, maybe I should turn on the Luue-ray mod on my goggles?) Praxat thought.

( Luue radiation, I discovered it, but there is still a lot more to be discovered about it. I have a theory that it could be part of an entirely new radiation spectrum. A spectrum, unlike the known EM spectrum,) Praxat thought.