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

[KingofPie]

Sasheem later arrived back at the sight of the mall. All cheese had vanished, and the towns citizens who were able to survive, stood amongst the ruins of their city, thankful but confused at just what had happened.

"Majin, you did it! You...you saved the Earth!" P-Sta exclaimed.

"Yup..." Sasheem nodded.

"See, I was right! you might have a heart in there after all!" N-Ten noted, elbowing the Majin.

"Well..." Sasheem shrugged non-comitally.

"Who is that, their leader?" P-Cee asked. "We need to take him in for questioning!"

"He's about to die in a few minutes, Sasheem doesn't see how it matters," the Majin shrugged.

"He might be right. This is really Time Patrol's case, not the GP's," X-Bo added.

"Oh hey, speaking of the GP. You losers really gonna stick around with them? Sasheem doesn't know the full deal but apparently they did some shady stuff....No surprise there, really. They're run by a box," Sasheem added dully as Durive through a can of orange soda at him.

"Durive...has done what he can, Majin. But we do have to thank you...and apologize. We don't particularly get along much but...we do owe you a great deal," Dr. Cast nodded in recognition.

"Damn right you do," Sasheem nodded in agreement.

"Doesn't make it easy, does he...?" St-Eam laughed, hands behind his head. "Hey, by the way, will you sign my SaSkunk action figure?" the young KAtchin Squad member asked.

"...Sure, after Sasheem shakes down a snowcone for some residual checks," Sasheem nodded, distastefully glancing at the display of officially licensed and completely, utterly legal and indistinct action figures.

"To answer your question, though, we're going to take some leave from the GP and think things through," P-Sta noted. "It won't stop us from protecting Earth....or any other planet in need of our help. Why, even out of the GP, or perhaps further enhanced by our separation from it, we will continue to pursue the ideals instilled in us fro-...hey, where'd he go?"

"And where are the other prisoners?" X-Bo scratched his head.

***

Bedlam's Restaurant

"Sasheem's kinda like a VIP here," Sasheem explained. "He's on the President's payroll, see?" he informed the four gathered before him. The four being Xuan Wu, Fossul, Pomegranate, and St-Aadia who sat on the floor, injured and beaten. Before them, were several plates of food. "Don't think you losers are off the hook. Sasheem wanted to prove a point before he handed you back to the Time Patrol."

"Foolishness, how am I supposed to eat? My body is confiscated!" St-Aadia complained.

"Ah, shaddup," Sasheem responded. "You're basically a robot anyway. All ya gotta do is eat the damn food."

"I don't understand...you said you show us why this world was worthy protecting and you take us to this grease ridden diner....?" Xuan Wu sneered, pickign up the sandwich from his plate. "What is this supposed to be, a bahn mi? Or an attempt at one."

Fossul sniffed his plate and began to eat his food with some reluctance. "Hey...not bad at all!" he noted, with some nostalgia. "It reminded him of the tricera steaks from back home.

"Human food is far better than I assumed as well!" Pomegranate added, enjoying her plate of spaghetti.

"Worth protecting the Earth for..." Xuan Wu scuffed, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Hmph. This is quite good..." he admitted. His sandwich dropped to the floor as the venom finally erased him from the mortal plane.

"Well, that's that...hope you jabronis learned something today," Sasheem noted, eating the rest of his pie.

***

Coral Canyon

Sasheem returned to the temple of the Snake School, alighting down in Coral Canyon's rocky halls. Sasheem smelled something delicious. Weird since...oh, wait that woman! And her kid! Were they still here?! He'd thought they would've given up by now. Walking forward into the cave, he saw she set up some kind of makeshift kitchen. Sasheem narrowed his eyes as nostalgia passed over them. It wasn't too far form where the kitchen used to be.

"Oh, you're back are you?" the woman asked, the question still clearly on the tip of her tongue. "Have you changed your mind? About me joining the school.

Sasheem sighed, taking a glance at all the baked goods assembled upon the tables and scooped them all up in one fell swoop. "Y'know what...sure. We're gonna start tomorrow though."

"What, really?" she asked, in disbelief, nearly dropping her cooking utensils on the floor.

"Just remember...whatever reasons you had before for joining don't matter no more," Sasheem noted, hopping up on the table and eating the rest of the food. "The Snake School lies crawls on it's belly under the limelight. It's the shadow of justice. We fight the fights that no one else can and with way more style," the Majin smirked. "The future...is ours to shape."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Held felt a twinge of irritation at the revelation.

Days?

"...What was that saying humans have? out of the fire and into the firepan?" Held asked, weary. He opened his eyes, starring at the cave ceiling.

He laughed dryly.

"I guess the time I spent training really was the vacation, wasn't it?" It was a rhetorical question, "I don't know if I should kick myself for not coming back sooner so I'd have time for a drink, or pat myself on the back for staying gone as long as I did."

It was hardly a dilemma. Even while somewhat....cranky, to discover just how mad the universe had gotten in his absence, he felt a sense of relief at having made the right choice to delay his return to the land of the living.
If what he had learned among the angels was not enough to face one of their ilk in combat, than there was nothing the Nevadian could have learned among the mortal realm to oppose one.

Still. There were *some* affairs he would have liked to organize beforehand. However, war required sacrifice, as he well knew. Another time, hopefully.

Sakin....If he's the same type of being as Whis and Vados,even with my power....No. Even with our power, can we even oppose him and win? I can't even register the power levels of the other two...

"Days." He sighed once more, before removing himself from the bed with a grunt. "I guess I've had enough R&R."

The Nevadian turned his eyes towards the opening of the cave which Hilda had gestured to.

Now fully standing, he stretched his arms, before yawning deeply. A moment later, his items and artifacts were gathered, and the Nevadian was ready to depart.

"Zaofan and Ochazuke, huh?" Held said with a smile as he walked towards the cave mouth. "I owe them an apology for being gone for so long, now that you mention it....And I kind of feel responsible for everything going so bad as fast as it did....Even though all I did was get shot, if you think about it."

The Nevadian walked towards the mouth of the cave, before taking a deep breath. "Still, If I spin it the right way, I can probably get Zaofan to make me a welcome back cake, at least."

Still. It something did not sit right with the Nevadian. He froze in place.

Right....I can't really overlook it this time...

"Between saving me and my father, that's about two generations of Debons that are in your debt." Held said to his wife with a nervous chuckle as he looked towards the cave opening.

"I guess there's no galloping my way out of this one. If there weren't more pressing matters, I'd at least take you out for dinner."

Well, if nothing else, it should help father sleep easier if I just accepted my fate.

"Maybe a conversation that didn't involve the the nature of me being alive or dead. For all I know we'd actually get on rather well."

He resumed walking towards the exit of the cave.

"I wonder if there's a timeline where I decide to blow off all this saving the universe stuff for a few more days to do just that. After all, it's not like anyone knows I'm alive yet. It wouldn't exactly be difficult.."

He sighed.

"Of course, it seems that the longer I'm out of the picture, the stranger things get. I'm terrified that if I take any more time off, the universe itself is going to become sentient and try to kill everything. So, I guess we'll never know."

It was certainly an amusing thought, so much so that he found himself laughing as he exited the cave towards whatever awaited.

“Don’t worry, husband. I have every faith you’ll succeed. Our….date night can happen after.”

The two step through the cave entrance and Held feels a pulling sensation. Once it fades, he blinks and finds himself standing at the temple Samson Balon helped create back on Earth. And not twenty feet away we’re Zaofan and Ochazuke.

Timeline wise, 11 months and 28 days have passed.

Hilda looks around, nods, then smiles at Held.

“A one way portal. A gift I…liberated from another person. They won’t miss it.”

