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

[Yun Lao]

The Geofront. The blueprints varied on its size and shape, but the general consensus was that it was deep beneath the Capsule Corps buildings. Thanking the group, she proceeded on towards what she assumed would be the closest entrance to the Geofront.

Landing Near Capsule corp, he finds it... pretty well locked up, except for a single window. Okay, this was really weird. What the heck was going on? Taking a moment to consider the whole... superhero entering uninvited aspect, Totoma climbed in the window and began searching.

...and found signs of conflict. Okay, this was worrying. Signs of conflict, energy signatures just... disappearing--in fact, he couldn't sense anything right now. What the heck?

Alright, so... obviously something bad went down here, so... guess I might as well go to the Geofront? Jinzi built that place for situations like this, so maybe that's where everyone is?

Worth a try. Totoma began making his way towards the geofront entrance he and the others had used all those years ago when Jinzi had first recruited them...

...damn, that really was a long time ago, wasn't it?

It was during her approach to the Geofront that her indicators alerted her to a new presence entering the Capsule Corps building. Unlike the human, Dash, or Toadian, Praxat, Shōchū recognized this one. Totoma, otherwise known as the Just Saiyan. In her childhood, she had admired the hero second only to her cousin; ironically, he would be one of the first to fall to her hands after the Beast had assimilated her.

Irrationally, she initially feared that he had returned for vengeance, only to remind herself that this was not her timeline. These were not the same people she had known before... no matter how much she subconsciously tried replacing them with. Taking in a deep breath, she paused, waiting for the half-Saiyan to reach this point. Whereas she had declined to follow the other two in order to cover more ground, she had gained as much intel as she could from her search leaving only the Geofront and whatever remained there. If Totoma was to help them, then it would be pointless to make him go through the same search as she had.

"Greetings," She would declare, a tad bit more stoically than she'd liked, however, and continued, "All civilians have been evacuated, leaving only the Geofront."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The voice...

That voice was unmistakably Arcosian. They all sounded the same or similar enough that most didn't bother trying to differentiate them. Before Avoca could question him, the Frost Demon disappeared, Maiz in tow, after killing the Threshling Knights and Priest. Their bodies hit the ground with lifeless thuds, but Avoca didn't bother giving them a passing glance. Her eyes were glued to the spot where the Icer had been floating with Maiz in tow just seconds before disappearing.

There was no clue as to what it wanted with the Saiyan Guardian, but it wasn't good.

That necklace... Parsley told her of a Frost Demon who had stolen some kind of god necklace of some kind. Could that have been it? Was that this Koorimaru guy she had heard about?

She swallowed again and looked down at Sarada. She was safe, even after that ordeal; but she wasn't going to forgive her for letting Maiz get taken. She could already hear her now, and it wasn't a conversation she wanted to have. But, she stood by her decision, and she knew that Maiz would support it.

For as much good as that did.

She rose to her feet and continued toward the Palace. The battle behind her appeared to have ended. The sounds of explosions and the energies accompanying them had both tapered off. Parsley's energy was weak, but she was still alive. "I'll be back soon."

As she sprinted toward the palace, she contacted Inanna again. 'Hey, some Frost Demon killed the knights and took Maiz. I think it was that Koorimaru guy. Sarada's still safe.'

She makes it safely there with the still unconscious Sarada.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

While the Knight is turned around Lantro fires a Nega-Dunk and launches a sphere of ki-covered earth at the Knight

It spins again and cuts the ki covered earth apart.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The Geofront. The blueprints varied on its size and shape, but the general consensus was that it was deep beneath the Capsule Corps buildings. Thanking the group, she proceeded on towards what she assumed would be the closest entrance to the Geofront.

The elevator heading down into the Geofront has been torn open, the long shaft heading down empty. To get down she’s have to fly down.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Two questions, one, how bad are you're injuries? An two, are they still more in the building? Ah saw they they had some casualties." as she spoke, she came in closer to check him out, and to see the sleeping princess.

He grimaces.

