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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"It's too late for that," she muttered. She sighed heavily. "I made a swear to return... something to him a few days ago. Unfortunately, I consumed a piece of Chance Fruit and it made me forget what that something was. I'm hoping that by giving him his amulet, he'll be willing to remind me of what it was." She was embarrassed to be voicing this aloud and it showed in her voice. "So, that's why. I only have a year to give him whatever it was that I promised to give him, or he'll take my eyes. As you can imagine, I would very much like to keep them. I've been told they're quite pretty."

“Shitty deal, Princess.”

Sihn shakes his head.

“I really shouldn’t allow that thing out of my sight, but.........”

He downs another drink and smirks a bit.

“I guess I can let this one slide. One more won’t kill me when I present my progress to the Grand Priest and Lord Zeno. Probably.”

[KingofPie]

Sihn pauses and nods slightly.

“You actually aren’t wrong. Still.......a daunting thing to know he’s back on my trail. And when we’re so close to finishes my list off.”

"Wait, list?" Sasheem question, raising a brow.

"It's too late for that," she muttered. She sighed heavily. "I made a swear to return... something to him a few days ago. Unfortunately, I consumed a piece of Chance Fruit and it made me forget what that something was. I'm hoping that by giving him his amulet, he'll be willing to remind me of what it was." She was embarrassed to be voicing this aloud and it showed in her voice. "So, that's why. I only have a year to give him whatever it was that I promised to give him, or he'll take my eyes. As you can imagine, I would very much like to keep them. I've been told they're quite pretty."

"Hey how stupid would you look if that shitty amulet was what you had to give him in the first place?" Sasheem snorted. "Sasheem can imagine the look on your face! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Majin fell back in raucous laughter.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Shitty deal, Princess.”

Sihn shakes his head.

“I really shouldn’t allow that thing out of my sight, but.........”

He downs another drink and smirks a bit.

“I guess I can let this one slide. One more won’t kill me when I present my progress to the Grand Priest and Lord Zeno. Probably.”

Parsley let out a sigh. "Thank you, Sihn. The sooner I get this deal from over my head, the better."

The worst part was, in hindsight, she could think of several other things she could have given him instead of... whatever it was. She could have used her Blood Magic to conjure something, perhaps an exact replica of her eyes since he seemed to be so fond of them. As it stood, she was trapped. Only trapped for a short while, but trapped nonetheless. Time was not on her side. She only hoped she didn't choose some difficult to obtain object. The easier, the better.

OT: A Creation God, not an Angel.

IC:

Caliban shrugs.

“I can give you a few weeks max. If any of yer friends are magical, I’ll take’em too. Might as well maximize how many get some training. But only magic people, see?”

"Perfect! That will give me enough time to handle a few things before our training. Will you come to us, or will we go to U16?" She hoped it was the latter. She would have loved to have the chance to explore that new and unfamiliar universe.

"Hey how stupid would you look if that shitty amulet was what you had to give him in the first place?" Sasheem snorted. "Sasheem can imagine the look on your face! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Majin fell back in raucous laughter.

Parsley narrowed her eyes as her gaze cut to the Majin. She was about to say something scathing when she recalled something. He was there at the meeting/confrontation with Night, as well. She couldn't remember anything about it, but she knew it was there.

She grimaced and repressed a disgusted groan. What she was about to say was, without doubt, about to induced instant nausea, but it needed to be done.

"Sasheem, you were there with Inanna and me on Night's planet. That means you heard what it was I promised to give him. Tell me what it was and... and I'll owe you a favor."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

...**** it. That glow didn't sit right with him.

The ship lifted off and began to rise. Focusing his ki throughout the entire ship--and its occupants--he activated his Ma-Tobashii.

All aboard experienced a weird feeling of being "jolted" upwards as Voyavoda 'burned away' the distance between them and a... fair altitude. It still probably wouldn't be enough to escape, but it'd give them a bit more time to prepare some sort of defense.

His hands flying over the controls, he set the auto-pilot to keep ascending. Sighing, he turned to the others.

"Well, shall we continue trying to escape, or would you like to try your luck against that... thing?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Shitty deal, Princess.”

Sihn shakes his head.

“I really shouldn’t allow that thing out of my sight, but.........”

He downs another drink and smirks a bit.

“I guess I can let this one slide. One more won’t kill me when I present my progress to the Grand Priest and Lord Zeno. Probably.”

...**** it. That glow didn't sit right with him.

The ship lifted off and began to rise. Focusing his ki throughout the entire ship--and its occupants--he activated his Ma-Tobashii.