[grampagen]

And so, the weeks passed eventfully. Houlong was wished back to life, prompting Sarada to depart abruptly. Parsley returned to first Langal, then Earth to question the Judge. After that, she requested a meeting with the available M-Fighters to divulge further intel she had spent the last several months compiling into an easy to read guide. She first dispensed it to the Saiyan army to bring them up to speed, but she realized that the rest of their allies needed to be made aware of who their enemies were and what they could do.


Parsley grimaced and started fishing around in her pocket. "Not all of it. First..." She pulled a data chip from her pocket and handed it to Ochazuke. "On that chip is an extensive guide on all the cosmic beings, gods, persons of interests, and godly energies that we've encountered throughout our adventures. It's linked directly to my personal cloud server, so as I update the guide, whoever receives a copy will have theirs updated automatically. See to it that each member of your defense force and the rest of your allies here on Earth receive a copy. Also, the Galaxy Police should receive a copy, as well as Nevada and probably Chroma, too. It's time for the universe to become aware of the creatures lurking in the shadows."

She tried to be as detailed as possible. She pulled information from Auroc's journal, her and Sarada's experience, and whatever they've learned from people with an ear to the upper echelon of creation. Held within was a section on Alakazah; Sakin and the Angels; the Gods of Creation/Destruction; Hakai, Ruination, Hozon, and Creation energies; the Way Between Worlds; the multiverse; the Ulthan; Asha'rah's War in Heaven and the extensive fallout; and other bits and bobs that she thought would be useful information in the future. She had plans on doing an updated guide on the different races in the galaxy, but didn't have time to do it before.

That was going to take some time.

"During my and Etrina's training with Caliban in U16, I asked him for information about Sakin and Alakazah. This is what he told me:

Ochazuke took the data chip from Parsley. After a moment of staring at it, he moved into the Old Library of the Lookout, and put it into a computer console and the readouts seemed to corroborate what she spoke of. In addition to Caliban's testimony, received secondhand, now more than ever it weighed upon him what they had to embark upon.

Zaofan, for his part, loosed a surprisingly nonchalant whistle when all was spoken out loud.

"Well, last time it took at least seven of them, yeah? We have a lot more than that with us!"

Ochazuke, on the other hand, muttered in frustration under his breath.

"That was when the Dragon was alone. Moreover, the Palantine were not fighting a war on two fronts." Setting his hands firmly down upon the surface of a desk, the boom echoed through the ancient halls of the Earth's Guardian. "Bad enough that we have to fend for ourselves already, but after all this time, only now is everything coming to light. The Way Between Worlds, just how long have you known how to access it?"

"I would have told you sooner, but I've been busy with putting this guide together, plus two five year olds demand quite a lot of attention." She allowed herself a small smile, then grew serious again and glanced at Ochazuke. "You stated many times you intend on killing Sakin. The first time I didn't believe it to be possible, but with him as weakened as Caliban purports him to be, it just very well may be possible. I don't know how, but our combined might might be able to get the job done."

Yet, that combined might could very well be missing one very vital person. "Yet, we may be missing one person." Her expression grew deathly serious. "Inanna is dead."

"What...?"

Silence fell over both of the martial brothers. Zaofan's eyes began to fog up and tear immediately, but Ochazuke's expression was seemingly impassive at the news, before his shoulders sagged with a sigh.

"...and how is Sarada?"

[grampagen]

Now fully standing, he stretched his arms, before yawning deeply. A moment later, his items and artifacts were gathered, and the Nevadian was ready to depart.

"Zaofan and Ochazuke, huh?" Held said with a smile as he walked towards the cave mouth. "I owe them an apology for being gone for so long, now that you mention it....And I kind of feel responsible for everything going so bad as fast as it did....Even though all I did was get shot, if you think about it."

The Nevadian walked towards the mouth of the cave, before taking a deep breath. "Still, If I spin it the right way, I can probably get Zaofan to make me a welcome back cake, at least."

Still. It something did not sit right with the Nevadian. He froze in place.

Right....I can't really overlook it this time...

"Between saving me and my father, that's about two generations of Debons that are in your debt." Held said to his wife with a nervous chuckle as he looked towards the cave opening.

"I guess there's no galloping my way out of this one. If there weren't more pressing matters, I'd at least take you out for dinner."

Well, if nothing else, it should help father sleep easier if I just accepted my fate.

"Maybe a conversation that didn't involve the the nature of me being alive or dead. For all I know we'd actually get on rather well."

He resumed walking towards the exit of the cave.

"I wonder if there's a timeline where I decide to blow off all this saving the universe stuff for a few more days to do just that. After all, it's not like anyone knows I'm alive yet. It wouldn't exactly be difficult.."

He sighed.

"Of course, it seems that the longer I'm out of the picture, the stranger things get. I'm terrified that if I take any more time off, the universe itself is going to become sentient and try to kill everything. So, I guess we'll never know."

It was certainly an amusing thought, so much so that he found himself laughing as he exited the cave towards whatever awaited.

“Don’t worry, husband. I have every faith you’ll succeed. Our….date night can happen after.”

The two step through the cave entrance and Held feels a pulling sensation. Once it fades, he blinks and finds himself standing at the temple Samson Balon helped create back on Earth. And not twenty feet away weÂ’re Zaofan and Ochazuke.

Timeline wise, 11 months and 28 days have passed.

Hilda looks around, nods, then smiles at Held.

“A one way portal. A gift I…liberated from another person. They won’t miss it.”

BGM: Right Now, Preparations Are Essential!!

Month 12

The turn of the seasons on Earth had been unusual, and the winter was particularly cruel on the cusp of the New Year. Upon the black stone of the New Dragon Temple, yesterday's delicate snows had collected into large banks in the courtyard that had slowly thawed into the drains until they scabbed over the instant the winds hit them. Though the hail had ceased, the air remained biting, bitter, and merciless as it poured down on the assembly there. To the one side, students of many ranks and disciplines, the attendant groundskeepers of the grounds, stood in rows, standing in deep, rooted stance as they sustained themselves through the ki shroud of the Dragon's Endurance. Next to them stood their comrades, some of them brothers in different uniforms. Some of these members of the Earth Defense Force stood ill at ease huddled beneath their greatcoats as the winds whipped upon them, while others who had returned from active duty or the frontier.

Many things had changed over the last year, progress had been moving inordinately fast that many of them had lost perspective, whether trainee aspiring to find greater thresholds in their practice of ki cultivation, or the ones gone to soldier returning here to where their journey had began. The world turned beneath them, a festive time for celebration, but here neither their minds not their eyes needed rest.

Upon the Artificial Gravity Lei Tai Platform, slowed under the compressed atmosphere of 300 Gs, they could see them. The black katchin cudgel, Bojack, whirled in Zaofan's hands, whining through the air as it shook with hypersonic vibration that threatened to pulverize whatever it touched through the veil of Kaiten. Carried upon his experienced hands, it cut through the air with the Fist of the Altered Beast as he moved with footwork so sublime that even under the crushing gravitational force it seemed as if he was gliding. Both force and agility brought into a synthesis guided by the system of the Ten Hands of Zxu'ro put on display.

