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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

A vein began to throb on Sasheem's forhead. "Eh?! Limited..." He mutteted, a heavy frown on his face. It disappeared rather quickly, however as soon as he realized he had an opportunity to brag. "So, you've heard of Sasheem, eh? Maybe as destroyer of worlds. Maybe as savior of the Earth, " he responded smugly. "Sasheem has a wide range of accomplishments. ...but just who the hell are you, anyway?"

She sips her tea before answering.

“Hilda, of dead Vorna, no titles. Tell me, Sasheem, how many worlds have you destroyed? I was under the impression that Parsley and Inanna have you beat in that regard.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

It wasn't a burden Totoma could understand, although... regardless, deep down, it somewhat resonated with him? Maybe it was his current body, since, well, his alternate self was the Emperor of Saiyans in his world. "Sounds tough. But I'd say you've done pretty well, and so does mom. Says you have a knack for surrounding yourself with people that shore up your weak points. Plus, you've managed to be Queen and keep up with your training, which is... uh..."

He paused for a moment. "...well, between fighting crime and trying to keep up with two--sometimes three, if you count my little bro--toddlers hasn't really allowed me to do the same. Not that I haven't been getting in some training here and there, but it's... difficult to balance."

There had to be a way to get around his lack of time to get in heavy training, but right now, he wasn't sure how to go about that. Maybe something he could do while just doing his normal thing? That might work, but what?

"...hm... how's about we have a short spar before our ride gets here? Figure that actually fighting in this body'll help me get used to it, and I'm... well, kind of bored, haha."

That was true. Sarada wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as she had on her own. If not for Maiz, Mato, and the rest of the council, she would have been fucked a long time ago. Instead, she was entering her fifth year as queen and things were looking up. The current situation was a major hiccup, but once they cleared this, the future was bright!

At hearing Totoma's excuses for not training like he was supposed to, she blinked. "You have a brother?" Him having children wasn't that much of a surprise. With a mate like Karine, she would have been thoroughly disappointed if he hadn't been constantly mounting her like a steed night in and night out. She knew she would have, if she were actually still single and Totoma didn't exist or was dead. Damn it. She should have killed him and enlisted Karine into her royal harem. Along with Inanna, Neva, that bunny girl whose name completely escaped her, and... Erosa... she would have had a steady supply of tiddies to sate her hunger for years.

Damn it! Why did she have to have this stellar, brilliant idea now when it was too late?!

"Having kids isn't an excuse," she chided. "Just let them join in on the training. That's what Parsley does with her kids." Shrugging, she pressed the magical pendent Ishtar gave her years ago and changed into her training armor. "Anyway, I'm down for a quick spar. The poindexters are dragging their heels, as usual."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"I like to imagine I'm everyone's biggest threat," Parsley remarked in reply to the high praise. There weren't too many people that she knew of that could give Inanna a hard time, so to be counted among the few by the woman herself was a nice confidence boost.

Inanna finally made herself known, hands cupped together and a massive pool of energy gathering between them. Death... The finality of the single word uttered brought a coupling of memories in regards the attack that soon followed. She witnessed first hand the devastation that energy brought when it annihilated the fused being Marshub to the point that nothing would be able to bring either him or the two Onis who comprised his being back from death beyond death.

She, naturally, had no fear of that happening to her. This was, after all, a sparring match. However, she was curious if her newfound power could contend with the goddess'. "Finally." Her power flared, pushed to its limit as a wreath of golden fire enshrouded her. The blue energy of the Kamehameha once again manifested, only this time in the palm of a single hand.

Perfect Intuition: Galick Gun

In her opposite hand, the violet embers of the legendary Galick Gun coalesced together. Two similar energies only differentiated by their hue, combining them together would be no great feat of difficulty. "Galick..." She cupped her hands together at her sides, forcing the two opposing balls of energy together in a volatile mish-mash. "Kaaaa...Meeeee...Haaaaa...Meeeeeee...."