All aboard experienced a weird feeling of being "jolted" upwards as Voyavoda 'burned away' the distance between them and a... fair altitude. It still probably wouldn't be enough to escape, but it'd give them a bit more time to prepare some sort of defense.

His hands flying over the controls, he set the auto-pilot to keep ascending. Sighing, he turned to the others.

"Well, shall we continue trying to escape, or would you like to try your luck against that... thing?"

The Nevadian ignored her, perhaps for the best, and initiated the ship's liftoff. The ship seemed to... skip ahead, suddenly teleporting to a higher altitude. She wasn't sure what happened, nor did she understand the mechanics of the ship, but she was certain the Nevadian had something to do with it.

"Fight or run?" She gave a breathy chuckle. "If I were in my younger days... age has taught me the benefit of retreat. Though, I suppose I could try to communicate with it."

Whatever the creature was, she could only assume that it had a mind with which she could connect.

She sat down in the seat she had stood up from only moments earlier. Eyes closed, she touched her forehead.

When the mask is removed, beneath it lay no face or feature of a Frost Demon.

Instead, where the mask had covered, a pit of glowing amber light lay like a sun set into the Arcosians’ face. No features, no nose or eyes or mouth, just the frame of the head and than a lot of glowing energy.

The light starts glowing brighter and brighter.

A perfect image of Maiz appeared in front of the Arcosian.

'Hello, Koorimaru. Or, whoever you are,' she attempted to telepathically transmit to the creature.

[grampagen]

An amalgamation of four energy signatures splash across his senses.

KoorimaruÂ’s, hidden, restrained, trapped.
An unknown Frost Demon, similar to KoorimaruÂ’s but much weaker and subservient.
AshaÂ’rahÂ’s, warm and kind and brimming with Creational energy.
And an unknown SaiyanÂ’s, Golden super energy wreathed in the slightly burnt sense of Hakai.

And the intent seems clear. ItÂ’s about to blast the ship to pieces.

OOC: At this stage, has Remnant also absorbed Asha'rah, or is that the portion that remains from when it was created?

IC:

If the creature removing the front of its skull entirely hadn't been enough to substantiate its paranormal nature, the light shifting behind that hollow facade certainly was.

All this in service towards its seclusion.

What a fickle creature. More than it seemed at first glance, it was nonetheless afflicted of its internal strife, a disparate gestalt of four consciousnesses. How unfortunate it was that Koorimaru, of all people, seemed the most rational of its faculties.

Ochazuke seethed. Suppose the damned creature had spoken honestly of its intentions? More lies from one to the next

...**** it. That glow didn't sit right with him.

The ship lifted off and began to rise. Focusing his ki throughout the entire ship--and its occupants--he activated his Ma-Tobashii.

All aboard experienced a weird feeling of being "jolted" upwards as Voyavoda 'burned away' the distance between them and a... fair altitude. It still probably wouldn't be enough to escape, but it'd give them a bit more time to prepare some sort of defense.

His hands flying over the controls, he set the auto-pilot to keep ascending. Sighing, he turned to the others.

"Well, shall we continue trying to escape, or would you like to try your luck against that... thing?"

The moment he felt the shift in space, Ochazuke put his focus into reorienting his sense-awareness. Once he'd spotted the Remnant-in-Koorimaru's-proxy-shell relative to their own position, his hands made a small gesture, and outside a small flash sparked from their former position.

From this distane, Ochazuke was still linked with the genius loci of Cortis II, and orientated by the planet's meridians, used it to aim his remote execution of Saifa Kensaku, lashes of light erupting from below the creature in a bid to yoke its position in place and buy their group some time.

The Nevadian ignored her, perhaps for the best, and initiated the ship's liftoff. The ship seemed to... skip ahead, suddenly teleporting to a higher altitude. She wasn't sure what happened, nor did she understand the mechanics of the ship, but she was certain the Nevadian had something to do with it.

"Fight or run?" She gave a breathy chuckle. "If I were in my younger days... age has taught me the benefit of retreat. Though, I suppose I could try to communicate with it."

Whatever the creature was, she could only assume that it had a mind with which she could connect.

She sat down in the seat she had stood up from only moments earlier. Eyes closed, she touched her forehead.

A perfect image of Maiz appeared in front of the Arcosian.

'Hello, Koorimaru. Or, whoever you are,' she attempted to telepathically transmit to the creature.

"Our lot has had some mixed success against this sort of opponent before," Ochazuke said, "but against this one's nature, there is far too much unknown about it."