The bostaff shot forward. A feint from the hip level, fake block, changing direction from below to above, to no avail as it smashed into resistance and shook with a small explosion. Ochazuke weilded what appeared to be a simple wooden jo some two feet shorter than his opponent's weapon; however, when he pulled his martial brother off-line, forcing him to over-commit, for a fleeting second he created an angle to pursue. Ishiki Toei reinforced the weapon, countering Zaofan's rippling aura with a structure of steadfast rigidity as they clashed, pulled apart, then pursued, over and over, testing each other's defenses. The black staff swirled, the length creating deception as it darted in and out, sifting new patterns that took advantage of its range, yet when it encountered a clash its momentum was countered by fundamentals, trading force for angles to nullify the distance, and in the race to return to position the shorter weapon was swifter to redraw, but for the thousand of paths the weapon could take in an instant, and as Ochazuke got closer, Zaofan suddenly planted his pole and vaulted upward, committing entirely to bringing the staff down. Impacting into the nano-concrete surface of the platform, its force shook the entire temple grounds. All for naught as Ochazuke hooked the jo and pried Bojack from Zaofan's hands. Yet when he pursued, the Pressure Kicker shot around in an arc and blew his guard wide open, and the Chef's eyes lit up burning red.

OPTIC BLAST!

Ochazuke found his footing and threw his finger forward. Dodonpa! The energies impacted in a dead heat, expanding slowly in a blinding flash. The clatter of wood sounded out as Ochazuke was forced to abandon his weapon, with need to reinforce his technique, and soon one of the duelling red beams shift blue as he threw the principles of the Kudaku-Ken of the Tiger School behind it, rupturing the very structure of the opposing stream of power until the beams folded in upon each other and detonated.

When the flash died down, within the containment shield, the fight went hand to hand. Zaofan pressed on the attack with strikes from long range, snapping to maximum distance and shifting momentum into the next, chambering and whipping blows even as he weaved through them, for he knew all too well the moment Ochazuke found a single opening to his central line, no number of rapidfire strikes could stand to the principle: Ikken Hissatsu - One Strike Certain Death. It was a maxim that went behind any fully committed technique of several disciplines, but the man standing before him took his martial education from Grandmaster Chahan of the Crane School, and used this very principle refined over 2000 years to stake his claim as all but his named successor. The Hands of Hokuto loaned speed to hands fashioned after vipers, piercing just short of anything vital, palms impacting upon his foe's body with enough pain to push him back. In this state, both were used to the pain, it cut through the fear and tension, left Zaofan with the focus to roll and shift to make killer blows into glancing ones.

It was during this course of leaning back hard and pressing the Sheep's Fortitude as knuckles ground into his solar plexus that he saw Ochazuke's view turn to the side for a moment, and it was an opening he seized with an elbow that cut and bled his brow. The strike was true, his eye was sealed, but he'd sacrificed his footing for a sure hit, and with that slight tilt in balance, Zaofan found himself thrown over Ochazuke's shoulders and slammed onto his back, and his brother drove his fist into his throat mercilessly.

Thankfully, he did not follow through, instead stepping off slightly as he dabbed the welling over his eye, for there was a strange presence among their crowd of observers.

"...Held?"

Laying flat on his back, Zaofan too sensed the familiar aura, and kipped up to his feet, cringing and wheezing instantly as he felt his abdominal crunch would spill everything from the pain.

"...what the heck took you so long?!"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Ochazuke took the data chip from Parsley. After a moment of staring at it, he moved into the Old Library of the Lookout, and put it into a computer console and the readouts seemed to corroborate what she spoke of. In addition to Caliban's testimony, received secondhand, now more than ever it weighed upon him what they had to embark upon.

Zaofan, for his part, loosed a surprisingly nonchalant whistle when all was spoken out loud.

"Well, last time it took at least seven of them, yeah? We have a lot more than that with us!"

Ochazuke, on the other hand, muttered in frustration under his breath.

"That was when the Dragon was alone. Moreover, the Palantine were not fighting a war on two fronts." Setting his hands firmly down upon the surface of a desk, the boom echoed through the ancient halls of the Earth's Guardian. "Bad enough that we have to fend for ourselves already, but after all this time, only now is everything coming to light. The Way Between Worlds, just how long have you known how to access it?"

Parsley sighed. "I don't. But I have had the key since Auroc." After a moment of silence, she popped open a capsule and produced the apparatus of Auroc. She set it down on the table.

"There are over two dozen equations to ensure the correct angles and power are used to open a doorway. For something as important as the Way Between Worlds or crossing over between universes or even planets, I need to be absolutely sure everything is correct. You have those equations from when you copied the journal. I've been studying with our finest mathematicians and I think I almost have it, but thinking so isn't good enough."

"What...?"

Silence fell over both of the martial brothers. Zaofan's eyes began to fog up and tear immediately, but Ochazuke's expression was seemingly impassive at the news, before his shoulders sagged with a sigh.

"...and how is Sarada?"

Their reactions were about what she thought them to be. "I only found out today. Sarada has... been missing for the last week. Maiz said she left right after our dragon informed us of her demise."

She had ways of finding out where her sister had gone, but preferred to let her mourn in private. With her myriad of duties, she wouldn't be gone for much longer. When she was ready to return, she would.

"Inanna won't stay dead for long. I figure her mother won't let her." She sighed again. "She intended on tearing the cosmic system down. When she gained enough power, I think she intended on killing all the gods and changing the system of power. The gods and Destroyers who agree with her reasoning would be used as advisors and aides for Sihn... or so she claimed. Those that refused would be destroyed. As for the Guardians, she said she would look to them as caretakers; otherwise, she would find a way to strip their powers safely. Under this plan, I think Eva and Maiz would be the first she'd speak to.

"She didn't go into any further detail than that. I don't know when she intended on starting or how long it would take." She glanced at Ochazuke. "As I mentioned to the Soul Meister when we spoke to him in Sihn's office, this is the same plan Sakin has, for the most part."

She fell silent. At one point, she trusted that Inanna was telling the truth. She trusted that she would have a plan to secure the safe transition between the old way and her new system before burning the old way to ash. That was until Darkle, and hearing how in little regard she held mortals. Why would she ensure they're lives remained mostly unchanged during the fallout if she didn't care a whit about them? Was she even telling the truth to begin with? She wasn't Ishtar, who was compelled to tell the truth no matter what. She could lie, and that knowledge compared to her former self fostered a great deal of doubt. Still, they wouldn't be blindsided if Inanna's plan was enacted in their lifetime.

She looked at those assembled, a regretful frown on her face. "I'm sorry. I should have said something sooner." No excuses were given; they wouldn't have been good enough anyway.

[grampagen]

Parsley sighed. "I don't. But I have had the key since Auroc." After a moment of silence, she popped open a capsule and produced the apparatus of Auroc. She set it down on the table.

"There are over two dozen equations to ensure the correct angles and power are used to open a doorway. For something as important as the Way Between Worlds or crossing over between universes or even planets, I need to be absolutely sure everything is correct. You have those equations from when you copied the journal. I've been studying with our finest mathematicians and I think I almost have it, but thinking so isn't good enough."

"Since Auroc..." Ochazuke started, then grew silent, but for the grinding of his molars. It seemed Inanna was not the only one withholding information.

"You could have brought it to Pantaloon," he said, his voice simmering with bitterness, "The man figured out how to find the Doctor. That fool split apart time and stood outside of it, and Pantaloon found the Star Forge with as much a formula as this."

"So tell me, why didn't you?"

Their reactions were about what she thought them to be. "I only found out today. Sarada has... been missing for the last week. Maiz said she left right after our dragon informed us of her demise."

She had ways of finding out where her sister had gone, but preferred to let her mourn in private. With her myriad of duties, she wouldn't be gone for much longer. When she was ready to return, she would.

"Inanna won't stay dead for long. I figure her mother won't let her." She sighed again. "She intended on tearing the cosmic system down. When she gained enough power, I think she intended on killing all the gods and changing the system of power. The gods and Destroyers who agree with her reasoning would be used as advisors and aides for Sihn... or so she claimed. Those that refused would be destroyed. As for the Guardians, she said she would look to them as caretakers; otherwise, she would find a way to strip their powers safely. Under this plan, I think Eva and Maiz would be the first she'd speak to.

