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

[KingofPie]

Parsley had been expecting vast treasures the likes of which she had never seen in her entire life. To say she was disappointed with the spread set out before her was a vast, inconceivable understatement.

She sighed heavily, cutting a glance at the Icer beside her while taking a step further inside.



"...agreed. There isn't much here, anyway."

She took her time walking around the room, casting a scrutinizing eye across each item Auroc's store room had to offer. She didn't want to make a hasty decision and screw herself out of something that could be vitally useful at some point down the line. In the end, she made her choices:

One of the pieces of fruit (she was starving)
One of the vials
The sword
The book
The stone box

The rest looked uninteresting or not of much value to her. She would have picked the alcohol, but she didn't trust strange liquor. "The rest is yours," she said. She held up the green liquid to her eye, analyzing it as much as she could with Observational Focus.

Blizzar nodded gratefully. Best to pilfer what was left before Held could step foot within the vault. The Nevadian would likely haggle on principal, even if he had no interest in procuring any of these items. Blizzar took hold of;

One vial of green liquid
The Brandy Bottle
The Red Medallion
The worn Book
The halberd and stone dagger
And the armor

Giving a second look at the loot in store, he wondered if his compatriots among the M-Fighters would be willing to purchase any of the valuables., Of course some of them, he'd have the GP lab techs give the once over. Blizzar had a job to do here after all.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Blizzar nodded gratefully. Best to pilfer what was left before Held could step foot within the vault. The Nevadian would likely haggle on principal, even if he had no interest in procuring any of these items. Blizzar took hold of;

One vial of green liquid
The Brandy Bottle
The Red Medallion
The worn Book
The halberd and stone dagger
And the armor

Giving a second look at the loot in store, he wondered if his compatriots among the M-Fighters would be willing to purchase any of the valuables., Of course some of them, he'd have the GP lab techs give the once over. Blizzar had a job to do here after all.

Parsley took the book.

[KingofPie]

Parsley took the book.

....sssshhhhhh. TK is valuable

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

....sssshhhhhh. TK is valuable

Fair enough.

Blizzar has the book now.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Blizzar," Parsley said tersely. "Return that book before I shove that halberd somewhere uncomfortable."

[KingofPie]

"Blizzar," Parsley said tersely. "Return that book before I shove that halberd somewhere uncomfortable."

"Why, I don't know what you're..." Blizzar began before he sighed. Some people were just too keen-eyed to swipe from right under their noses. "Fine you, bloody....here," he stated irritated, levitating the book back towards Parsley.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Sefiroth watched his new 'friend' depart. An interesting fellow, that Held, as were the others.

Interesting, but fools. They had played right into his hands.

'His' body trembled and bubbled, psychic energy emitting from 'Sefiroth', until at long last the body dissolved into a slurry of what had once been a threshling. The psychic energy he had let off, seemingly of its own accord, flowed into one area, and slowly, a figure slowly came into existence.

At first glance, he appeared to be a Saiyan--in fact, he bore a striking resemblance to Totoma or Emperor Rousong. However, his mien was considerably different from even the latter. It was darker, more malevolent, less... sane.

Dragon Ball Super Orchestra - Orchestra Of Justice/Black Goku Theme

Hero's Shadow: Justice for the Fallen

The figure raised his hand and the energy released during the day's festivities, almost immediately, reacted, flowing into him from across the planet. All he could grab hold of and manipulate... ki, magic, the odd bit of psychic energy. Nothing from the living--he did not want to draw too much attention... not that it would matter--but certainly from the dead. Kakkarot, auroc, millions, perhaps, of sadly deceased Threshlings.

All their power was his now. His to enact justice as he saw fit. With a final burst of power, he finished with his 'meal', and suppressed his new power. They might have felt it, but... it mattered little. He had no quarrel with them... for now.

It was so so so so close... just a bit longer until he could reclaim... everything. His true body--not this psychically created fascimile--Karine, his life. That imposter, that coward, that worthless, lazy, sniveling swine that had stolen everything from him. Everything everything everything everything everything everything ... EVERYTHING! He would break him and then cast him into the abyss, and then he could go back to how things were... how things should have been.

But not now. No, no, no.... not only did he want to master his new power, there was no point in crushing a weakling like his 'other'. He needed to grow stronger... much stronger. And then, once he had reached the Zenith of his power, they would battle and he would know the might of the true Just Saiyan--true justice, true unfathomable power! He would know what it feels like to be cast aside like trash.

A wicked grin spread across the Just Saiyan's face, and a laugh bubbled up from deep within his belly. Ohhh, he couldn't wait, just... couldn't wait! He needed to do something to celebrate his plans getting one step closer to completion! But... what...