“Bad....not....life threatening. A few....more heading to...Geofront...”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Barely clinging on to both her consciousness and her life, Neva tried to respond, but only spat up a worrying amount of blood. She'd done her part, and was in no shape to fight. It was best she quit this place before death claimed her. Focusing her will--a monumental task considering her injuries--the threshling princess' body slowly faded from normal reality, appearing in the central grove of Vaikuntha. The healing energies of her demesne immediately flowed through her, slowly healing the damage that had been inflicted upon her by friend and foe alike. Just before darkness claimed her, she heard the sounds of a certain young girl calling her name, voice tinged with worry unbefitting of someone so young...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Saiyaman's theme

Meanwhile, on Earth...

Totoma flew over Capital City, doing his usual patrol to ensure the peace and safety of the city, idly munching on his standard... patrol... muffin. Ah, what a boon it had been to discover the muffin button all those years ago! So fluffy and surprisingly nutritious.

Scanning the city from on-high, he catches sight of a group of evil-doers robbing a bank! The police were engaging them, but the vile gang of criminals seemed heavily armed and surprisingly coordinated. This looked like a job for...

The Juuuuust Saiyaaaaaaan!

Descending from the sky, he landed between the cops and robbers, cracking the pavement just a bit. Oops!

"****, it's that crazy alien!" yelled what was... probably the leader of the robbers, as he leveled his machine gun at the Just Saiyan, as did his entire gang, actually. They began firing.

Wow, these guys were kind of... stupid? They knew who he was, and probably some of what he could do and they just...

...oh right, bullets. Totoma reached out and snatched a bullet from the air... then another, and another, and... yeah, you true believers sitting at home get the idea, don'tcha?



After a few seconds, the barrage stopped, and the robbers, aghast and mouths open, lowered their guns. Totoma grinned and the many bullets he'd caught dropped to the ground, causing a pleasing symphony of plinks.

"Wh--what the hell is h--" exlaimed one of the villains, before being knocked out by the Just Saiyan from behind. Before the others could react, The Just Saiyan quickly knocked them out with careful, measured strikes.



Took a second tops, true believers!

Relaxing, the cops approached him. One of them, Sergeant Skivvie, who was an older man with a bushy beard, spoke to him while the others cuffed the villains. "Thanks for the assist, as always, er... Just... Saiyan." He almost looked embarrassed... or perhaps he was just in awe of the Just Saiyan's might!

Totoma saluted. "No problem, Sergeant Skivvie. Always glad to help! I would love to stay to talk, but I am sure there are others who need my help right this very moment!"

Taking to the air again, Totoma began patrolling... but this time, he noticed that some of the others were congregating at Capsule Corp. Weird. He didn't have his communicator with him, so... to capsule corp it was! Totoma increased his speed, jetting through the air to capsule corp, though he kept it under sound speed because...

...well, ever seen the aftereffects of a sonic boom in a city? Not pretty, let me tell you.

On his way, he stopped to thwart a few more evildoers and help a few citizens... including a cat stuck in a tree. As he neared Capsule Corp, he suddenly felt the others' energy signatures just... disappear? And it didn't feel like they'd decided to suppress their power. No, it just went *poof*.

Landing Near Capsule corp, he finds it... pretty well locked up, except for a single window. Okay, this was really weird. What the heck was going on? Taking a moment to consider the whole... superhero entering uninvited aspect, Totoma climbed in the window and began searching.

...and found signs of conflict. Okay, this was worrying. Signs of conflict, energy signatures just... disappearing--in fact, he couldn't sense anything right now. What the heck?

Alright, so... obviously something bad went down here, so... guess I might as well go to the Geofront? Jinzi built that place for situations like this, so maybe that's where everyone is?

Worth a try. Totoma began making his way towards the geofront entrance he and the others had used all those years ago when Jinzi had first recruited them...

...damn, that really was a long time ago, wasn't it?

Inside her realm, Luop gently starts doing what he can to heal and stabilize Nevalinna as well.

“Come on, Milady. You performed magnificently and must now recover.”

Warmth fills her as he starts sharing his life force and energy with her.

——

Totoma makes it through swiftly, noting the presence of Wilhelm, Dash, Praxat, and Shōchū.