Would you look at that~ Inanna mused, as Parsley moved to match her attack. Such innate talent.

Shame she hadn't figure it out.

"Come now Princess," The Oni that was exclaimed as the energy within her cupped hands took shape; destruction and her Godly Ki blending together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. "Don't hold back." It wouldn't do after all, if the Saiyan pulled her punches. Sparring match though this was, and even with Inanna having no plans to kill Parsley... she certainly wasn't holding back from unleashing what she was about to.

Which reminded her:

From its hiding place, the clone prepared. Tweaking the laws that were, in favor of tipping the scales... or transformations depending, balance them... and sensing that her counterpart- the real Inanna- had finished charging. It was almost time.

Grinning, Inanna braced herself... and the planet, before staring Parsley dead in the face.

"Time to see what you can do."

"Death... From the Demon's Gate."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Would you look at that~ Inanna mused, as Parsley moved to match her attack. Such innate talent.

Shame she hadn't figure it out.

"Come now Princess," The Oni that was exclaimed as the energy within her cupped hands took shape; destruction and her Godly Ki blending together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. "Don't hold back." It wouldn't do after all, if the Saiyan pulled her punches. Sparring match though this was, and even with Inanna having no plans to kill Parsley... she certainly wasn't holding back from unleashing what she was about to.

Which reminded her:

From its hiding place, the clone prepared. Tweaking the laws that were, in favor of tipping the scales... or transformations depending, balance them... and sensing that her counterpart- the real Inanna- had finished charging. It was almost time.

Grinning, Inanna braced herself... and the planet, before staring Parsley dead in the face.

"Time to see what you can do."

"Death... From the Demon's Gate."

It was time. Inanna had committed to the current course, and so would Parsley. The point of no return was firmly behind them and quickly becoming a distance speck on the horizon. While death was an unlikely outcome, injury certainly wasn't. In fact, it was guaranteed. She spent the last few moments steeling herself and preparing to experience pain beyond what she had felt in the last few years.

"Hold back?" She scoffed. "I would never disrespect a fellow warrior by giving less than my all." This was all she had. Win or lose, she had nothing to be ashamed of. "This is what I can do."

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

It was time. Inanna had committed to the current course, and so would Parsley. The point of no return was firmly behind them and quickly becoming a distance speck on the horizon. While death was an unlikely outcome, injury certainly wasn't. In fact, it was guaranteed. She spent the last few moments steeling herself and preparing to experience pain beyond what she had felt in the last few years.

"Hold back?" She scoffed. "I would never disrespect a fellow warrior by giving less than my all." This was all she had. Win or lose, she had nothing to be ashamed of. "This is what I can do."

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Parsley hadn't simply copied the two techniques, she'd blended them. A Kamehameha Gun? A Galic-hameha? ... The name didn't matter. The competence did; and Inanna had to admit it was beautiful to see. And something to certainly keep tabs on, moving forward. But what about in the moment? Well... she was waiting for th- Off in the distance, several runes flared and she felt the Clone she'd created dissipate. Delightful~! Her Death From the Demon's Gate suddenly disappeared; leaving her alone to contend with the blast bearing down on her as it was re-positioned to avoid an inevitable beam clash.

It wouldn't have done, after all.

The amount of Hakai she'd dumped into the attack was enough to eat through Parsley's barrier... but not both the Kame-ga-me-lic Gun? No!. As much as she might've liked to test it, and as much as she gave the appearance... Inanna was no monster. Which was why there was still one attack, she was reticent to use without due warning. Something she'd have never bothered to tout out in something so benign as a spar.

But she was certainly curious to see how and where the Aura of Evisceration, and Reflective Aura started and stopped... hence the Death From the Demon's Gate... and she was curious to see how well she'd handle Parsley's new limit. Which was a good thing as Parsley's attack slammed into her dead on; and undefended it pretty much dropped her then and there.

"..."

