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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Rare or unique minerals? She had a few in mind, and new just where to find them. "Can do. I'll be right back." She took off, leaving Slak alone in the secluded forest. She wanted to cast a shield around the general area, but she didn't want to disturb his meditation. She had no idea what all went into attuning oneself with the planet, but she figured it required being able to... be in touch with the entire planet, as opposed to just a small little bit of it.

"Oh well," she muttered. It would be alright. The Judge was dismantled and she made sure to keep Sarada's construction under wraps as far as intergalactic news went. The Saiyans knew, but no one else did. With that secrecy on her side, the chances of trouble finding its way there were slim.

She flew towards a mountain range twenty miles from where her palace was being built. There was no rush, so she took her time and thought about the wishes she was going to make. Resurrecting those lost during Tundra's invasion was a given, as was transporting them from Otherworld to one of the Saiyan worlds. Assuming they got a third wish like Tiamat, that was the main concern. Other than the first two, she had no real desires, nothing that she would want to waste a wish for. Earth showed her that she could save it for a rainy day, when they really actually needed it right then and there.

Hm. Oh!

Then again, the second wish Ochazuke made gave her an idea. His wish was for their future enemies and their plots to be revealed. With that in mind, she decided: she would wish for their present enemy's plots to be revealed. The Ulthan had been a thorn in their side since Darkle. The fight with them was hellacious and they probably got lucky. They had several so-called "gods" on their side, yet the M-Fighters still managed to kill half their team, while only losing one of their own - who was killed by one of their own. Even still, she didn't feel comfortable not knowing what they were up to. The three remaining ones - Ishtar, Lady Binder, and Last Daughter - weren't as powerful as they were right then, but she didn't dare think that meant they weren't a threat. They were, especially since they had eight uninterrupted months to plan and make adjustments. She and the rest of them needed to know what they were up to.

With that, her three wishes were decided.

"Ah, here we go." Before building began, Sarada took an extensive tour of the planet, during which the surveyors teamed with Avoca showed her several points of interests. One of which was a mine deep in the base of a mountain range. It had been excavated and explored beforehand, and it was determined that there was over five billion galactic credits worth of minerals down there. Despite the massive number, there was a very minute amount of it, and it apparently as only found on a few planets in the galaxy. That should have qualified for rare and unique, in her mind.

Sarada landed at the mouth of a small cave and walked inside. Her hand became alight with pure white ki to illuminate her steps as she ventured deeper within. The walls were speckled with translucent gemstones of varying colors that all sparkled brilliantly as she walked by. It was mesmerizing. There were dozens of mountains and basins across the planet, all of which were sure to have some kind of mineral deposit. It was at that point that Sarada felt she had an idea for an export that would make the Empire quite a bit of money, especially with the posh, materialistic space "aristocracy" that practically lived in Space Vegas and loved to show off their affluent lifestyles.

Eventually, after five minutes of carefully venturing deep into the cave, Sarada reached her destination.



The light from the ki ball floating around her pierced through the massive gemstone pillars and refracted, turning the mine into living kaleidoscope. She stood stock still, eyes wide with unabated marvel and wonder at the sight before her. She took a step forward and spun around to take in the full breadth of the sparkling beauty. Beholding it made her reconsider her initial idea to make a profit off the mine. Something wondrous like that needed to be preserved, not exploited.

It was something to think about, certainly.

Maybe a drip-feed type thing would be a better idea.

Sarada broke off several pieces of the rare mineral and held one up in her hand.



She kept one for herself, and placed a dozen more pieces in a sack. She wasn't sure how many Slak was going to need, but having too much was better than not enough.

As much as she wanted to remain and explore, there was time for that later. She exited the cave more quickly than she arrived and took off for where she left Slak. With hope, what she gathered for him would work and they would be on their way to having their own dragon balls.

Slak is meditating, hovering about a foot off the ground. Swirling ethereal energy dances around him as a deep calm and feeling of…..joy…resonates throughout the place.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

It opens with minimum effort. A long ladder leads downwards.