He notes Wilhelm’s I hired energy aura and also sees civilians running past that Shōchū had saved.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Inanna ignored the Knight in favor of fixating on the egg a moment only to eventually look back at him with a shrug. "What's that say about him, mm ? A God that has to hedge his bets."

Realizing that she had a moment to end this fight quickly if she could get past that armor of his however, a simple enough plan formed in her mind and she chuckled to herself.

"Did Auroc make sure to take similar precautions for his Knights by chance ? Pretty much just offering yourself up to me on a plate, coated in metal."

Like some kinda candy bar, really.

Heh ... how utterly Majin.

Launching heself toward the Golden Knight, she fired a few casual blasts up at the Priestesses as well to gague the reaction. And, at hearing word from Avoca responded back quickly.

'Will do what I can about that as soon as I have a moment ... but thank you. Please make sure she stays safe.'

The Knight’s blade seems to...extend and bat the blasts at the Priestesses away.

“Lord Auroc is prudent. Gods have died before, it would be arrogance to presume another could not.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Feh, what great timing this little visit to Vocado had been. Come to catch up with some friends--Maiz, mostly--and get some training in with the Queen and then the damned planet was attacked. By Threshlings, no less. Tasure'd been itching for a real fight, so that was just damned fine with her... or at least it was until the fuckers started converting her fellow saiyans.

Now, did she really give a damn about other saiyans personally? Nope, not really... but she was still, nominally, one of the Empire's protectors, and... perhaps her son's heroic idiocy had been rubbing off on her lately. Or perhaps she just wanted to set a better example for her second son. Whatever the case, she had spent the better part of the invasion slaughtering fodder. Not fun, but, hey, at least she'd managed to clear an entire city of the trash falling from the sky. Still, from what she was sensing, she was missing a hell of a battle... she could sense Sarada, Parsley, Avoca, that... Elf Princess, and someone she didn't quite recognize all concentrated in the same place. But then, Sarada's energy disappeared, which was worrying, given how strong the Queen was...

Tch.

Taking a moment to recover using Bekon's food--the last she'd packed for the trip, unfortunately--Tasure's took to the air, her aura flaring into existence around her. She wasn't too far from the action, so it wouldn't take long, but shortly before she arrived, both the Threshling Princess' energy and Parsley's dropped to dangerously low levels, and the former disappeared entirely. Increasing her speed, Tasure pulled up sharply, gaining altitude before her aura dissipated and she began descending, not even bothering to slow her descent with her ki.

She landed next to Inanna, impacting the ground and making a small crater. Cracking her neck, she stood up and sized up the golden-clad knight standing in front of her. A grin teased the corner of her mouth, and a golden glow crept into her aura, spreading until she transformed into a super saiyan!



That hint of a grin grew into a full grin, and she gave Inanna a sidelong glance. "Sorry for being so late... got held up by swarming pests. What the hell happened to the Queen and that... exiled threshling girl?" She didn't ask about Parsley, because it was pretty clear what had happened to her... a double KO against a threshling.

It occurred to her that the Threshling Parsley had only been able to tie against wore a silver armor, and the one before her wore a golden one, and from what little she knew, the latter should be stronger than the former. Given that Parsley was, at the moment, her superior in terms of raw power, this meant that she would be entirely in over her head in this fight.

Just how she liked it.

The Golden Knight nods to her, but keeps his face towards Inanna.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat ponders her options. ( what should I do? Should I try to fix the droids or look for Wilhelm?) Praxat thought.

(This is horrible, what the hell are Threshlings even doing here? What were they after here? I can't recognize them due to the damage, but I can guess the charred bodies are my follow colleagues,) Praxat thought.

( Most probably had families, families that will be devastated by the grave news of what happen here. Even these dead Threshlings probably had families they wanted to get back to. Okay, I decided I'll go look for Wilhelm I can try to fix the droids later,) Praxat thought.

Praxat rips off a piece of shimmery black material worn by a headless Threshling. She puts it in her right pants pocket. ( I'm taking this for further studying,) Praxat thought.