Her only solace- as she lay there in a heap- was in knowing that Parsley might not have planned for this; and the Death From (Above) the Demon's Gate would strike her similarly.

Suffice to say however... it was going to take a minute before Inanna could stand.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley hadn't simply copied the two techniques, she'd blended them. A Kamehameha Gun? A Galic-hameha? ... The name didn't matter. The competence did; and Inanna had to admit it was beautiful to see. And something to certainly keep tabs on, moving forward. But what about in the moment? Well... she was waiting for th- Off in the distance, several runes flared and she felt the Clone she'd created dissipate. Delightful~! Her Death From the Demon's Gate suddenly disappeared; leaving her alone to contend with the blast bearing down on her as it was re-positioned to avoid an inevitable beam clash.

It wouldn't have done, after all.

The amount of Hakai she'd dumped into the attack was enough to eat through Parsley's barrier... but not both the Kame-ga-me-lic Gun? No!. As much as she might've liked to test it, and as much as she gave the appearance... Inanna was no monster. Which was why there was still one attack, she was reticent to use without due warning. Something she'd have never bothered to tout out in something so benign as a spar.

But she was certainly curious to see how and where the Aura of Evisceration, and Reflective Aura started and stopped... hence the Death From the Demon's Gate... and she was curious to see how well she'd handle Parsley's new limit. Which was a good thing as Parsley's attack slammed into her dead on; and undefended it pretty much dropped her then and there.

"..."

Her only solace- as she lay there in a heap- was in knowing that Parsley might not have planned for this; and the Death From (Above) the Demon's Gate would strike her similarly.

Suffice to say however... it was going to take a minute before Inanna could stand.

A beam clash was one of, if not the most satisfying ways to end any kind of fight, but especially a spar. It was the ultimate test of wills and power. Two people pitting their all against one another to see who has the deeper well of power and the stronger will. Only the greater of the two would be left standing; Parsley intended on being that person.

She was prepared to push Inanna's hakai-enhanced attacked back in her face. She relished the opportunity to test herself against a god and had done pretty well, if she could say so herself. In fact, she would even go as far as to say she had dominated her sister-in-law so far.

As the two beams hurtled toward each other, Parsley grinned. This would be glorious! Amazing! Stu- Inanna's beam vanish. "..." Parsley's Garlic Kamehameha passed through the empty space previously occupied by the Death From the Demon's Gate and washed over the seemingly ill-prepared former Oni. She was quickly overwhelmed and sent hurtling to the ground below. "What?" Parsley had nary a moment to comprehend what had just happened. One minute, an amazing beam clash was about to start; the next, nothing.

For a brief moment, Parsley trembled with rage. "You...you blasphemous cu-" she started before something struck her from above. Something powerful. As distracted as she was, she was unable to defend herself. Even her dual reflective/serrated shield crumbled under the attack's power. Then, as she was quickly careening to the ground below for a painful landing, she realized why Inanna was playing hide-and-seek. She was buying time for a clone to create a teleportation rune to redirect her attack. Perhaps that was right, perhaps not. At the moment, the accuracy of her assumption wasn't really important.

She slammed into the ground with thunderous force that was instantly drowned out by the ensuing explosion. The ground shook and was ripped apart, nothing but broken devastation left in the wake of the surprise attack. Parsley, trapped at the epicenter, was nowhere to be found.

As the light of the explosion and the dust storm created therefrom both faded, Parsley was found laying on top of one of the larger pieces of debris upended from the ground below. Her hair had turned back to its natural brown hue and her golden glow was gone. Battered and bruised, she had lost consciousness briefly. "...ugh...," she moaned softly. It was nothing short of miraculous that she was even still awake, but standing to continue the fight was out of the question, at least for the moment.

[KingofPie]

She sips her tea before answering.

“Hilda, of dead Vorna, no titles. Tell me, Sasheem, how many worlds have you destroyed? I was under the impression that Parsley and Inanna have you beat in that regard.”