Praxat climbs down the ladder. ( Seriously, whoever made that hatch should have thought about a better lock. I mean a basic keypad, really?) Praxat thought.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Slak is meditating, hovering about a foot off the ground. Swirling ethereal energy dances around him as a deep calm and feeling of…..joy…resonates throughout the place.

When Sarada arrived, she was beset by a strange, but calming feeling of joy in the air. She frowned in confusion and glanced at Slak. As he said, he was meditating. Ethereal wisps of energy floated around him, almost like a dance or a ritual. She wasn't sure what was going on, but figured it was supposed to happen.

She gently placed the bag of minerals on the ground, then shed her armor. I can eat something while waiting. She pulled out her knife and dove into the lake.

[MrSandman]

“No, more an interested party that would like to help.”

He gestures and the three figures become clear. Inanna, Ruination Ishtar, and She Who Stalks.

“Three Destroyers.”

"The Queen never mentioned I'd have a stowaway. How do I know your here to help me and not push your own agenda into my head...." Etrina commented quietly as she watched him bring the vision of the three destoryers into focus.

Ruination Ishtar was a given really....the reasoning for why she had been kept close to the Uthan made some sense, playing off her hatred of Inanna. Banespell likely had a contingency in place if she had been the last destroyer standing so to speak, or at least if he had half the intelligence and foresight his plans within plans seemed to boast.

She who stalks....Did she ever see this person? The memory eluded her if she had. There were a great many dangers in the universe....many destroyers in the making but usually none with the potential to reach it.

...none like Inanna at least. The potential was there....edging ever closer to the point of no return. Just like Ruination Ishtar...it would only take the right series of wrong choices, or unfortunate events, and the end result would be magnified to a level that likely dwarfed anything the former could produce.


"...and who are you then....it be so interested in my visions...."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"The Queen never mentioned I'd have a stowaway. How do I know your here to help me and not push your own agenda into my head...." Etrina commented quietly as she watched him bring the vision of the three destoryers into focus.

Ruination Ishtar was a given really....the reasoning for why she had been kept close to the Uthan made some sense, playing off her hatred of Inanna. Banespell likely had a contingency in place if she had been the last destroyer standing so to speak, or at least if he had half the intelligence and foresight his plans within plans seemed to boast.

She who stalks....Did she ever see this person? The memory eluded her if she had. There were a great many dangers in the universe....many destroyers in the making but usually none with the potential to reach it.

...none like Inanna at least. The potential was there....edging ever closer to the point of no return. Just like Ruination Ishtar...it would only take the right series of wrong choices, or unfortunate events, and the end result would be magnified to a level that likely dwarfed anything the former could produce.


"...and who are you then....it be so interested in my visions...."

“A name is precious in the land of the Fae.”

He gestures again and the other figure, Asha’rah mixed with Genesis and with Sakin behind its eyes comes into view.

“But call me…Tsenoh for now. I have some measure of stakes in this galactic game, and wish yo see the right people ahead. If you doubt my aid, just as young Parsley about me. She and I met once before when I aided her on Reshlan with some training.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

When Sarada arrived, she was beset by a strange, but calming feeling of joy in the air. She frowned in confusion and glanced at Slak. As he said, he was meditating. Ethereal wisps of energy floated around him, almost like a dance or a ritual. She wasn't sure what was going on, but figured it was supposed to happen.

She gently placed the bag of minerals on the ground, then shed her armor. I can eat something while waiting. She pulled out her knife and dove into the lake.

Slowly, I’ve ether course of hours, Slak carves and molds the crystals. Eventually, half a day later he steps back and nods.

“The dragon is complete. Now, the dragonballs.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat climbs down the ladder. ( Seriously, whoever made that hatch should have thought about a better lock. I mean a basic keypad, really?) Praxat thought.

Praxat goes at least 100ft down before she finds herself on a long, sewer like tunnel.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Slowly, I’ve ether course of hours, Slak carves and molds the crystals. Eventually, half a day later he steps back and nods.

“The dragon is complete. Now, the dragonballs.”

