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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Don’t be jealous, Inanna. Any port in a storm, after all. I was waiting on you like we talked about, but her demonstration of Hakai and Ruination qualified enough.”

And then there was this fucking guy.

Sarada sighed heavily. "Do us all a favor and **** off. Or go **** yourself, whichever you prefer."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

And then there was this fucking guy.

Sarada sighed heavily. "Do us all a favor and **** off. Or go **** yourself, whichever you prefer."

His grin gets wider.

“Oh, I intend to. In fact, I plan on taking a small...vacation now that I can leave Earth for a bit. Enjoy the sights, visit old friends.”

His voice drops deeper when he says friends, and for a single moment, something much bigger was there.

“And perhaps find some things taken from me a long time ago. My old friends have them, you see. Well, some of them at least.”

His gaze takes across the assembled M-Fighters and smiles.

“Eventually we’ll all have a chat too.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

His grin gets wider.

“Oh, I intend to. In fact, I plan on taking a small...vacation now that I can leave Earth for a bit. Enjoy the sights, visit old friends.”

His voice drops deeper when he says friends, and for a single moment, something much bigger was there.

“And perhaps find some things taken from me a long time ago. My old friends have them, you see. Well, some of them at least.”

His gaze takes across the assembled M-Fighters and smiles.

“Eventually we’ll all have a chat too.”

Sarada briefly felt herself becoming short of breath, but maintained her poker face. "Talking about your balls, yeah? I figured you'd want those back after Vocado and his friends neutered your sorry ass." She sneered at the elder dragon and let out a contemptuous laugh. "Good luck, dickwipe. Pretty sure a few of them are probably dead by now. You'll never find where they hid them!"

She quickly realized how smart Inanna was to keep where the Palantine were a secret. The less people who knew, the less chance of Eldfen finding out by mistake. It didn't sound like he was aware that they had quite a few of them, and she intended on letting it stay that way. "Chat? If by that you mean us kicking your ass, then sure, we can chat."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sarada briefly felt herself becoming short of breath, but maintained her poker face. "Talking about your balls, yeah? I figured you'd want those back after Vocado and his friends neutered your sorry ass." She sneered at the elder dragon and let out a contemptuous laugh. "Good luck, dickwipe. Pretty sure a few of them are probably dead by now. You'll never find where they hid them!"

She quickly realized how smart Inanna was to keep where the Palantine were a secret. The less people who knew, the less chance of Eldfen finding out by mistake. It didn't sound like he was aware that they had quite a few of them, and she intended on letting it stay that way. "Chat? If by that you mean us kicking your ass, then sure, we can chat."

Sarada, you see a flare of golden light in his eyes.

“You know, it’s interesting. Not being able to do any harm, or have harm done to you, has made my existence quite educating. It has made me become more clever with my power, more subtle. Punching and blasting, can’t do that, but I have become quite the artist when it comes to translocations, transmutations, and other subtle magic. And now that’s I’m partially unsealed, well I’ve got more oomph now too.”

He holds a hand out and something shimmers into his hand. Sarada, you find yourself unable to speak because he has your tongue in his hand.

You aren’t bleeding, you aren’t in pain or injured. But your tongue is gone.

Grinthorn smiles widely.

“Next time you speak so crudely, your highness, I’ll take something else. You’re an adult, speak like one and not like some sort of crude piece of garbage off the street. Have some standards.”


Your tongue is back Sarada.

He wipes his hand off and gestures with his cigar.

“Now then, as I was saying: a vacation, so I’ll be bidding you all goodbye for some little while. I hear talk from parliament that Jinzi’s name is being talked about as my replacement. I hope things go well for the boy as President of Earth’s World Government.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Sarada, you see a flare of golden light in his eyes.

“You know, it’s interesting. Not being able to do any harm, or have harm done to you, has made my existence quite educating. It has made me become more clever with my power, more subtle. Punching and blasting, can’t do that, but I have become quite the artist when it comes to translocations, transmutations, and other subtle magic. And now that’s I’m partially unsealed, well I’ve got more oomph now too.”

He holds a hand out and something shimmers into his hand. Sarada, you find yourself unable to speak because he has your tongue in his hand.

You aren’t bleeding, you aren’t in pain or injured. But your tongue is gone.

Grinthorn smiles widely.

“Next time you speak so crudely, your highness, I’ll take something else. You’re an adult, speak like one and not like some sort of crude piece of garbage off the street. Have some standards.”


Your tongue is back Sarada.

He wipes his hand off and gestures with his cigar.

“Now then, as I was saying: a vacation, so I’ll be bidding you all goodbye for some little while. I hear talk from parliament that Jinzi’s name is being talked about as my replacement. I hope things go well for the boy as President of Earth’s World Government.”

!!!!

That was bad. That was so fucking bad. Sarada's tongue was fucking gone! How would she talk? How would she eat food?! How would she eat Inanna?! Never again would she be able to taste her sweet blueberry.

Just when she was lamenting the worst thing to happen to her since the Meat Market, her tongue was back. It wasn't until after Eldfen blabbed on and on about not being crude with her speech and to act like an adult, blah blah blah. If her royal decorum tutors couldn't get her to stop cursing and being so crass when she took the throne, some slimy lizard **** wasn't going to either.