He then accordingly relaid what he had discovered to the group, of the four egos within the being's spirit, each subsumed to the dominant force of Inda'ren's will.

"A Saiyan with a grudge, and expertise in Hakai," he said, "It seems whatever it needed to escape its bonds has been met by some other condition."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Wait, list?" Sasheem question, raising a brow.



"Hey how stupid would you look if that shitty amulet was what you had to give him in the first place?" Sasheem snorted. "Sasheem can imagine the look on your face! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Majin fell back in raucous laughter.

“List of traitors needing taking care of. Sakin’s the last thing on the list. After he’s captured.......These universes will be unsealed.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley let out a sigh. "Thank you, Sihn. The sooner I get this deal from over my head, the better."

The worst part was, in hindsight, she could think of several other things she could have given him instead of... whatever it was. She could have used her Blood Magic to conjure something, perhaps an exact replica of her eyes since he seemed to be so fond of them. As it stood, she was trapped. Only trapped for a short while, but trapped nonetheless. Time was not on her side. She only hoped she didn't choose some difficult to obtain object. The easier, the better.



"Perfect! That will give me enough time to handle a few things before our training. Will you come to us, or will we go to U16?" She hoped it was the latter. She would have loved to have the chance to explore that new and unfamiliar universe.



Parsley narrowed her eyes as her gaze cut to the Majin. She was about to say something scathing when she recalled something. He was there at the meeting/confrontation with Night, as well. She couldn't remember anything about it, but she knew it was there.

She grimaced and repressed a disgusted groan. What she was about to say was, without doubt, about to induced instant nausea, but it needed to be done.

"Sasheem, you were there with Inanna and me on Night's planet. That means you heard what it was I promised to give him. Tell me what it was and... and I'll owe you a favor."

“You’ll go to U16 and train with me there.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OOC: At this stage, has Remnant also absorbed Asha'rah, or is that the portion that remains from when it was created?

IC:

If the creature removing the front of its skull entirely hadn't been enough to substantiate its paranormal nature, the light shifting behind that hollow facade certainly was.

All this in service towards its seclusion.

What a fickle creature. More than it seemed at first glance, it was nonetheless afflicted of its internal strife, a disparate gestalt of four consciousnesses. How unfortunate it was that Koorimaru, of all people, seemed the most rational of its faculties.

Ochazuke seethed. Suppose the damned creature had spoken honestly of its intentions? More lies from one to the next



The moment he felt the shift in space, Ochazuke put his focus into reorienting his sense-awareness. Once he'd spotted the Remnant-in-Koorimaru's-proxy-shell relative to their own position, his hands made a small gesture, and outside a small flash sparked from their former position.

From this distane, Ochazuke was still linked with the genius loci of Cortis II, and orientated by the planet's meridians, used it to aim his remote execution of Saifa Kensaku, lashes of light erupting from below the creature in a bid to yoke its position in place and buy their group some time.



"Our lot has had some mixed success against this sort of opponent before," Ochazuke said, "but against this one's nature, there is far too much unknown about it."

He then accordingly relaid what he had discovered to the group, of the four egos within the being's spirit, each subsumed to the dominant force of Inda'ren's will.

"A Saiyan with a grudge, and expertise in Hakai," he said, "It seems whatever it needed to escape its bonds has been met by some other condition."

OT: The portion that was originally claimed, so Asha’rah herself had not been absorbed. Her location is unknown to all but Koorimaru and Remnant.

IC:

The effect is effective, yoking the creature and even drawing it downwards.

That, and Voyovada’s sudden move with the ship is all that saves it. The beam of energy just misses the bridge, and the sense of Hakai in it is more than enough to make you realize it would have obliterated the ship.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Maiz, the creature seems to ignore your telepathic greeting.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sheki’hinah nods, sadly, then wraps her arms around Inanna and hugs her.

“Than be the cat, daughter, and hunt. But be careful, please: curiosity kills the cat, and satisfaction can only go so far to bring you back.”

"As it stands now, we're all just waiting to die as is." Inanna said with a shrug. "Now, where's Lampton? Still in his hovel?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“You’ll go to U16 and train with me there.”

Parsley gave a thumbs up. "Excellent. I'll make sure the other mage in our group knows of this arrangement so she can be ready to depart whenever you summon us."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

OT: The portion that was originally claimed, so Asha’rah herself had not been absorbed. Her location is unknown to all but Koorimaru and Remnant.

IC:

The effect is effective, yoking the creature and even drawing it downwards.