Sarada had just finished the first of five fish she fried for dinner when Slak spoke. She looked up and saw the serpentine dragon laying on the ground. "That looks great," she commended. "If you want to take a break and have some water, the lake is fresh and cold." After a beat, she added meekly, "You guys only drink water, right? That's what I heard anyway."

[MrSandman]

“A name is precious in the land of the Fae.”

He gestures again and the other figure, Asha’rah mixed with Genesis and with Sakin behind its eyes comes into view.

“But call me…Tsenoh for now. I have some measure of stakes in this galactic game, and wish yo see the right people ahead. If you doubt my aid, just as young Parsley about me. She and I met once before when I aided her on Reshlan with some training.”

"Oh that's cute..." Etrina answered with only a small tint of sarcasm. "...though I suppose that explains why everyone works with titles around here, Lady Binder included. Still you could have put a little more effort in a fake name....honestly..."

Etrina observed the image of Asha'rah, steeped with the power of both Genesis and fueled by Sakins dark purposes...Flanked by destroyers three.

"...So, Tsenoh...am I to understand I am one of those you wish to see ahead? Perhaps you could humor me then with an explanation of what this all is...especially this one...." Etrina motions towards She who Stalks.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat goes at least 100ft down before she finds herself on a long, sewer like tunnel.

Praxat walks down the sewer-like tunnel. " Hello anyone with the last name Mcfrog down here?" Praxat shouted.

( I'm sure I will be able to spot an Intoadian if I see one. I mean both Althena and my grandmother Araxat are platinum in color. So all Intoadians have to be platinum in color right?) Praxat thought.

[grampagen]

"HACHIMON KUDAN"

Ryu Shingen's hands flew out with a horrid hunger. The blows were light, but the Old Crane was not armoured, and eight strikes landed in an instant upon him.

"TODAY IT ENDS, OLD BIRD, AND I AM YOUR EXECUTIONER! IN THREE SECONDS YOU SHALL BE DRAWN AND QUARTERED, DIVEST OF BLOOD AND BONE BY MY SUPREME SKILL!"

The Shogun of the Dark withdrew his fingers, each dyed in the blood of the Old Crane. Chahan's stance quickened where he stood, for soon he could move no more. He felt it, sudden as the onset when the muscled drew taut and stretched the ligaments, blood reversing its flow through his veins as his body rebelled against itself. With a slow shudder, his hands fell to his sides, and slow, ragged breaths were all he could manage within his frame. He'd seen it innumerable times, a glimpse of it after consciousness left the eyes of fallen warriors. A realization with which it brought fear, a silent struggle as the whole body went heavy, and they fell limply as they were cast down.

The rigors of death. What a cruel technique that such agony be experienced with waking eyes, much less the gloating monstrosity before him. Ryuu Shingen's voice boomed with satisfaction.

"ONE...TWO..."

Trembling, Chahan stood upon aching knees that no longer bent. Sucking the blood welling on the inside of his lip, he spat and it trickled down the white of his beard; though weakly, he stood still upon the mossy stone ground.

"...three...seconds." The dry, humourless reply came, cross with spite and mocking.

"...what?"

The Master of Assassins had flaunted his victories as a matter of course. Why wouldn't he, his grisly expertise was in dismantling the fragile frontiers of the body. A man may callous his limbs or grow his muscles to draw strength and protect from injury, but these were useless without the blood and nerves that controlled them. It was inevitable that when they had been struck, these things would fail. Yet Ryu Shingen's voice shrank.

" Why aren't you dying?! Fall!"

The Old Crane grit his teeth, gasping as he felt blood pool through his chest. He was just a second too slow to stop Shingen from falling upon him, the Shogun's fingers piercing into his chest. The Hokuto master knew as well as he that his movements were flawless, his accuracy impeccable. Between them there was only Chahan's pulse carried in the blood, and as he drew upon it, he appraising the flow of ki directly through his Blood Magics as it tore through the veins beneath his thin skin, intent on pulling out his foe's energy directly from his vital points.

"The-there's nothing there? Impossible!"

Chahan drew a breath, and reflexively coughed up blood, yet he stood defiant.