She ignored all that **** and instead focused on the important bit of information. "Jinzi as President, huh? That must mean he finally freed himself from that ball and chain. Nice. There are going to be a lot of happy people on Earth, that's for sure." And hopefully he'll be able to fix all of Eldfen's messes. He can't bring back those that bastard killed, but he can at least make things right.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

!!!!

That was bad. That was so fucking bad. Sarada's tongue was fucking gone! How would she talk? How would she eat food?! How would she eat Inanna?! Never again would she be able to taste her sweet blueberry.

Just when she was lamenting the worst thing to happen to her since the Meat Market, her tongue was back. It wasn't until after Eldfen blabbed on and on about not being crude with her speech and to act like an adult, blah blah blah. If her royal decorum tutors couldn't get her to stop cursing and being so crass when she took the throne, some slimy lizard **** wasn't going to either.

She ignored all that **** and instead focused on the important bit of information. "Jinzi as President, huh? That must mean he finally freed himself from that ball and chain. Nice. There are going to be a lot of happy people on Earth, that's for sure." And hopefully he'll be able to fix all of Eldfen's messes. He can't bring back those that bastard killed, but he can at least make things right.

“Indeed. Apparently he’ll be spending half his time on Earth and half his time on Chroma with his wife and kids. At least until he’s fully installed as President. I have to say I’m quite happy: Jinzi will take good care of Earth. It is my favorite place and I’d hate to see it in the hands of a less dedicated and well meaning person. That also means of course that the Alliance between Earth and Vocado and the Galaxy Police is in his hands now.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Indeed. Apparently he’ll be spending half his time on Earth and half his time on Chroma with his wife and kids. At least until he’s fully installed as President. I have to say I’m quite happy: Jinzi will take good care of Earth. It is my favorite place and I’d hate to see it in the hands of a less dedicated and well meaning person. That also means of course that the Alliance between Earth and Vocado and the Galaxy Police is in his hands now.”

Sarada raised an eyebrow. "Unless my hearing is going, it almost sounds like you actually care about Earth." All the **** he had done to maintain his presidency, including probably murdering Jinzi's parents, indicated otherwise. In fact, it indicated the exact opposite.

"You're suspected of doing a lot of," she caught herself. She was only curbing her cursing so he couldn't take something else. She didn't want to know what that something was, but it sounded like it was going to be permanent. "nefarious deeds. Deeds that would indicate that you only see Earth as a toybox." She shrugged.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sarada raised an eyebrow. "Unless my hearing is going, it almost sounds like you actually care about Earth." All the **** he had done to maintain his presidency, including probably murdering Jinzi's parents, indicated otherwise. In fact, it indicated the exact opposite.

"You're suspected of doing a lot of," she caught herself. She was only curbing her cursing so he couldn't take something else. She didn't want to know what that something was, but it sounded like it was going to be permanent. "nefarious deeds. Deeds that would indicate that you only see Earth as a toybox." She shrugged.

He smiles.

“To the contrary. Like I told your wife a while back, I am very fond of Earth and have done many things to bring it to peace and equality. And it’s where my house and farm are, of course.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He smiles.

“To the contrary. Like I told your wife a while back, I am very fond of Earth and have done many things to bring it to peace and equality. And it’s where my house and farm are, of course.”

She knew nothing of the equality on Earth, but she knew that the so-called peace he established had been breached time and time again. "Given how many times Earth has been attacked, I'd say you're only one for two." 50% wasn't bad, but still.

"All this won't change the fact that you're going to be stopped once and for all. Yeah, you've done good things for Earth, but you're cut from the same cloth as that bozo, Auroc. Godlike beings who bestow peace and love on lesser beings. Auroc tried to spread his influence across the stars, and it won't be long before you try to do the same, right?"

[grampagen]

Sarada witnessed Inanna being made well, but that did nothing to quell her anger. Because she also witnessed her wife quit their band of saviors. All because Ochazuke and, surprisingly, Parsley jumped on her like a pair of over-aggressive dogs in search of a pound of flesh. They got it, and the consequences were measured out.

Her newly reformed hand balled into a fist, the first time any sensation of any sort had coursed through her organic veins in years. It shook violently, an ominous tremble that moved through the rest of her body. Her caustic gaze moved to her sister, who was standing off at a distance. She had been curiously quite ever since explaining what happened to Totoma, and had failed to chime in on the "discussion". Sarada knew why. She had already said her piece and extracted her pound of flesh before Sarada showed up. Her, a woman who should have been the last person to chastise anyone about anything. Her, who knew Inanna better than most. "You..."

She couldn't formulate words just yet. She breathed in to calm herself. Getting angry was only going to compel her to start smashing faces and that wasn't going to solve or help anything. If she was calm, she could use her words.

Slowly, the anger was subsiding, only to be quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of disgust. Disgust that her friend and own blood could do something like this. Questioning someone's actions and motives was one thing; driving them to leave was another.