"She didn't go into any further detail than that. I don't know when she intended on starting or how long it would take." She glanced at Ochazuke. "As I mentioned to the Soul Meister when we spoke to him in Sihn's office, this is the same plan Sakin has, for the most part."

She fell silent. At one point, she trusted that Inanna was telling the truth. She trusted that she would have a plan to secure the safe transition between the old way and her new system before burning the old way to ash. That was until Darkle, and hearing how in little regard she held mortals. Why would she ensure they're lives remained mostly unchanged during the fallout if she didn't care a whit about them? Was she even telling the truth to begin with? She wasn't Ishtar, who was compelled to tell the truth no matter what. She could lie, and that knowledge compared to her former self fostered a great deal of doubt. Still, they wouldn't be blindsided if Inanna's plan was enacted in their lifetime.

She looked at those assembled, a regretful frown on her face. "I'm sorry. I should have said something sooner." No excuses were given; they wouldn't have been good enough anyway.

Silence hung in the air for a moment as they pondered what to do with this new information, and as the tension pressed from all sides, Zaofan did his best to break it.

"Well...even under this duress, if we give Sarada her space, surely she'll return, and Inanna-"

"...if and when the Destroyer returns," Ochazuke interjected, "who will she stand with? The Universe? Or another one seeking to tear it apart with more fine promises to remake it?"

Slowly he turned around, and instantly the Chef stepped up into his face.

"Hey! We spent months training in Vaikuntha! I can't believe you're even asking that!"

"You've seen how she is when she grasps things, and what she does when she doesn't. When she's set her eye on something she'll so whatever she wants until she gets it, damn the consequences or anybody else."

"And look what happened, it was successful!"

"Barely. It was necessary, but if this is going to disrupt her focus, then it may have been for nothing."

"Would it kill you to have some faith in your students? Look, everyone makes mistakes-"

Ochazuke struck his hand against the console, and the sound, like splitting stone, filled the library.

"There's no more margin for error!" he shouted, "How are we going to win if we're walking into a three-front war?!"

He shook he head once, then turned his attention to Parsley.

"So Inanna wasn't the only one keeping secrets. She estimated that we were unworthy to know," he bristled, "I wondered if this was from a lack of trust, but if all this stemmed from the ambitions of one who does not share power..."

Whatever fury roused the veins shocking through his neck and temple slowly receded, for none of this changed their current predicament for the moment had already passed.

"...we are on our own. Regardless I do not intend to give neither her no Sakin the satisfaction of making our efforts futile. With so much death and unchecked ambition and fear, this balance of this Universe may be fragile, but there is hope and courage also. But if we're going to bring the fight to Sakin, perhaps we need to settle accounts with others who know of the Way Between Worlds."

Ochazuke folded his arms before him.

"We'll have to find the Ulthan."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Since Auroc..." Ochazuke started, then grew silent, but for the grinding of his molars. It seemed Inanna was not the only one withholding information.

"You could have brought it to Pantaloon," he said, his voice simmering with bitterness, "The man figured out how to find the Doctor. That fool split apart time and stood outside of it, and Pantaloon found the Star Forge with as much a formula as this."

"So tell me, why didn't you?"

"Pants has enough on his plate as is," Parsley said evenly. "Unless I'm grossly underestimating the breadth of his responsibilities, I won't add on more." It was as simple as that. Besides, the Saiyans from Turrip - at least those that specialized in mathematics - could teach her just fine. Not to say they were as brilliant as Pants - no one was - but they were smart enough. It was simply a matter of teaching someone completely inept at mathematics very difficult equations to the point that she felt comfortable using a device that could open a doorway to the bloodwork of the universe and travel to an unknown and unspeakable dimension between universes.

It wasn't a simple thing.

"Regardless, it's a moot point. We're nowhere near ready to face whatever is in the Way Between Worlds. I'll have it ready with a few more months of study. By then, it's only a matter of strengthening our bodies and wills for what lurks within." After all, even Auroc was unable to traverse the dark distances without his mind eroding. By his own admission, it required an iron will, which they all had. Still, she would rather not depend on prideful assumptions about her own capabilities. She wanted to be certain she could handle it.

Silence hung in the air for a moment as they pondered what to do with this new information, and as the tension pressed from all sides, Zaofan did his best to break it.

"Well...even under this duress, if we give Sarada her space, surely she'll return, and Inanna-"

"...if and when the Destroyer returns," Ochazuke interjected, "who will she stand with? The Universe? Or another one seeking to tear it apart with more fine promises to remake it?"

Slowly he turned around, and instantly the Chef stepped up into his face.

"Hey! We spent months training in Vaikuntha! I can't believe you're even asking that!"

"You've seen how she is when she grasps things, and what she does when she doesn't. When she's set her eye on something she'll so whatever she wants until she gets it, damn the consequences or anybody else."

"And look what happened, it was successful!"

"Barely. It was necessary, but if this is going to disrupt her focus, then it may have been for nothing."

"Would it kill you to have some faith in your students? Look, everyone makes mistakes-"

Ochazuke struck his hand against the console, and the sound, like splitting stone, filled the library.

"There's no more margin for error!" he shouted, "How are we going to win if we're walking into a three-front war?!"

He shook he head once, then turned his attention to Parsley.

"So Inanna wasn't the only one keeping secrets. She estimated that we were unworthy to know," he bristled, "I wondered if this was from a lack of trust, but if all this stemmed from the ambitions of one who does not share power..."

Whatever fury roused the veins shocking through his neck and temple slowly receded, for none of this changed their current predicament for the moment had already passed.

"...we are on our own. Regardless I do not intend to give neither her no Sakin the satisfaction of making our efforts futile. With so much death and unchecked ambition and fear, this balance of this Universe may be fragile, but there is hope and courage also. But if we're going to bring the fight to Sakin, perhaps we need to settle accounts with others who know of the Way Between Worlds."

Ochazuke folded his arms before him.

"We'll have to find the Ulthan."

Parsley frowned, displeased by the, frankly, slander being heaped on Sarada. "You seem to have Sarada confused for a lovesick puppy," she said, staring hard at Ochazuke. "Yes, she loves Inanna, and yes, Saiyans are fiercely loyal to their mates. There are only a few scenarios in which mates would find themselves on opposite sides." The most recent example that immediately sprang to mind was the civil "war" on Callion that saw Pinrit and his wife on opposite sides. Even though they fought the other's allies, they themselves never clashed fists. "Inanna wanting to rend the universe to its foundation would be that. At the very least, she would try to talk some sense into her."

It would take much more than that to bring the to serious blows. If a civil war, treason, and a plot to kill the monarch couldn't bring mates to blows with each other.

"How could you even question whether Sarada would turn her back on countless innocent people. Have you not been paying attention?" Her frown turned into a scowl. "Or have you only given attention to what you want to see?"

She shook her head and moved on to the more pressing matter: the Ulthan. "The Judge, when I spoke to him only a short while ago, told me they're in a magical pocket dimension." She paused and informed them of what the Judge had told her.

"Only Binder has access to it, and I assume she allows the remaining Ulthan to come and go as they wish." There were still key details missing about the Ulthan, and she knew of only one person who had them other than the people themselves. "We need to speak to Banespell." As much as she wished to ignore his existence until he died, miserable and shunned by his own people, he almost certainly had answers they desperately needed. "If you and I work together, we may be able to find Binder's dimension, but Banespell has answers were need. I believe we'll be able to turn Beast God and Last Daughter to our cause, for a price." That price being the name of his wife's killer and a means of bringing her mother back. If possible, they would make powerful allies in their final battle against Sakin and Alakazah.