Sasheem's brow twitched ever so slightly. "Who's to say?" The Majin shrugged after a while. "Before he arrived in Earth, Sasheem trashed a ton of places. Don't known the names, don't care. 'Course that all came to a halt once Sasheem stopped by Earth," he signed wistfully, taking a sip of lemonade. "So next time ya wanna compare Sasheem's record to that sad-sack Saiyan and that horny blueberry, why don't ya look to the stars, deep in the dark depths of space and think...just for a moment that the endless sea of asteroids encircling the empty cosmos were once the the pillars of long gone civilizations that hat the misfortune AND the privilege to have once been visited by the Greater Annihilator..." Sasheem stood up, one foot on the cafeteria table.

"AHEM!" he coughed sitting back down. "...but, that's in the past. Sasheem's got a different MO now...either way, what about you? Sasheem's never even heard of Vorna! What happened to it? You get so bored of the place that you went and iced it yourself?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sasheem's brow twitched ever so slightly. "Who's to say?" The Majin shrugged after a while. "Before he arrived in Earth, Sasheem trashed a ton of places. Don't known the names, don't care. 'Course that all came to a halt once Sasheem stopped by Earth," he signed wistfully, taking a sip of lemonade. "So next time ya wanna compare Sasheem's record to that sad-sack Saiyan and that horny blueberry, why don't ya look to the stars, deep in the dark depths of space and think...just for a moment that the endless sea of asteroids encircling the empty cosmos were once the the pillars of long gone civilizations that hat the misfortune AND the privilege to have once been visited by the Greater Annihilator..." Sasheem stood up, one foot on the cafeteria table.

"AHEM!" he coughed sitting back down. "...but, that's in the past. Sasheem's got a different MO now...either way, what about you? Sasheem's never even heard of Vorna! What happened to it? You get so bored of the place that you went and iced it yourself?"

She smiles, a disturbing twist of her lips, and eyes him again.

“The Saiyans destroyed it before I was born.”

She sips her tea, then pours herself some more and adds a drop of something grey from a small bottle to it. She does the same to another cup, then passes it to Sasheem.

“Share a drink with me, Destroyer, and we can swap stories.”

[KingofPie]

She smiles, a disturbing twist of her lips, and eyes him again.

“The Saiyans destroyed it before I was born.”

She sips her tea, then pours herself some more and adds a drop of something grey from a small bottle to it. She does the same to another cup, then passes it to Sasheem.

“Share a drink with me, Destroyer, and we can swap stories.”

"Can't rightly call Sasheem a destroyer anymore," the Majin noted, somewhat solemnly as he took a seat in front of Hilda. " So, Hilda, is it? You gotta be missed at the Saiyans, right? Sasheem knows he would be. Think they're all high'n'mighty when they were no better than Sasheem! 'Least he never pretended there was a reason behind him wanting to blast stuff up to smithereens..."

As he spoke, he eyed the drink carefully. Not necessarily the tea itself, but what was poured into it.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Can't rightly call Sasheem a destroyer anymore," the Majin noted, somewhat solemnly as he took a seat in front of Hilda. " So, Hilda, is it? You gotta be missed at the Saiyans, right? Sasheem knows he would be. Think they're all high'n'mighty when they were no better than Sasheem! 'Least he never pretended there was a reason behind him wanting to blast stuff up to smithereens..."

As he spoke, he eyed the drink carefully. Not necessarily the tea itself, but what was poured into it.

She nods.

“I sought retribution. I very nearly killed or crippled them all via a virus, had the Queen not won her Tournament and convinced me to give them a second chance.”

She sips her tea and gestures.

“A simple pathogen, quick and deadly. My speciality, virology, poisons, that sort of thing.”

She looks at his cup and smiles.

“Nervous?”

[bruceleegreyhulk]

“Top notch. Hilda made sure they were well secured against such things.”

" I see that's good news. Okay, Dash let's check out the Engine room," Praxat said.

[Tami]

" I see that's good news. Okay, Dash let's check out the Engine room," Praxat said.