( If I had the eyesight of a human, I almost wouldn't able to see this material. Humans are rather poor at detecting low levels of light. A problem which I don't have,) Praxat thought.

( I can detect extremely low levels of light, allowing me to see color even in what humans would consider near darkness. So I can see the shimmer of this material, that these dead Threshlings are wearing quite clearly,) Praxat thought.

Praxat continues past the ruined droids and dead bodies looking for Wilhelm.

She finds him, wounded, speaking with Dash.

[Tami]

He grimaces.

“Bad....not....life threatening. A few....more heading to...Geofront...”

"Ah guess ah gotta go after them, but ah can't leave you like this. But ah guess you gotta protect her." Dash hated decisions like this, "Can you hold out here a little longer? Or should ah try and get you both outta here first?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

'Will do what I can about that as soon as I have a moment ... but thank you. Please make sure she stays safe.'

She makes it safely there with the still unconscious Sarada.

Finally, Avoca made it to the capital. The streets were dead silent. Bars and buildings normally filled with raucous and rowdy Saiyans were empty. The evacuation turned the planet into a ghost town. Even if there were no other Saiyans besides them there, at least there weren't any of those Threshling fucks around.

She stepped a foot on the main street and sighed. She walked these streets up and down for years. This planet was her home and she had never seen it invaded. The closest time was when those two chucklefuck Frost Demons tried to nuke from space before Sarada shoved her foot up their asses at the same time. Avoca could have helped, but it was over by the time she even got there. Most people weren't even phased by what happened. For them to be so willing to turn and evacuate, and so quickly, it was out of character. And yet... she couldn't help but be glad so many knew what was good for them. Likely, witnessing so many get killed and turned so easily made people realize that the thrill of fighting a stronger opponent wasn't worth it. Not this time. Better to run and stay out of the stronger people's way than die and make already overwhelming odds even worse.

She could have joined them, but didn't. In hindsight, ignoring the almost insurmountable urge to escape was the best decision she had made in a while. Sarada was safe.

When she entered the palace, the sound of the doors opening to let her in echoed down the halls. I thought she escaped with everyone else, she thought. It was Maiz's responsibility to make sure everyone got away safely. That, apparently, didn't include her. Or, perhaps she just didn't want to leave until this was dealt with. Either way, she was gone.

A twinge was apprehension gripped her chest. How was she going to explain this to Parsley? To Sarada? To everyone? Sarada was safe, but at the cost of their Guardian and moral compass. It was either they lose their Queen and strongest defender, or their Guardian. It was an impossible choice to make, and Avoca just made the one she felt was best.

Maybe Parsley wouldn't accept that. She already knew Sarada wouldn't.

She sighed again and set Sarada on the ground when she reached the interplanetary transport room. There were seven transport platforms that each led to one of the Saiyan worlds. One, Turrip, was out of commission. Avoca chose the one for Ruco and quickly activated it. It hummed to life, generating a dull white light at the bottom and top. In the center, it seemed that the air was warping violently, as if caught in a heatwave.

'Come to Ruco when you're done,' she told Inanna before picking Sarada back up and stepping onto the platform. Seconds later, her form vanished from sight.

[KingofPie]

It spins again and cuts the ki covered earth apart.

"Foul Shot!" Lantro suddenly shouted, shooting a fiery orange ki blast from his palm as the armored warrior was in the arc of it's swing.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The Knight’s blade seems to...extend and bat the blasts at the Priestesses away.

“Lord Auroc is prudent. Gods have died before, it would be arrogance to presume another could not.”

"Nifty sword. I want it." Inanna commented cheerily; before focusing on the Knight a beam of Ki splitting the air from the woman's finger tip.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Nifty sword. I want it." Inanna commented cheerily; before focusing on the Knight a beam of Ki splitting the air from the woman's finger tip.

It passes through him as he shimmers, massive blade lancing towards Inanna in a chop.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Foul Shot!" Lantro suddenly shouted, shooting a fiery orange ki blast from his palm as the armored warrior was in the arc of it's swing.

The warrior takes the blast, but the armor seems to hold up. He lunges, lance at the ready to skewer Lantro.