"One final thing. Maiz's dragon, Houlong, was summoned last week. I wasn't present for it, but she told me what he told her and Sarada when I got back from a vacation."

The Great Call, the battle for the fate of the universe. All their enemies were going to converge on them at once. She could only assume that those enemies were going to come from the Way Between Worlds, which added an extra layer of mystery to an already perilous situation. The god ritual Lampton touted was critical to her and Sarada's survival, but Inanna took his location to her grave, damn her. Parsley had only met him once and hitched a ride, so she was completely clueless on how to get to him.

Damn it.

Time was running out. The dragon gave no time table. It could have happened at any moment. What little time they had left was precious, but finite. The only possible clue she had was Eva's vision of a thing happening in year's time. That was nine months ago, so they only had three months left. Thanks to the wish made to Tiamat, she knew that thing was the union of Asha'rah, Genesis, and Sakin. She had no idea if that was connected to the Great Call or not, but she did know that it did little to assuage her anxiety.

"We have three months until Eva's vision comes to pass," she said somberly. "That's the only time table we have."

[grampagen]

"Pants has enough on his plate as is," Parsley said evenly. "Unless I'm grossly underestimating the breadth of his responsibilities, I won't add on more." It was as simple as that. Besides, the Saiyans from Turrip - at least those that specialized in mathematics - could teach her just fine. Not to say they were as brilliant as Pants - no one was - but they were smart enough. It was simply a matter of teaching someone completely inept at mathematics very difficult equations to the point that she felt comfortable using a device that could open a doorway to the bloodwork of the universe and travel to an unknown and unspeakable dimension between universes.

It wasn't a simple thing.

"Regardless, it's a moot point. We're nowhere near ready to face whatever is in the Way Between Worlds. I'll have it ready with a few more months of study. By then, it's only a matter of strengthening our bodies and wills for what lurks within." After all, even Auroc was unable to traverse the dark distances without his mind eroding. By his own admission, it required an iron will, which they all had. Still, she would rather not depend on prideful assumptions about her own capabilities. She wanted to be certain she could handle it.

"The only thing you've grossly underestimated are his capabilities," Ochazuke replied. Of course, even with how far they'd come, it seemed to be par for the course. "The man has been fighting Alakazah his entire life and has grown rather fond of the wider universe. Give Pantaloon a copy, and he will make the time."

He then appraised the Apparatus of Auroc, the little crystalline thing. Sealed within it was a strange nexus of power that seemed to exist in many places at once. Its sublime nature was strange, like peering through the reflection of a mirror on a fixed point.

"The Apparatus requires a Wayfinder through the Galactic Leyline and you only mention it to me now that you cannot perceive how to begin," he said, the register of his voice holding a forcefully clinical tone. "But if we require knowledge on how to pass through it safely, we might not have to look far, for some have already breached it. Auroc knew...and he, too, knew that many of the Ulthan are from other worlds. Considering how they got here, it makes a certain amount of sense."

Parsley frowned, displeased by the, frankly, slander being heaped on Sarada. "You seem to have Sarada confused for a lovesick puppy," she said, staring hard at Ochazuke. "Yes, she loves Inanna, and yes, Saiyans are fiercely loyal to their mates. There are only a few scenarios in which mates would find themselves on opposite sides." The most recent example that immediately sprang to mind was the civil "war" on Callion that saw Pinrit and his wife on opposite sides. Even though they fought the other's allies, they themselves never clashed fists. "Inanna wanting to rend the universe to its foundation would be that. At the very least, she would try to talk some sense into her."

It would take much more than that to bring the to serious blows. If a civil war, treason, and a plot to kill the monarch couldn't bring mates to blows with each other.

"How could you even question whether Sarada would turn her back on countless innocent people. Have you not been paying attention?" Her frown turned into a scowl. "Or have you only given attention to what you want to see?"

"I've seen enough during the course of your training to know that what drives a Saiyan to shatter their limits is the exact same thing that makes them think of others as no more than obstacles in their way and fodder to be pushed aside in the heat of the moment," he replied. "'I'll do this my way, even if I do not know how, and damn the rest for I am the better.' It serves you as poorly in reasoning as serves you well in battle."

Despite the Hozon inherent to Vaikuntha, he still had the scars that served as a cruel reminder and a dubious honour of what happens when that sort of thinking was resolutely opposed.

"Regardless, when the time comes, the decision of whether we still matter in the face of this will remain Sarada's alone. If that happens, I will do what I must."

It was merely a prophecy two months ago, and though none of them said it, there was a great deal of unease below the surface. Would they stand beside each other as allies, or would they continue to try to stand above them as masters? With all the talk of trust, honesty and apologies he'd heard over the last few months juxtaposed with these matters suddenly being brought to his attention this late in the year and the dismissal of their allies drawing an uncomfortably close parallel to the Oni's, Ochazuke's repartee to her last remark was simple.

"Probing for weakness, as always. Perhaps that's a question you should be asking of yourself, Parsley."

She shook her head and moved on to the more pressing matter: the Ulthan. "The Judge, when I spoke to him only a short while ago, told me they're in a magical pocket dimension." She paused and informed them of what the Judge had told her.

"Only Binder has access to it, and I assume she allows the remaining Ulthan to come and go as they wish." There were still key details missing about the Ulthan, and she knew of only one person who had them other than the people themselves. "We need to speak to Banespell." As much as she wished to ignore his existence until he died, miserable and shunned by his own people, he almost certainly had answers they desperately needed. "If you and I work together, we may be able to find Binder's dimension, but Banespell has answers were need. I believe we'll be able to turn Beast God and Last Daughter to our cause, for a price." That price being the name of his wife's killer and a means of bringing her mother back. If possible, they would make powerful allies in their final battle against Sakin and Alakazah.

"One final thing. Maiz's dragon, Houlong, was summoned last week. I wasn't present for it, but she told me what he told her and Sarada when I got back from a vacation."

The Great Call, the battle for the fate of the universe. All their enemies were going to converge on them at once. She could only assume that those enemies were going to come from the Way Between Worlds, which added an extra layer of mystery to an already perilous situation. The god ritual Lampton touted was critical to her and Sarada's survival, but Inanna took his location to her grave, damn her. Parsley had only met him once and hitched a ride, so she was completely clueless on how to get to him.

Damn it.

Time was running out. The dragon gave no time table. It could have happened at any moment. What little time they had left was precious, but finite. The only possible clue she had was Eva's vision of a thing happening in year's time. That was nine months ago, so they only had three months left. Thanks to the wish made to Tiamat, she knew that thing was the union of Asha'rah, Genesis, and Sakin. She had no idea if that was connected to the Great Call or not, but she did know that it did little to assuage her anxiety.

"We have three months until Eva's vision comes to pass," she said somberly. "That's the only time table we have."

At the mention of the Judge, Zaofan perked up. Determined as he was to lighten the atmosphere, so did he interject.

"Ahhh...eh-heh," he started nervously, raising his hands before him with a few drops of nervous sweat, "Believe me, I'd had mentioned him if I felt it was a pressing matter, but in my, no, his defense, he's been incredibly dedicated and completely sincere! Well, as long as we're airing out dirty laundry, the truth is...I literally forgot."

The martial brothers exchanged a look that made the air so stale one could hear a pin drop in the library.

"But I know he's from another universe too! Maybe we should bring him along if we're going to Darkle. After all, Banespell owes him some answers as well."

Ochazuke paused in thought for a moment. Lifting his hand before him, apparating out of thin air was a wooden staff a little over four feet in length. Tapping into to the ground once, in an instant it reformed into the weapon that smote Alakazah, the Forger's Hammer.

"Spireward enacted his will swiftly when he cut off his hands, taking him off the board as a player," he frowned. Why he entrusted this thing to him was something he'd brooded over in the last year. "It's possible he may not even be alive."