"All paths set before you towards your immortality...save the one which matters."

"You should be dead! The blood is the medium of ki! It is life itself!"

"Oh is it? Why don't you read my intention with that technique you prize so?"

It was at this point that Shingen realized that Chahan had drawn upon something that he could not comprehend, for the Divine Fist of the North Star made a weapon of the pathways of ki.

"You murdered your order, your disciples to stave off your own death. Sustained by the lifeblood of others to extend your own."

As he spoke the hated words, The Crane, however loathesomely, drew upon something beneath the expression of ki that bloomed into the radiance of the soul itself.

"It was their sacrifice to make, and I won! What truer successor could there be than one who bore the burdens necessary for absolute victory?"

Brawn, power, vigor, ki, spirit, these describe only but the rays which fall from its source: Life Energy of the spirit itself. In the discipline of the Crane School, they call it Kikojutsu.

It grants a novice the power of an adept. It elevates the warrior the strength to fight off calamity. Now, through the hands of a master tempered through long decades strife and sacrifice, the technique was exacting. What time remained was sacrificed to stand firm in the moment.

"Absolute victory," he scoffed, "understand that nothing exists without will. By stealing away this from your order, you have all but guaranteed Hokuto's demise."

Suddenly, the great armour hewn from far off stars filled started backward, for the mortal part of the bonded consciousness of Man and Demon Mantle that so craved to deal in death suddenly glimpsed something terrible. Chahan by now felt the blood falling through him. Pain, like a thousand needles, stoked that lethal fire within him, and with it he found his centre to draw new strength, and with it he seized control. The reflection of his own mortal fear stared starkly back at Ryuu Shingen in dark, hateful bird's eyes, and the devil of Makai found it monstrous to behold.

The Grand Master reached up , seized Shingen's wrists, and crumpled them like foil under his grip.

"Perhaps we are of a kind, for as far as this we agree: there shall be no other who decides my time but myself. Yield, and I'll let Makai give you suck for the remainder of your days. That shall be the story we tell of Hokuto Shinken and the fool that led them to ruin in his quest for power."

It gave him pause, and with it a slim opening for a heavy ki-laden palm to strike him straight from behind.

"WHAT?!"

The strike to the soul burned agonizingly, and Kuki grumbled and coughed as he set himself into the fray one more. His pale hide was knicked, battered but unbloodied. When he fell flightlessly, he was slower, less mobile than Shingen, and so the he could do little more but accept that the Hundred Fists would fell upon him. What Shingen did not know is that the great tortoise does not tame time and survive centuries without paying attention.

Helpless in the air though he was, so had Kamesennin Kuki simply withdrawn into the confines of his shell. Kokaku Sanchin was like a thin film upon which each strike slid into glancing prods, each further from the mark than the last. Dusting himself off, Kuki stood reverberating his ki within the soul shaking the armour and smashed the flat of his palm down upon the super-katchin carapace sending energy roiling within, throwing the demon a distance away.

"Quality, o'er quantity, yep."

The Turtle Hermit joined his ally of convenience and rejoined the fight against the Usurper Fist of the North Star. Men of the lost age of fighters, their foe was shaped like they were for the human part of the Bloody Mantle could not completely shed it, nor could Ryu Shingen part with it the system of meridians coursing still through his unearthly frame. It was still through this very system that he still drew his power, and moreover the innate, generative design carved iupon every minute nano-angstrom of mimicry programming by the last directives of the First Race. Even so, Chahan had broken his hands, and thusly he struck the tenketsu point within the roof of his mouth with his tongue; it led straight to the brain - or its nearest auxiliary - and with it seemed to dull the fearful mortal sensations. The metallic limbs of First Metal frayed and regenerated, feeding on the reservoir of demon's blood enshrouded within this golem body and he was again whole.

"NEVER!" The unified consciousness of the merged being screamed, "LOOK ABOVE, THE DEATH STAR SHINES OVERHEAD FOR THEE."

The Crane stood next to the Turtle, the divergence of their ancestral roots united but for a moment in common purpose.

