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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"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.

Sarada watched Totoma dart toward her, only to trip over his own feet and roll head over heels. "..." What an idiot. How could he be so - "Oof!" A pair of feet were planted in her gut, sending her sliding toward the edge of the Lookout. She managed to stop herself and hopped back to her feet. "What the hell was that?" She shook her head and got it back into the fight. If he wanted to use that cagey misdirection ****, he was going up against the wrong person. This was exactly what the Archons trained her for, to think quick on her feet!

She dashed forward against, launching eight energy blasts into the air before she started to engage Totoma in close quarters. The blasts started to rotate around the battle, as if on standby.

[Tami]

Praxat takes the lead and uses her infrasound hearing to guide her and Dash to the engine room." This is my first time being on this ship, so this is going to be my and your first time seeing its engine room. Hopefully, my infrasonic hearing will guide us in the right direction. I don't know where the engine room is on this ship so, we're just going to have to trust my infrasonic hearing to lead us in the right direction," Praxat said.

"Or," Dash pointed to a nearby wall, "We could just follow the signs." On the wall just ahead of them was a map of the interior of the spaceship with directions to each area including the Engine room. On the lower right hand corner of the sign was the Capsule Corps insignia.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Sarada watched Totoma dart toward her, only to trip over his own feet and roll head over heels. "..." What an idiot. How could he be so - "Oof!" A pair of feet were planted in her gut, sending her sliding toward the edge of the Lookout. She managed to stop herself and hopped back to her feet. "What the hell was that?" She shook her head and got it back into the fight. If he wanted to use that cagey misdirection ****, he was going up against the wrong person. This was exactly what the Archons trained her for, to think quick on her feet!

She dashed forward against, launching eight energy blasts into the air before she started to engage Totoma in close quarters. The blasts started to rotate around the battle, as if on standby.

Totoma met Sarada's barrage with one of his own, taking note of the energy blasts Sarada had fired. He knew how she fought, so, soon enough, one (or more... or all) of those blasts would come hurtling down on him at the most inopportune time. But, for now, he had to focus on the hand-to-hand.

It soon became apparent that Sarada was better than him at this point. He had improved, but didn't have quite the same level of... hands-on experience the Saiyan Queen did, so in a protracted melee, he'd eventually get worn down. Also seemed that she'd adjusted well to the Boar Schools' unorthodox fighting methods.

...also didn't help that he was getting these distracting... flashes? Images and feelings in the back of his mind nagging at him...

After a few of these flashes, he realized what they were. Visions, impressions of the near future, of particularly nasty strikes headed his way. It took him a bit to adjust, but when another flash happened, he would respond and intercept it. Hah, so Rousong had such an ability, and it, at least in some way, lingered in his body? Neat.

...as a kid, he did recall experiencing similar things, but it had been more of a general danger sense, with only the occasional 'flash' in battle. Yeah, it had saved his life, but he'd been so obsessed with raw power back then that it hadn't occurred to even try to develop those talents. Stupid.

Eh, something else to fix. Now... when would Sarada attack with those energy balls she'd created? They might be a good test to see how keen this... precognition was. 'course, even if he saw them coming, there was no guarantee he'd be able to dodge all or even any of 'em, but, hey, no pain, no gain.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“You and the Goddess call him a fool. Interesting. Auroc of Taltok, former servant of Sakin, is probably the oldest mortal being in this universe, give it take a few years. His knowledge is most likely unparalleled, and he has seen terrors and wonders uncountable. Greedy, short sighted, yes. A fool? Had I not intervened he would have what he wanted from Sarada, after all.”

She shakes her head.

“I have no quarrel with Auroc. He has personally done me no ill. I am here for three reasons: to make sure my foolish husband is well, to observe hidden Reshlan and see its secrets, and to watch the Tragedy of Auroc come to a close. A shame, truly, his life. Such wasted potential.”

Parsley didn't care a whit about Auroc at the moment. His time would come, and it would be over swiftly. The pretender would reap the rewards for his presumptuousness, and she would be there to laugh in his face.