Holding aloft the hammer, Ochazuke channeled his ki into the Spark of Creation within it and used it to enhance his perception across the cosmos.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"The only thing you've grossly underestimated are his capabilities," Ochazuke replied. Of course, even with how far they'd come, it seemed to be par for the course. "The man has been fighting Alakazah his entire life and has grown rather fond of the wider universe. Give Pantaloon a copy, and he will make the time."

He then appraised the Apparatus of Auroc, the little crystalline thing. Sealed within it was a strange nexus of power that seemed to exist in many places at once. Its sublime nature was strange, like peering through the reflection of a mirror on a fixed point.

"The Apparatus requires a Wayfinder through the Galactic Leyline and you only mention it to me now that you cannot perceive how to begin," he said, the register of his voice holding a forcefully clinical tone. "But if we require knowledge on how to pass through it safely, we might not have to look far, for some have already breached it. Auroc knew...and he, too, knew that many of the Ulthan are from other worlds. Considering how they got here, it makes a certain amount of sense."



"I've seen enough during the course of your training to know that what drives a Saiyan to shatter their limits is the exact same thing that makes them think of others as no more than obstacles in their way and fodder to be pushed aside in the heat of the moment," he replied. "'I'll do this my way, even if I do not know how, and damn the rest for I am the better.' It serves you as poorly in reasoning as serves you well in battle."

Despite the Hozon inherent to Vaikuntha, he still had the scars that served as a cruel reminder and a dubious honour of what happens when that sort of thinking was resolutely opposed.

"Regardless, when the time comes, the decision of whether we still matter in the face of this will remain Sarada's alone. If that happens, I will do what I must."

It was merely a prophecy two months ago, and though none of them said it, there was a great deal of unease below the surface. Would they stand beside each other as allies, or would they continue to try to stand above them as masters? With all the talk of trust, honesty and apologies he'd heard over the last few months juxtaposed with these matters suddenly being brought to his attention this late in the year and the dismissal of their allies drawing an uncomfortably close parallel to the Oni's, Ochazuke's repartee to her last remark was simple.

"Probing for weakness, as always. Perhaps that's a question you should be asking of yourself, Parsley."



At the mention of the Judge, Zaofan perked up. Determined as he was to lighten the atmosphere, so did he interject.

"Ahhh...eh-heh," he started nervously, raising his hands before him with a few drops of nervous sweat, "Believe me, I'd had mentioned him if I felt it was a pressing matter, but in my, no, his defense, he's been incredibly dedicated and completely sincere! Well, as long as we're airing out dirty laundry, the truth is...I literally forgot."

The martial brothers exchanged a look that made the air so stale one could hear a pin drop in the library.

"But I know he's from another universe too! Maybe we should bring him along if we're going to Darkle. After all, Banespell owes him some answers as well."

Ochazuke paused in thought for a moment. Lifting his hand before him, apparating out of thin air was a wooden staff a little over four feet in length. Tapping into to the ground once, in an instant it reformed into the weapon that smote Alakazah, the Forger's Hammer.

"Spireward enacted his will swiftly when he cut off his hands, taking him off the board as a player," he frowned. Why he entrusted this thing to him was something he'd brooded over in the last year. "It's possible he may not even be alive."

Holding aloft the hammer, Ochazuke channeled his ki into the Spark of Creation within it and used it to enhance his perception across the cosmos.

Banespell lives. Ochazuke is easily able to locate the hammer’s former owner.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"The only thing you've grossly underestimated are his capabilities," Ochazuke replied. Of course, even with how far they'd come, it seemed to be par for the course. "The man has been fighting Alakazah his entire life and has grown rather fond of the wider universe. Give Pantaloon a copy, and he will make the time."

He then appraised the Apparatus of Auroc, the little crystalline thing. Sealed within it was a strange nexus of power that seemed to exist in many places at once. Its sublime nature was strange, like peering through the reflection of a mirror on a fixed point.

"The Apparatus requires a Wayfinder through the Galactic Leyline and you only mention it to me now that you cannot perceive how to begin," he said, the register of his voice holding a forcefully clinical tone. "But if we require knowledge on how to pass through it safely, we might not have to look far, for some have already breached it. Auroc knew...and he, too, knew that many of the Ulthan are from other worlds. Considering how they got here, it makes a certain amount of sense."

“At no point have I ever questioned Jinzi’s capabilities as a thinker,” Parsley said with a shake of her head. “All I said was I didn’t want him to push his myriad of responsibilities to the side for what will prove to be extensive maths lessons, but if you disagree, we’ll do it your way.”

Once again, their current path led to Banespell. In order to gather his Ulthan, he would have, in all likelihood, traveled to their universes to recruit them personally. If not him, then Binder. She was inaccessible as far as Parsley knew; regardless, she doubted Banespell was absent for those meetings. He had to make his pitch, after all.

“Banespell or Lady Binder are who we need to talk to.”

"I've seen enough during the course of your training to know that what drives a Saiyan to shatter their limits is the exact same thing that makes them think of others as no more than obstacles in their way and fodder to be pushed aside in the heat of the moment," he replied. "'I'll do this my way, even if I do not know how, and damn the rest for I am the better.' It serves you as poorly in reasoning as serves you well in battle."

Despite the Hozon inherent to Vaikuntha, he still had the scars that served as a cruel reminder and a dubious honour of what happens when that sort of thinking was resolutely opposed.

"Regardless, when the time comes, the decision of whether we still matter in the face of this will remain Sarada's alone. If that happens, I will do what I must."

It was merely a prophecy two months ago, and though none of them said it, there was a great deal of unease below the surface. Would they stand beside each other as allies, or would they continue to try to stand above them as masters? With all the talk of trust, honesty and apologies he'd heard over the last few months juxtaposed with these matters suddenly being brought to his attention this late in the year and the dismissal of their allies drawing an uncomfortably close parallel to the Oni's, Ochazuke's repartee to her last remark was simple.

"Probing for weakness, as always. Perhaps that's a question you should be asking of yourself, Parsley."

“What you’ve seen is a single facet of a complicated person,” Parsley responded, voice level but tinged with disbelief that she even had to point that out. “Sarada may do things her own way, sense and logic be damned, but there’s more to her - and all of us Saiyans - that you have yet to see. Surely, you’ve witnessed that first hand on Langal and how those people are wholly different from Sarada and I.”

It all hinged on what Inanna truly intended on doing. Judging the gods and destroying those that either weren’t doing their jobs or were an active hindrance to the universe wasn’t something she disagreed with. The doubt lied with what was to come after. What was her plan after she erased the chaff?

When she returned, the discussion in that regard didn’t need to come to blows. Sarada would be the only person Inanna would be willing to listen to, and Sarada would be unwilling to fight her wife if a serious altercation came of it. In that regard, the path was clear.

“Inanna won’t listen to any of us and you know that. You and I made sure of that on Darkle. If you push the issue, a conflict will ensue. Then we’ll see who really matters and how deep the bonds of supposed ‘friendship’ really are. I dare not search for what doesn’t exist, Ochazuke. For someone who anointed himself as judge of anyone who crosses his sensibilities should have no weakness.”

She decided to not address the subtle threat against her sister. If anything happened in that regard, she would respond accordingly. And without mercy.

At the mention of the Judge, Zaofan perked up. Determined as he was to lighten the atmosphere, so did he interject.

"Ahhh...eh-heh," he started nervously, raising his hands before him with a few drops of nervous sweat, "Believe me, I'd had mentioned him if I felt it was a pressing matter, but in my, no, his defense, he's been incredibly dedicated and completely sincere! Well, as long as we're airing out dirty laundry, the truth is...I literally forgot."