Thought raced through his head... and at last, he thought of something. Something fun he'd always wanted to do, in the back of his mind. There was someone he had a... shall we say, love-hate relationship with that he really wanted to kill. It was time to pay them a visit.

Putting his index and middle fingers to his forehead, he searched the cosmos for that person's energy and... oh, there they were! Haha, they would be so surprised when he just popped in, wouldn't they. Even more surprised when he killed them and took their power. Heck, maybe their soul, too, if he could manage it! His form blurred as he teleported across the stars to his... intended foe.

Ahh, Subarashii.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The green vials that seem to radiate teleportation magic.

"Interesting," she murmured. "Seems to be some kind of magical teleportation elixir." It was an item that would certainly come in handy at some point, but not right then. She placed it inside a capsule with the intention of testing it later. If it was single use only, then that was one thing. If it led to her permanently gaining the ability to teleport anywhere she wanted, that was another thing entirely.

She kneeled down and moved to open the stone box.

"Why, I don't know what you're..." Blizzar began before he sighed. Some people were just too keen-eyed to swipe from right under their noses. "Fine you, bloody....here," he stated irritated, levitating the book back towards Parsley.

She snatched the book out of the air and quickly placed it inside the same capsule as the vial.

[grampagen]

Time and space seem to warp and parts of Genesis seem to start to vanish rapidly, reappearing and disappearing, her form getting dimensionally shunted again and again.

For the first time, a look of...fury...crosses Genesis’ face and her eyes burn with an unknown power. As her body essentially seems to implode and disappear into an unknown dimension, thin beams of a wicked looking orange energy lance out from her eyes. Oddly, they seem to split and then curve at ninety degrees, both moving at different targets.

The first shoots behind her, burning a hole through Rex like he wasn’t even there, targeting and going straight through his chest and out his pack. The other lances towards Inanna, and burns a hole right through her left knee, almost taking the leg off.

The beams suddenly stop as Genesis seems to vanish into another dimension with a sickening popping and crunching sound.

———————

Never before had this level of energy been unleashed. The storm of energy, a conflagration of fury and energy and sheer power rips across the space just above Reshlan as three attacks slam into the Majin.

The first, Parsley’s modified Death Ball looking thing, slams into him and blasts him up and further into space, his legs obliterated as he rides it. The second, the Man in White’s miles long attack, propels the hell storm towards the sun, further burning Auroc down to little more than an arm and head. Sasheem’s added fiery flames take the final push, and Auric of Taltok, the oldest mortal in the universe, burns in the heart of a sun, not even his component atoms spared the destruction.

From the surface, it a magnificent display of color.

The Man in White soared there, suspended still in flight at the site of impact. Bathed in the corona-glow where the fallen lord fell, sunlight illuminated the edges of the this world, its many rings like halos over the planet below.

And he simply took the time to bear witness to this moment.

On the edge of escaping the atmosphere, as he hovered there it seemed as if the world itself turned beneath his feet. He stood above it, yet un this stillness carried in the motion from east to west, continental facets flickering under a long stretch of stars he'd never know the name of. For all the might issued from the powers that clashed, it was in many ways quite a solitary experience. Indeed, other than the presences of his comrades and those who joined their valiant fight, it struck him then as he stood beneath the cosmic hearth how silent the proceedings of an entire world seemed from this lofty distance.

All at once, his smile faded, and in this thinning atmosphere, he drew a long breath of the cold air. Funny how even in spite of his hand in all of this, even this life was bought on mortal currency.

Is this what all you Divine Ones all saw there at the beginning? To see this, all of this, and feign ignorance to leave it in apathy?

For years, now, he'd wondered, for those who had fought and attained the power to create and destroy, why calamity and violence persisted in a universe of their making; what he might have done, had their positions had been changed, as deathly eyes turned toward his world with the intent to trample upon it. This struggle, would it mean anything at all?

All he had to do to find the countless lives living beneath the shadow of striving giants was to listen. And in this reprieve of utmost clarity, he scanned the entire planet for any loose ends.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She snatched the book out of the air and quickly placed it inside the same capsule as the vial.

Even wounded as she was, and focused on keeping Rex alive... Inanna could sense it.

Shiny things.

Soon as this was sorted?

Inanna was gonna figure out if those shiny things were worth bargaining for.

[Tami]

The Nevadian turned to greet the newcomers, although it was mostly a formality. He had worked alongside them for so long that recognizing their energy signature was a trivial matter.

"Ladies." He said simply, tilting his glass in their direction, "If you came here to see the fireworks provided by our dearly departed lord Auroc.... although there wasn't a better place to be, I'm afraid you're simply too late."