"Sounds fine with me. Ah figgure you know the way there, so lead the way." Dash waited for Praxat to start off then followed close by. As they walked, she took in the interior of the ship, noting the layout and the signage identifying different areas. She noticed the mess room and that there were people inside already, and she noticed various other areas that looked like crew quarters and so on.

As they had passed the mess, the smell of food reminded her how long it had been since she last ate anything. Glancing at Praxat, she decided that food could wait. Besides, maybe the Engine room might actually be interesting.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

A beam clash was one of, if not the most satisfying ways to end any kind of fight, but especially a spar. It was the ultimate test of wills and power. Two people pitting their all against one another to see who has the deeper well of power and the stronger will. Only the greater of the two would be left standing; Parsley intended on being that person.

She was prepared to push Inanna's hakai-enhanced attacked back in her face. She relished the opportunity to test herself against a god and had done pretty well, if she could say so herself. In fact, she would even go as far as to say she had dominated her sister-in-law so far.

As the two beams hurtled toward each other, Parsley grinned. This would be glorious! Amazing! Stu- Inanna's beam vanish. "..." Parsley's Garlic Kamehameha passed through the empty space previously occupied by the Death From the Demon's Gate and washed over the seemingly ill-prepared former Oni. She was quickly overwhelmed and sent hurtling to the ground below. "What?" Parsley had nary a moment to comprehend what had just happened. One minute, an amazing beam clash was about to start; the next, nothing.

For a brief moment, Parsley trembled with rage. "You...you blasphemous cu-" she started before something struck her from above. Something powerful. As distracted as she was, she was unable to defend herself. Even her dual reflective/serrated shield crumbled under the attack's power. Then, as she was quickly careening to the ground below for a painful landing, she realized why Inanna was playing hide-and-seek. She was buying time for a clone to create a teleportation rune to redirect her attack. Perhaps that was right, perhaps not. At the moment, the accuracy of her assumption wasn't really important.

She slammed into the ground with thunderous force that was instantly drowned out by the ensuing explosion. The ground shook and was ripped apart, nothing but broken devastation left in the wake of the surprise attack. Parsley, trapped at the epicenter, was nowhere to be found.

As the light of the explosion and the dust storm created therefrom both faded, Parsley was found laying on top of one of the larger pieces of debris upended from the ground below. Her hair had turned back to its natural brown hue and her golden glow was gone. Battered and bruised, she had lost consciousness briefly. "...ugh...," she moaned softly. It was nothing short of miraculous that she was even still awake, but standing to continue the fight was out of the question, at least for the moment.

If not by virtue of the fact that Inanna could regenerate, and Parsley could not... Inanna would have lost far more than simply her ability to stand. Thankfully however that was not the case; and after a short time the woman managed to scrape enough of herself back together to IT next into the crater that held Parsley at the center of it.

"... Hah. What fun." She cackled, as she rolled to a stop, next to the wounded warrior. "And that I lost so dramatically." The woman rapped her knuckles on Parsley's forehead to rouse her from the 'nap' she'd slipped into.

"Delightful~"

Falling silent a moment, the former Oni focused, and offered the Saiyan Princess some Divine Intervention; to mend those aches, and pains, and broken bones.

Blessing bestowed, Inanna flopped onto her back.

"I've got a lot to learn..."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

That was true. Sarada wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as she had on her own. If not for Maiz, Mato, and the rest of the council, she would have been fucked a long time ago. Instead, she was entering her fifth year as queen and things were looking up. The current situation was a major hiccup, but once they cleared this, the future was bright!

At hearing Totoma's excuses for not training like he was supposed to, she blinked. "You have a brother?" Him having children wasn't that much of a surprise. With a mate like Karine, she would have been thoroughly disappointed if he hadn't been constantly mounting her like a steed night in and night out. She knew she would have, if she were actually still single and Totoma didn't exist or was dead. Damn it. She should have killed him and enlisted Karine into her royal harem. Along with Inanna, Neva, that bunny girl whose name completely escaped her, and... Erosa... she would have had a steady supply of tiddies to sate her hunger for years.