That, and Voyovada’s sudden move with the ship is all that saves it. The beam of energy just misses the bridge, and the sense of Hakai in it is more than enough to make you realize it would have obliterated the ship.

Maiz, the creature seems to ignore your telepathic greeting.

Maiz sensed the same brand of energy in that blast that narrowly missed them that she felt in Inanna. Hakai, destruction energy. Had the ship not somehow jumped forward, they would all be dead.

What was worse, the creature was ignoring her. A lot of that going around.

She sighed heavily and opened her eyes. "The creature, I'm assuming Remnant, isn't answering me. And given that blast nearly killed us, I suggest we leave. Right now."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Maiz sensed the same brand of energy in that blast that narrowly missed them that she felt in Inanna. Hakai, destruction energy. Had the ship not somehow jumped forward, they would all be dead.

What was worse, the creature was ignoring her. A lot of that going around.

She sighed heavily and opened her eyes. "The creature, I'm assuming Remnant, isn't answering me. And given that blast nearly killed us, I suggest we leave. Right now."

"I am inclined to agree," said Voyavoda, who was busy working the controls. "However, until we clear the planet's gravity well, that monster will be able to out-pace us. Perhaps not enough to make escape impossible, but..."

He sighed. "All of you, please run interference as best you can. Anyone who can do so remotely, do so... and man the turrets." His hands running over the console, several nearby terminals sprang to life, displaying the view below them. He could have relied on auto-targeting, but that would likely prove... insufficient.

"I will be making liberal use of Ma-Tobashii, so I warn you... keeping a bead on him might prove difficult. Please bear with me," he said, his eyes flaring red as he activated his Shingan and began mentally prepping himself to take evasive maneuvers.

[grampagen]

OT: The portion that was originally claimed, so Asha’rah herself had not been absorbed. Her location is unknown to all but Koorimaru and Remnant.

IC:

The effect is effective, yoking the creature and even drawing it downwards.

That, and Voyovada’s sudden move with the ship is all that saves it. The beam of energy just misses the bridge, and the sense of Hakai in it is more than enough to make you realize it would have obliterated the ship.

The sudden lurch in the Nevadian vessel was disorienting, but the manner in which the torrent issued from the faceless Arcosian's maw and carried its deathly intent with such abandon as it swept across the horizon, despite all appearances it could only be described as cold in the totality of its lifelessness.

"I've seen Hakai before, but nothing on this level," Ochazuke said. What judgement fell from demonic gates had at least been calculated devastation, but this horrid display, in accordance to its faceless wielder, could hardly be said to be rational despite its four, distinct consciousnesses.

Nothing remaining there but a vision of death and inevitability.

Maiz sensed the same brand of energy in that blast that narrowly missed them that she felt in Inanna. Hakai, destruction energy. Had the ship not somehow jumped forward, they would all be dead.

What was worse, the creature was ignoring her. A lot of that going around.

She sighed heavily and opened her eyes. "The creature, I'm assuming Remnant, isn't answering me. And given that blast nearly killed us, I suggest we leave. Right now."

"I am inclined to agree," said Voyavoda, who was busy working the controls. "However, until we clear the planet's gravity well, that monster will be able to out-pace us. Perhaps not enough to make escape impossible, but..."

He sighed. "All of you, please run interference as best you can. Anyone who can do so remotely, do so... and man the turrets." His hands running over the console, several nearby terminals sprang to life, displaying the view below them. He could have relied on auto-targeting, but that would likely prove... insufficient.

"I will be making liberal use of Ma-Tobashii, so I warn you... keeping a bead on him might prove difficult. Please bear with me," he said, his eyes flaring red as he activated his Shingan and began mentally prepping himself to take evasive maneuvers.

Ochazuke cursed as he drew a slow breath and concentrated. Even before this chaotic thing, they needed their wits about them if they were to survive.

"Not only are we outmatched..." he said as cold sweat wicked from his headband, "it seems we've lost even before coming here. Cheh, were we ever dealing with a rational actor?"

A fragment of Asha'rah, Koorimaru's soul, both swallowed by their own ambition. None of this makes sense.

Still established with his connection to the spirit of the planet, Ochazuke used it to reinforce his influence, the thousand lightning-threads of Saifa Kensaku erupting from the crust of Cortis II to hold Remnant in this position. Perhaps it would be in vain, but even a few seconds would make all the difference.

As he concentrated on the output at the distal end of his meditation field, it was like staring into the creature's gestalt spirit; he would commit this presence to memory.

If its manifestation is not yet total...there may be something we can do...

But that was contingent on escaping its pursuit.