He took a slight sip from his chalice.

"However, if you're here for a drink, I suppose you came to the right pla---"

He paused, before scratching his chin.

He looked the two over, Human and Toadian, before appraising them.

"Actually, how old are you two again? I'm not familiar with the intricacies of Human and Toadian age limits in regards to such things--Nevada's policy on such things are rather liberal, and mine are even moreso--but as you are quite close with Meagan, who is quite close with Jinzi, who I am quite close with.... I feel it's in my best interests to atleast make a token attempt to observe said age limits."

He frowned, before turning to Seifaroth.

"Actually, come to think of it, there isn't some protocol that Reshlan has in regards to this, is there? The age, the drinking, or any such things. And if there are, is it a minor infraction, or a major slight? I don't want my first meeting with the queen to me be causally flouting her sacred laws, after all."

"Ah just turned 23, and yes ah'm old enough to drink. Don't do to often since it messes with trainin, but ah've shared a few beers with my dad last time we got together. Ah even got a stash of Chromakai Wine back at my place, pretty amazing stuff."

"Ah, right." Held replied, nodding in agreement. "I was still working out the best way to handle that detail. On the one hand, the Capitol is likely the most devastated area of Reshlan, on the other hand, Auroc was attempting to drain the life force of the entire planet....I managed to disrupt it, but I can't discern how successful he was...Never mind what years of his reign might have done to the populace..."

He laughed slightly.

"I suppose I'm getting off topic. Have you seen Nevalinna or the Queen? I should probably arrange a talk with them, before I run off doing my own thing..."

"Last ah saw, it looked like they were helping to take out the meteors. Ah lost sight of them after that. Ah'd figure they would be back at the Castle by now."

[Yun Lao]

A few things happen fairly rapidly.

Rex, your blow is perhaps the most powerful you could swing. Against Katchin enhanced unknown metal, it probably won’t have worked.

But she had taken part of your energy, and the rods were perhaps slightly weaker than the rest of her. You swing and your claws manage to gouge the rod that had taken your Ghost Hakai.

Her form immediately stiffens and her back arcs as the energy release blows you backwards and manages to crack another cylinder.

At the same time, Inanna’s pilfered artifacts burn with Inanna’s power and the crude spell fires off and encircles Genesis. However, with her two cracked cylinders, the spell work merges and mixes, and a cacophony of energy encircles Genesis and blows Inanna back.

Then Genesis’s orb comes back at her, and is absorbed back in, but with the cracked cylinders it seems to add fuel on the fire as they get added to the conflagration.

Time and space seem to warp and parts of Genesis seem to start to vanish rapidly, reappearing and disappearing, her form getting dimensionally shunted again and again.

For the first time, a look of...fury...crosses Genesis’ face and her eyes burn with an unknown power. As her body essentially seems to implode and disappear into an unknown dimension, thin beams of a wicked looking orange energy lance out from her eyes. Oddly, they seem to split and then curve at ninety degrees, both moving at different targets.

The first shoots behind her, burning a hole through Rex like he wasn’t even there, targeting and going straight through his chest and out his pack. The other lances towards Inanna, and burns a hole right through her left knee, almost taking the leg off.

The beams suddenly stop as Genesis seems to vanish into another dimension with a sickening popping and crunching sound.

BGM: Sky Burial

Vindication had never tasted so sweet.

It was ironic, for the very lesson he had learned from the humans had played out the same way for Genesis; arrogance and overconfidence in ones superiority had left a blind spot for even the most insignificant of beings could exploit. Alas, his victory was short lived and before he could truly comprehend time and space warping around them from Genesis, his time was cut short. A wicked beam had pierced into his form before rapidly turning at sharp angles within his torso before exiting through his back, the small hole belying the true damage deal. His innards hole ridden and his spine sliced in two, the saurian collapsed into a heap, nearly folding in half.

It... hurts...

Of course, hope being the calling card of desperation, Genesis had one final gift.

Two deathblows... but only one struck true; the beam ripping though Rex with not so much as a moments' resistance; before Inanna managed- with a jerk- to evade just barely, her own swan song; the beam of strange orange energy merely ripping through her leg.

What...



And then she was gone.

Ground rushing up to meet Inanna, as she lost her balance and toppled; the woman managed to draw in what energy she yet clung to, to offer Rex- and more importantly the boy kept alive by his skinwalking- a reprieve.

"Divine Intervention*." Inanna chuckled, mostly to herself. "A bit... tongue and cheek, I'll admit; but I can't have the Strongest dying on me."

There it was again.

Hope.