The martial brothers exchanged a look that made the air so stale one could hear a pin drop in the library.

"But I know he's from another universe too! Maybe we should bring him along if we're going to Darkle. After all, Banespell owes him some answers as well."

Ochazuke paused in thought for a moment. Lifting his hand before him, apparating out of thin air was a wooden staff a little over four feet in length. Tapping into to the ground once, in an instant it reformed into the weapon that smote Alakazah, the Forger's Hammer.

"Spireward enacted his will swiftly when he cut off his hands, taking him off the board as a player," he frowned. Why he entrusted this thing to him was something he'd brooded over in the last year. "It's possible he may not even be alive."

Holding aloft the hammer, Ochazuke channeled his ki into the Spark of Creation within it and used it to enhance his perception across the cosmos.

Parsley sighed at Zaofan's revelation, but said nothing. She sat down at the table and picked up the Apparatus. With her months of mathematical studies and observing the device in her hand, would she know how to operate it at least on a planetary scale?

OT: Cleric?

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“At no point have I ever questioned Jinzi’s capabilities as a thinker,” Parsley said with a shake of her head. “All I said was I didn’t want him to push his myriad of responsibilities to the side for what will prove to be extensive maths lessons, but if you disagree, we’ll do it your way.”

Once again, their current path led to Banespell. In order to gather his Ulthan, he would have, in all likelihood, traveled to their universes to recruit them personally. If not him, then Binder. She was inaccessible as far as Parsley knew; regardless, she doubted Banespell was absent for those meetings. He had to make his pitch, after all.

“Banespell or Lady Binder are who we need to talk to.”



“What you’ve seen is a single facet of a complicated person,” Parsley responded, voice level but tinged with disbelief that she even had to point that out. “Sarada may do things her own way, sense and logic be damned, but there’s more to her - and all of us Saiyans - that you have yet to see. Surely, you’ve witnessed that first hand on Langal and how those people are wholly different from Sarada and I.”

It all hinged on what Inanna truly intended on doing. Judging the gods and destroying those that either weren’t doing their jobs or were an active hindrance to the universe wasn’t something she disagreed with. The doubt lied with what was to come after. What was her plan after she erased the chaff?

When she returned, the discussion in that regard didn’t need to come to blows. Sarada would be the only person Inanna would be willing to listen to, and Sarada would be unwilling to fight her wife if a serious altercation came of it. In that regard, the path was clear.

“Inanna won’t listen to any of us and you know that. You and I made sure of that on Darkle. If you push the issue, a conflict will ensue. Then we’ll see who really matters and how deep the bonds of supposed ‘friendship’ really are. I dare not search for what doesn’t exist, Ochazuke. For someone who anointed himself as judge of anyone who crosses his sensibilities should have no weakness.”

She decided to not address the subtle threat against her sister. If anything happened in that regard, she would respond accordingly. And without mercy.



Parsley sighed at Zaofan's revelation, but said nothing. She sat down at the table and picked up the Apparatus. With her months of mathematical studies and observing the device in her hand, would she know how to operate it at least on a planetary scale?

OT: Cleric?

Absolutely. At least to planets she’s been to and knows the calculations of.

[grampagen]

“At no point have I ever questioned Jinzi’s capabilities as a thinker,” Parsley said with a shake of her head. “All I said was I didn’t want him to push his myriad of responsibilities to the side for what will prove to be extensive maths lessons, but if you disagree, we’ll do it your way.”

Once again, their current path led to Banespell. In order to gather his Ulthan, he would have, in all likelihood, traveled to their universes to recruit them personally. If not him, then Binder. She was inaccessible as far as Parsley knew; regardless, she doubted Banespell was absent for those meetings. He had to make his pitch, after all.

“Banespell or Lady Binder are who we need to talk to.”

Ochazuke looked across the way at Parsley, eyes narrowing as her tone grew defensive, and spoke his next words pointedly and slowly.

"Did you ask him?"

Right now, they both knew that she didn't.

“What you’ve seen is a single facet of a complicated person,” Parsley responded, voice level but tinged with disbelief that she even had to point that out. “Sarada may do things her own way, sense and logic be damned, but there’s more to her - and all of us Saiyans - that you have yet to see. Surely, you’ve witnessed that first hand on Langal and how those people are wholly different from Sarada and I.”

It all hinged on what Inanna truly intended on doing. Judging the gods and destroying those that either weren’t doing their jobs or were an active hindrance to the universe wasn’t something she disagreed with. The doubt lied with what was to come after. What was her plan after she erased the chaff?

When she returned, the discussion in that regard didn’t need to come to blows. Sarada would be the only person Inanna would be willing to listen to, and Sarada would be unwilling to fight her wife if a serious altercation came of it. In that regard, the path was clear.

“Inanna won’t listen to any of us and you know that. You and I made sure of that on Darkle. If you push the issue, a conflict will ensue. Then we’ll see who really matters and how deep the bonds of supposed ‘friendship’ really are. I dare not search for what doesn’t exist, Ochazuke. For someone who anointed himself as judge of anyone who crosses his sensibilities should have no weakness.”

She decided to not address the subtle threat against her sister. If anything happened in that regard, she would respond accordingly. And without mercy.

There it was, the pitch raised with feigned incredulity in her tone of voice. Parsley's eye for detail was matched only by the obnoxious satisfaction she had in presenting her righteousness as she spoke down, a thorny presentation for their enemies, certainly, but fuelled by something deeper which had been a great impediment during Fusion.

"Don't patronize me, however you came into your habit of this condescension and dismissal, it will not avail you in your efforts save face here," he replied. "A single facet of a complicated person? Every time either of you confront your own weakness you'd rather deny it exists, for your preference would be to put it upon somebody else, turn it around so that they may be judged in turn."

Her remark over judgment and friendship only further stoked his ire.

"Do you seriously think I would have gone out to meet Maiz on a lark of feigned friendship and train both you and your Royal Sister if you were nothing more than strangers?" Peeling away at the layers of her response, there it was again. The turn, the willful alienation, and then the mockery. "As if nothing should matter but what will bolster your part in this, cheh! If this is enough to cast our efforts off entirely, then we're no better than Inanna was! Although in as much as this, even if it took this long to do it you'd at least remembered this is our fight, not yours."

Standing there, searching the cosmos with focus, he turned his mind to a more productive course.

"Whatever you make of me or the Earth, I know whatever strides we've made in the last year, the fight to come is bigger than ourselves. I can promise you I do not take any of my allies for granted. For whatever qualities they possess, good or ill, that is what they are, and I do not appraise either lightly. Perhaps you would remember us the next time your inability hinders you."

Parsley sighed at Zaofan's revelation, but said nothing. She sat down at the table and picked up the Apparatus. With her months of mathematical studies and observing the device in her hand, would she know how to operate it at least on a planetary scale?

OT: Cleric?

Banespell lives. Ochazuke is easily able to locate the hammer’s former owner.

Absolutely. At least to planets sheÂ’s been to and knows the calculations of.

And then, in an instant, that would be the end of the bickering, for united in purpose he had verified the Forger's wherabouts, and she had secured the means to get there.

Zaofan sighed audibly, and tugged the side of his collar. They weren't speaking, but at least they were working together...and he was sure they'd eventually come around to it. These hardcases...what a relief.

"I'll...I'll just...go drop these off at Capsule Corp," he said, taking a data chip copy complete with the equations, "and bring The Judge, then."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Ochazuke looked across the way at Parsley, eyes narrowing as her tone grew defensive, and spoke his next words pointedly and slowly.

"Did you ask him?"

Right now, they both knew that she didn't.