She turned her gaze from Parsley and toward Ochazuke. In doing so, she saw that Inanna was still bleeding out despite his actions. "You didn't even heal her, you fucking dickhead."

She growled and took another breath. "But congratulations. You've proven yourself to be the moral bastion of our merry band. I can only assume you two took that role for yourselves. Unless I'm wrong, nobody else bothered to speak up except for the three of us. And we all got what we wanted. I got an understanding of why Inanna kept those bits of information from us, and you two got to spout your self-righteous bullshit and prove yourselves morally superior." She spat on the ground in disgust.

"I hope none of the secrets you keep so close to your chest are as bad."

"If they were, you would know of it," Ochazuke muttered, gathering to himself the recently acquired materials he would have to study into a capsule. "And so I'll tell you this: the Ruination was expelled from her."

That was as far as Ochazuke would offer to settle this affair. It was plain from his disposition that he'd not done that for the Destroyer's sake.

"What a waste. Something like this will happen again the moment Inanna dispenses greater slights to acquire more grievous wounds," he said, briefly turning his view to Parsley as he continued, "Wandering, peerless, convinced nobody else can comprehend the tide of battles to come."

Evangeline. Jack. Held. Kai. By his absence, their deaths now hung on his head. The Ulthan, The Remnant of Inda'ren, Sakin...

"What sense is there in keeping the trials of this universe from the ones who live and die in it? If this ignorance is to be our bliss, then let her be contented," he said. "Moral bastion...it's not a matter of right and wrong, but what time we have left to do anything to about it."

With the Remnant's resurrection and Grinthorn's snare widening, that window was rapidly closing.

[KingofPie]

He smiles.

“To the contrary. Like I told your wife a while back, I am very fond of Earth and have done many things to bring it to peace and equality. And it’s where my house and farm are, of course.”

"You mentioned...a vacation just bit ago," Blizzar chimed in, crimson eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Care to tell us your itinerary? It can't hurt, considering how unlikely it is that we'll be able to stop you."

[grampagen]

He shrugs.

“Wasn’t trying to surprise anyone. Everyone is so far from their home, Darkle being the dim little place it is, and such divine energy was released here I merely wanted to see for myself those responsible.”

He smiles and puffs on his cigar.

“I should have known it would be you, Inanna once Ishtar. Though I’m
Fairly certain you weren’t the only one.”

He gazes briefly at Ochazuke.

“You have my sympathies, Master Ochazuke. Eva will be missed. Of all the Guardians of Earth, she was the most.......persistent. And perhaps the most deserving.”

His dragging steps towards Nevanlinna's portal stopped the instant that voice stilled the air with its rancour. When That Man spoke, it was as if expanse filled with a great, noxious weight, carried upon the plumes of that smoke.

That damned smoke! It wound itself throughout the eons of the history of his world. The wyrm burrowed himself into the annals of the Earth, and rendered this mocking, grinning visage from where he'd made the potential of humankind kindling for his ambition.

It was enough that he called it peace, but in the face of all this, to offer this mockery? The lives of his people, nothing more than a farm?

After everything he had put upon the Guardians, he dared to speak her name?!

That day in the Geofront, he saw the Dragon for what he was. He could not confront him, only lift the veil of the spell at best.

This time, things wer different. The wish of a designated peer peeled back the veneer.

More, he had a thing of True Magic in his hand.

Without a single repartee, Ochazuke's form blurred as he channeled the last of his ki through Lord Forger's hammer, and with all speed brought it down on Grinthorn.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

She knew nothing of the equality on Earth, but she knew that the so-called peace he established had been breached time and time again. "Given how many times Earth has been attacked, I'd say you're only one for two." 50% wasn't bad, but still.

"All this won't change the fact that you're going to be stopped once and for all. Yeah, you've done good things for Earth, but you're cut from the same cloth as that bozo, Auroc. Godlike beings who bestow peace and love on lesser beings. Auroc tried to spread his influence across the stars, and it won't be long before you try to do the same, right?"

He shrugs.

“Maybe once, but now........no, universal domination is not what I want.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"You mentioned...a vacation just bit ago," Blizzar chimed in, crimson eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Care to tell us your itinerary? It can't hurt, considering how unlikely it is that we'll be able to stop you."

“Oh, just some old haunts. The Forge of the First Race, Vocado, Kitsuna, amongst others. Visit some old friends, track a few more down. Maybe visit the cosmic leylines and see if Night or the Cabal are still around. The usual.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He shrugs.

“Maybe once, but now........no, universal domination is not what I want.”

He had been oddly frank and honest in his answers, but Sarada still didn't want to trust him. "Oh, is that so? Learn your lesson from last time?"

If not universal domination, then what? What could one of the oldest, most powerful beings in creation possibly want. "Then what?"

“Oh, just some old haunts. The Forge of the First Race, Vocado, Kitsuna, amongst others. Visit some old friends, track a few more down. Maybe visit the cosmic leylines and see if Night or the Cabal are still around. The usual.”

"Don't bother visiting Vocado. Unless you like staring at a cloud of space dust," she said bitterly. "It was destroyed a few days ago."