Knowing how closely entangled Genesis' energy was with the Hakai she'd pilfered however... that's all Inanna had.

Inanna's gift would keep him safe from death's grip, but only so. His own regenerative abilities were burning themselves out as the amount of energy needed to stabilize himself vastly outweighed even the energy he had gained by destroying the cylinders. The Divine Intervention would heal him, but it would not be enough for this body. Thick clouds of ghost hakai poured over his body, cocooning him in an shell of energy similar to the same he had enshrouded himself with back when he first took full control over this form.

In time, his [Carrion Egg] might be able to gather the ambient fukushuu to restore him, but while Rex physically struggled, his mind and spirit had given up. Never again would this body work the way it was intended and yet... he had spent so much time cultivating it. Had he the strength, he would have screamed in frustration! He would have to begin seeking for the next heir of the bloodline, sending his consciousness out in all directions to find one who might have had potential. It would take time as it always did but...

...

...

... he was so exhausted.

It... hurts...


I think it's time we ended this...

Confusion struck the saurian and his found his consciousness deep in a void. Standing before his mental aspect, that of his true form, was a single individual. It was difficult to recognize who it was, but upon feeling that strange signature of life energy, he roared in anger.

YOU!

It had been the same force that had overwhelmed him back at those mountains, the familiar yet foreign energy of the being named「Charco」.

COME TO MOCK ME, WHELP?!

"Charco" extended forth a hand toward the tyrannosaurus, No, I've come with a way to break this endless cycle of undeath you have bound yourself to...

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The Man in White soared there, suspended still in flight at the site of impact. Bathed in the corona-glow where the fallen lord fell, sunlight illuminated the edges of the this world, its many rings like halos over the planet below.

And he simply took the time to bear witness to this moment.

On the edge of escaping the atmosphere, as he hovered there it seemed as if the world itself turned beneath his feet. He stood above it, yet un this stillness carried in the motion from east to west, continental facets flickering under a long stretch of stars he'd never know the name of. For all the might issued from the powers that clashed, it was in many ways quite a solitary experience. Indeed, other than the presences of his comrades and those who joined their valiant fight, it struck him then as he stood beneath the cosmic hearth how silent the proceedings of an entire world seemed from this lofty distance.

All at once, his smile faded, and in this thinning atmosphere, he drew a long breath of the cold air. Funny how even in spite of his hand in all of this, even this life was bought on mortal currency.

Is this what all you Divine Ones all saw there at the beginning? To see this, all of this, and feign ignorance to leave it in apathy?

For years, now, he'd wondered, for those who had fought and attained the power to create and destroy, why calamity and violence persisted in a universe of their making; what he might have done, had their positions had been changed, as deathly eyes turned toward his world with the intent to trample upon it. This struggle, would it mean anything at all?

All he had to do to find the countless lives living beneath the shadow of striving giants was to listen. And in this reprieve of utmost clarity, he scanned the entire planet for any loose ends.

OT:............

Dang it.

IC:

A minuscule thing, so small it barely registers to his senses.

A faint....flicker of an energy. Somewhere below, amidst the rubble.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Interesting," she murmured. "Seems to be some kind of magical teleportation elixir." It was an item that would certainly come in handy at some point, but not right then. She placed it inside a capsule with the intention of testing it later. If it was single use only, then that was one thing. If it led to her permanently gaining the ability to teleport anywhere she wanted, that was another thing entirely.

She kneeled down and moved to open the stone box.



She snatched the book out of the air and quickly placed it inside the same capsule as the vial.

The stone box resists at first, but after more effort than you’d like to admit, you manage to muscle it open.

Inside, laying on a simple bed of cloth, are two objects. One, a strange metallic apparatus of folding metal and crystal. The other is a single dragonball.

Only this one is blood red, and has no stars.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The stone box resists at first, but after more effort than you’d like to admit, you manage to muscle it open.

Inside, laying on a simple bed of cloth, are two objects. One, a strange metallic apparatus of folding metal and crystal. The other is a single dragonball.

Only this one is blood red, and has no stars.

Parsley hadn't seen many dragonballs in her time, but she had never seen one without any stars. She almost didn't recognize it at first. She recalled learning from one of the Threshling Knights that Auroc wanted a set of dragonballs for himself to wish for Lampton's location. If this one ball was any indication, he hadn't gotten very far on that journey. I wonder. There are six other balls out there somewhere. Perhaps Pants has upgraded his dragonball radar to detect any set of balls.

A thing to ponder and inquire about later. She placed the ball in the capsule, then held up the piece of metal and crystal. A curious structure that hopefully held some kind of value or promise.

Observational Focus