"They are anybody's stars as much as yours. If you still think they pivot around your axis, Crimson Cloak, then you've sacrificed it all on fool's errand. You know as well as I that it a single moment will decide the destiny."

[grampagen]

The Shogun of the Dark roused his power as he raised both hands. Wreathed in the shadows wrought from the blood of the fallen, the air was thick with his killer intentions, and his speed was such that his very motions were as if a trick of the light.

"SENSHURYUGEKI!"

One thousand demonic hands struck forth, bristling with a speed so great they burned white-hot from the friction, pale and fierce as biting dragons.

One thousand blooded hands crossed the span, and yet his pretender's Dragon would not be enough to reach Two of the Five, and it was the Crane who moved first.

The Kikojutsu that filled Chahan's thin frame struck Shingen in the exchange. His hardened knuckles flattened the katchin carapace and folded his finger into a fused ingot. The thousand hands broke down into a pair of sealed first, and beat down to the joints were his limbs slowly twisted and pounded into his toso.

Through the phalanx of blows, Kuki then found his opening and threw his iron palm into the centre mass, bristling with energy. The Crimson Mantle's guard splayed open and retreated into his diminishing shell. The soul of Ryu Shingen was now inseperable from the bloody covenant of Shinku no Manto.

"You got yer kicks with th'internal attacks, eh-heh! But all that blood'n ki, like fillin' a pot of tea with too much water! Y'never bothered ta empty yer cup y'glutton!"

An ambitious fist obsessed with taking life as its sustenance now encountered a whorl of the same energy it craved, but instead of drawing upon it, the medium struck his soul directly, and the issue spread the essence within the armour like blood droplets, clouding and fleeing in whisps in running water. With the means of his very existence threatened in this manner, it left Shingen's consciousness discombobulated, desynched from his body. Energy and its presence sought to escape a body that would not respond, only regenerate with nowhere to go as Turtle and Crane raised their legacy fists before them and attacked in tandem.

Kuki's palms guided and dissipated the energy, dispersing it into the environs and the Earth as Chahan returned to position and cried out as his fist smashed him into the heart of the Paozu mountain valley.

"HISSATSU!"

Ryu Shingen's body fused within itself as the remainder of Yokai blood left him with every blow from the Masters. Further into the indefatigable celestial masterwork he abandoned his humanity for, they beat his consciousness into further retreat, and soon unable to move, Hokuto's automoton filled with nothing more than the knowlegde of unimaginable agony, ground through the mossy rock.

The field of stars far above shone with clarity even as morning broke. Ursa Major faded, but Polaris lingered for a moment. Perhaps Ryu Shingen had read his stars incorrectly. But for the lingering essence entombed within that corpse, it seemed death had at last come for the undying.

The Shogun's frame stilled, the clashing ceased, and the remainder of its energies flew upward, bending the light of his sacred stars into an aurora when the deed was done.

"What fresh hell is this?"

The wounds rended into the mountain revealed a curious flow of energy he'd encountered once before...one that his volatile comrade seemed to know innately as it swept through the valley. The Leyline of the Earth. Kuki thumbed his chin. as he beheld it

The proud Crane Grandmaster grimaced, then collapsed to one knee. That which burns twice as bright lasts half as long, and even with his perfected technique, it remained that his years wer long. Though he and Kuki had fought a menace of Makai, that which he truly sought eluded him once more. And as the energies of the Leyline passed through him, he felt the psychic scream of the Sea God fall into his bones as vividly as if they still stood in the deep fathoms. The memory seemed to resonate with the remains of the Blood Magic that corrupted this place. Memories like phantasms gathered where these energies pooled. The Turtle seemed quite impassive, his view almost serene, but Chahan was visited by whispering visions of struggle and horror that stretched back through the ages, from the calls for blood to the legacy carved into his body and lingering in his very soul...and he knew.

Chahan felt the brand of the Sea God persist upon his head, the aurora above now wreathed in an invisible crown of dread. The Earth's stewards, the heirs of Grinthorns bloody hegemony remained the humanity he had left behind. Certainly, while yokai and the hidden things crawled from the shadows, they did strike out by their nature. Man, who loathed his helplessness, drew a worse nature within himself to surpass monsters.