Damn it! Why did she have to have this stellar, brilliant idea now when it was too late?!

"Having kids isn't an excuse," she chided. "Just let them join in on the training. That's what Parsley does with her kids." Shrugging, she pressed the magical pendent Ishtar gave her years ago and changed into her training armor. "Anyway, I'm down for a quick spar. The poindexters are dragging their heels, as usual."

"Mm, yeah, well... Kari's vetoed that idea until they're older," said Totoma. He definitely sounded disappointed. "...really wish she hadn't. Both Evangeline and Chazuke have a lot of hidden potential--Eva in particular has a mean right hook--and I'm sure my little bro'd love to throw hands with 'em..."

He sighed and shrugged, then slid into a fighting stance. One thing he noticed about Rousong's body is that, despite its conditioning, it was... far more tense than his body, by default. Always on edge, always ready for a fight. It made sense, based on what he knew of the guy's life, but it felt... uncomfortable, to him. Dude didn't relax enough.

Ahhh, nothing he could do except get used to it.

"Heh, this is gonna be fun. It's been years since we've had a scrap... not since mom was training us after Fife," he said. Man, that seemed like a lifetime ago. In just a few short years, he'd achieved super saiyan, gotten married, had kids, gone on a ton of crazy adventure... heh, what a crazy life he'd had.

Slowly, he inched forwad, and then, all at once, he shot forward...

...only to seemingly trip and start rolling comically. However... with practiced (?) ease, the roll flowed into a springing double kick aimed at Sarada's center of mass. As a kid, he'd had a tricky, unorthodox fighting style, but years of sitting on his ass had forced him to revert to Saiyan-do, which, while effective, was also as to-the-point as one would expect of Saiyankind. It had taken him years of retraining himself to get back to the point where he could use the Boar style effectively, but now, even in a body he wasn't quite used to, he could make use of it.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

If not by virtue of the fact that Inanna could regenerate, and Parsley could not... Inanna would have lost far more than simply her ability to stand. Thankfully however that was not the case; and after a short time the woman managed to scrape enough of herself back together to IT next into the crater that held Parsley at the center of it.

"... Hah. What fun." She cackled, as she rolled to a stop, next to the wounded warrior. "And that I lost so dramatically." The woman rapped her knuckles on Parsley's forehead to rouse her from the 'nap' she'd slipped into.

"Delightful~"

Falling silent a moment, the former Oni focused, and offered the Saiyan Princess some Divine Intervention; to mend those aches, and pains, and broken bones.

Blessing bestowed, Inanna flopped onto her back.

"I've got a lot to learn..."

Parsley was roused awake. "Nnnnnh," she groaned as she rose to a sitting position. The extreme pain was gone, soothed by Inanna's gracious blessing. That, plus the soothing touch of a victory hard earned, made everything worth it.

"All in all, it was a satisfactory battle," she commented. The main thing she learned was that she was very much able to blend together the abilities that she decided to pilfer from those she faced in combat. That, beyond everything else, changed everything. It opened so many avenues for her, she couldn't even begin to count them all. Another thing she learned was that she could stack her reflective shield and her aura of evisceration. That added two layers of protection that made her even more dangerous in battle.

If she could say so herself, she was likely the most dangerous person in the group.

She rose to her feet. "We can iron out your kinks. I suggest we spend a few months here training until maybe an hour before it's time for us to descend on Reshlan." She opened a doorway back to the ship. "I'm going to get some food. I'll be right back." And of course, speak with this Hilda. ...I can't remember what I wanted to talk to her about... Oh, well. It would come back to her. If not, then it was best she forgot.

She stepped through and headed for the mess hall. She could sense Sasheem was there and broke out into a sprint. There was no way she was letting that buffoon eat all the food before she could have any!