"We're talking in circles." She had already explained why she didn't speak to Jinzi. She knew, both from observations and from first-hand experience, just how busy a ruler was. She didn't want to add any more to his shoulders. To her, it was that simple. Every one of them knew exactly what Jinzi was capable of, herself included.

There it was, the pitch raised with feigned incredulity in her tone of voice. Parsley's eye for detail was matched only by the obnoxious satisfaction she had in presenting her righteousness as she spoke down, a thorny presentation for their enemies, certainly, but fuelled by something deeper which had been a great impediment during Fusion.

"Don't patronize me, however you came into your habit of this condescension and dismissal, it will not avail you in your efforts save face here," he replied. "A single facet of a complicated person? Every time either of you confront your own weakness you'd rather deny it exists, for your preference would be to put it upon somebody else, turn it around so that they may be judged in turn."

Her remark over judgment and friendship only further stoked his ire.

"Do you seriously think I would have gone out to meet Maiz on a lark of feigned friendship and train both you and your Royal Sister if you were nothing more than strangers?" Peeling away at the layers of her response, there it was again. The turn, the willful alienation, and then the mockery. "As if nothing should matter but what will bolster your part in this, cheh! If this is enough to cast our efforts off entirely, then we're no better than Inanna was! Although in as much as this, even if it took this long to do it you'd at least remembered this is our fight, not yours."

Standing there, searching the cosmos with focus, he turned his mind to a more productive course.

"Whatever you make of me or the Earth, I know whatever strides we've made in the last year, the fight to come is bigger than ourselves. I can promise you I do not take any of my allies for granted. For whatever qualities they possess, good or ill, that is what they are, and I do not appraise either lightly. Perhaps you would remember us the next time your inability hinders you."

Parsley looked at him silently, her expression neutral. She could have argued against him further, but what was the point? She knew she had flaws. They were the same ones she had since she was a child. While she shed some after her death, others remained. She supposed that was the tragic flaw of imperfection; there was always something holding her back from being the best she could be. If nothing else, it gave her something to work on. Life was a journey, with ups and downs.

"I'm a hypocrite," she said suddenly. Her quiet words still managed to boom through the silent library. "I ran roughshod over my sister-in-law, despite being guilty of the same thing." She could have added the caveat that she was an emotionally and physically drained mess and thus wasn't thinking straight, but she didn't. Again, what was the point? "I unfairly projected that onto you and I'm sorry."

In the past, that would have impossible. Parsley, strongest of the Super Elites, would have never even dreamed of entertaining the idea that she was flawed, much less acknowledge them, even more less apologize for it. In that regard, she had come a long way.

Absolutely. At least to planets she’s been to and knows the calculations of.

And just like that, her efforts the past few months were validated. Months spent learning a snail's pace advanced mathematics that were easily understood by the ancient Majin and could have just as easily been understood by Jinzi Pantaloons. For now, Parsley was able to use the Apparatus to travel to worlds she had been to and had done the necessary calculations. With the help of her tutors, there were about fifteen such worlds: each Saiyan world (12), Earth, Reshlan, and Darkle.

"Where is he?" she asked Ochazuke quietly.

And then, in an instant, that would be the end of the bickering, for united in purpose he had verified the Forger's wherabouts, and she had secured the means to get there.

Zaofan sighed audibly, and tugged the side of his collar. They weren't speaking, but at least they were working together...and he was sure they'd eventually come around to it. These hardcases...what a relief.

"I'll...I'll just...go drop these off at Capsule Corp," he said, taking a data chip copy complete with the equations, "and bring The Judge, then."

Parsley just nodded.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Only a bit later, Zaofan returns with the Judge and a very curious Jinzi Pantaloon to the Lookout.

Jinzi smiles and nods to Parsley and Ochazuke.

“I have two days off, finally, and if I don’t get out of the Capital I might burn my office down. I had planned on visiting Meagan, but the kids and her are recovering from Chroma Flux, kind of like an Earth flu, and Cyanna suggested it would be safer to stay away for another day, so: here I am. Hope that’s ok?”


The Judge meanwhile observes the Lookout with an unreadable expression on its cybernetic face. Without the massive sniper rifle the person seemed much less intimidating.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Syneva did, indeed, prove to be a harsh, but fair teacher. The sheer amount of... one might say homework after her lessons would, for anyone else save perhaps Jinzi Pantaloon himself, be overwhelming. Even for her, an... hmhmhm, exemplar, it might have been impossible to both internalize what she'd learned and complete the work in the time alotted if not for the fact that she had access to a planet where time flowed much faster.

And so, her time in the normal world was filled with learning. Direct instruction, ancient recordings, even hands-on learning by disassembling and reassembling pieces of technology. And her time in Vaikuntha was filled with internalizing that knowledge and, of course, training. All-in-all, her 'time' was split roughly evenly, and as such, from her own point-of-view, she spent approximately half a century refining her technical skills, training, and improving her techniques and spells. And thanks to her bond with Vaikuntha and its hozon, she barely aged at all during this process.

By three months in (by the normal world's reckoning), she had effectively mastered all Syneva had to teach her.

The scientific achievements of her ancestors were, put bluntly, amazing. Effective, self-sufficient, with the only flaw being that some of their technologies almost seemed to be made for the purpose of... showing off?

Take, for example, their long-distance means of travel, the Void Warp. Rather than using mere brute force, like most species or folding space like the Nevadians, the First Race's solution to traveling extreme distances had been to leave the universe entirely and take advantage of the atemporal and aspacial properties of the 'void' outside of normal reality to, effectively, simply teleport entire ships across space. Abdm she learned, possibly time. Without a certain technology--based on Hozon, interestingly--one's arrival could be temporally... uncertain. Centuries after intended or even before intended.

This 'Void' travel also brought with it other dangers. Strange, eldritch beings manifesting inside ships, ships disappearing entirely... her ancestors, of course, had developed technology to prevent such unfortunate events, and the final result was quick and energy-efficient compared to other similar long-distance travel options, but if those technologies and their backups failed... the results were unpredictable and often catastrophic.

Of particular interest was their armor. At first glance, it was nothing special. Much slimmer than Threshling Armor, but offering a similar baseline protection, but the real power was in its... special effect. These combat skins would take a portion of the energy in physical, ki, and magical attacks directed towards it to recharge and, in some cases, supercharge itself. Weaken the attack, while also strengthening itself.

In some ways, it was similar to those planetary shields the Saiyans had recently developed, but on a personal level.

The energy gained would then be used to repair itself, recover its wearer, or further reinforce the wearer's offensive and defensive capabilities. Really, quite a marvelous thing... although there were very very few operational combat skins left, and all remaining were, apparently, lower-end models and prototypes. Still, they could serve as a foundation to recreate the technology and merge it with native Threshling arms and armorcrafting.

Saiyans had martial might. Nevadians their techniques and economic acumen. Humans... a bit of everything. Threshlings would base their power on a synthesis of magical and technological power.


As for the... whole exemplar thing, she realized that while the way Threshlings were was potentially a significant weakness, it could also be a significant strength. An ineffective or, worse, malicious leader could lead the entire race down the path of evil or incompetence, but at the same time, the level of unity they could achieve under the right leader was potentially incredible. A whole species, guided and focused by sheer force of will and vision...

She felt that what they had now was that sort of leadership, but having the Threshlings' success almost entirely reliant on a single individual was a tenuous situation. There needed to be successors. Not just those that could take her place, but those who wouldn't drag their people back into being a belligerent hermit empire. Exemplars were rare, but surely more would be born... and as such, figuring out a way to reliably track down and then mold them into proper leaders was paramount. Given their nature, however, any heavy-handed approach to that molding would doubtlessly fail.

...ah, so much work to do in the coming years, months, decades, and centuries.