"Y'feel it, dontcha? Carryin' itself through the earth, across th'mountain range."

"What...is this?"

"Life, in a word. Been actin' up a bit over the last month or so. Seem it was tryin' t'purge Shingen's little spell for some time, but s'like pick'n out a splinter," Kuki chuckled, "But with th'surg of energy, there's no way this'd slip. Th'kid's probably noticed by now."

The Old Crane's sharp tongue dulled for a moment, unable to do much more for the moment than breathe.

"But y'know, I'd been meanin' t'pay Young Ocha a visit anyway. If y'want ta find him, you'd have to find th' Dragon School."

"Dragon School...who would claim to be their master? Balon, that whelp? He should have died with honour, instead he groveled before Battersea."

"...even half dead, so proud y'are," Kuki said, curling his nose, "S'a kinder soul n'present company, y'ought ta pay him some respect."

"It's as much as an apostate deserves, present company included," Chahan spat. His black eyes narrowed as they stared into Kuki's face, and the hermit's expression was quite indifferent.

"...if it's that kinda battle y'want, friend, y'gonna hafta keep waitin'," Kuki replied, for he saw right through him. ". Not in that condition, nope. 'Sides, what'd the rest of th'masters say? Balon ain't alone."

"Other masters. Those who forget themselves will lose what has made them who they are."

"That's real deep. But y'ever consider that what's been forgotten are th'things we deny and refuse ta confront?"

The first light of dawn melted the darkness, and the cascade of colour seeping from the aurora faded to its distant edge. The stars slowly faded, and the blood stained battlefield and combatants was revealed when the sun illuminated it where it fell. If there was some victory last night, it would not be known in the aftermath, only that which seeped into the earth below their feet.

What was that worth?

"Well, s'pose that was interestin' seein a fellah about half as seasoned as we are fret about life," Kuki said, rapping his knuckles on the grotesques remains of Ryuu Shingen, frozen inert into the side of the mountain. "Said he killed his students, what kind of a master'd do that?"

Suddenly the hermit ducked to the side. A Dodonpa sailed past his head, cutting his cheek as it fell into a distant tree canopy and shattered it into splinters. The Old Turtle just sighed and shook his head.

"Guess I'll seeya when I seeya," he said, and with a great leap bounded off to the foot of the mountain and swiftly out of sight, leaving Grand Master Chahan alone with the entombed fruits of his labours before him.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sarada had just finished the first of five fish she fried for dinner when Slak spoke. She looked up and saw the serpentine dragon laying on the ground. "That looks great," she commended. "If you want to take a break and have some water, the lake is fresh and cold." After a beat, she added meekly, "You guys only drink water, right? That's what I heard anyway."

He nods and thanks her, sipping the water before gathering himself.

“What will happen now is time consuming. I will be in deep meditation for several days before the balls can be created.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Oh that's cute..." Etrina answered with only a small tint of sarcasm. "...though I suppose that explains why everyone works with titles around here, Lady Binder included. Still you could have put a little more effort in a fake name....honestly..."

Etrina observed the image of Asha'rah, steeped with the power of both Genesis and fueled by Sakins dark purposes...Flanked by destroyers three.

"...So, Tsenoh...am I to understand I am one of those you wish to see ahead? Perhaps you could humor me then with an explanation of what this all is...especially this one...." Etrina motions towards She who Stalks.

“She’s from Universe 16. The God of Destruction, a demon, who Caliban locked away to never leave U16 again.”

He smiles.

“My name is….honestly given, if not quite how you think.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat walks down the sewer-like tunnel. " Hello anyone with the last name Mcfrog down here?" Praxat shouted.

( I'm sure I will be able to spot an Intoadian if I see one. I mean both Althena and my grandmother Araxat are platinum in color. So all Intoadians have to be platinum in color right?) Praxat thought.

The tunnel goes on and on, branching several times before she finally hits a strange head end. Her energy senses tingle a bit as she stares at it.