She was far more interested in finding out, or rather confirming, who Hilda's mate was. She was 90% certain, but even she was wrong every other blue moon or so. "Husband, you say? Interesting. Is he prone to making life-endangering decisions like my sister is?"

[Miburo]

Lord Blacktongue could not stir, both limbs and ki impeded directly from accessing the very font of power they all stood upon at this very moment. The only response, if indeed he had one, was that the wound Held inflicted upon him ceased its bleeding, the killer intent within the Threshling Herald spiking impotently, unable to guide the flesh-prison encased within his sable armour.

"Well said," Ulysses muttered groggily, wearily switching off his force shield. "All the same, what do we do with this one now? He's too dangerous to be left alive."

"You may be right," Ochazuke replied, "But there are answers we'll need to extract from him. Stand watch for now, Captain. The internal bind should seize his movement, but if he stirs from it, I leave it to your discretion."



Zaofan clapped a hand over Held's shoulder, the tired smile on his face reciprocating his words in kind as Ochazuke led the way forward

"It was a very long voyage, but on the upside it did make for plentiful training, and then some," Zaofan said, the usual brilliant glimmer rising in his eyes. "Those navigators, they sure can eat, let me tell you..." Just as swiftly, they'd lost their lustre as his thoughts grew nearer to the task at hand. "If only we'd gotten here sooner..."

"By all appearances I thought this would be a simpler matter than what happened on Nevada Prime," the Martial Apostate replied, "the Wayfinder resonating with Guardian's Creation led our way, we only needed a vessel to cross the distance, but the true face of the Threshling enemy is far more insidious than I first thought."

"To strike down an enemy, to route him by force, that can be met well enough. But to unseat an idea seeded by domineering fear is like trying to extract roots to save branches."



The Priestess made no speech where they stood beneath Auroc's mythicized effigy. She slinked forward, a soundless, swarthy shadow adorned with ghostly trails of sheer and swaying beads beneath a bejeweled mitre. The uncanny silence which wreathed the Priestess' roost was broken by that trickle of noise below, and they could be hear them even from this height.

The sea of commonfolk warriors and Threshling Converts parted from their fateful combat cowed in fretful awe, roars of alternating reverence and fearful rebellion from the multitudes below. Under that blackened sky, the devoted on both sides sent their Champions their prayers, and very swiftly this group of offworlders understood the difference as she answered her Anointed.

The Ziggurat loaned Blacktongue its power, but the Priestess was the bridge between what was collected...and where it was ultimately going. They who had installed themselves as god, in turn, prayed to another. She raised a hand to the setting sun and the world seemed to fall into an eclipse as she raised her hands.

Immediately cast a Runic Array about them. It was then that they realized that each corner of the terrace atop this spire was designed to amplify the energy of the Faithful, enacting their prayers.

"And who are you to make demands of the Universal Sovereign?"

Thunder roared, and a shower of lightning fell upon them, their brilliance resolving themselves in electric truncheons that crackled within her hands.

"To declare yourselves in equal measure to a god, it is blasphemy," she said, "The cardinal sin which must be excised from this and all worlds."

The Dark Prayer put over the Threshling Temple swelled, and a bloody voice they'd heard so long ago echoed over the terrace.

"The purity of the Faith will overcome your barbarism!"

With a swipe of her hand, an arcing plasma trail fell upon the group in resonance with the rising voice from beyond. She threw it down, not at them, but into the midst of those defiant ones below, cruelly smiting a row of the rebellious to ashes.

"I believe! The Pure shall be raised and the Fallen shall be purged!"

Throwing her hands before her, the Priestess loosed another flood of power, burning plasma arcing towards them.

I'm really beginning to think that Auroc didn't invest much into the Threshling education system....

Piercing Horn Forest!

The faintest tremor could be felt from their vantage point on the tower, a sleeping power suddenly rumbling to life. From the depths of the Ziggaraut, massive spiked pylons of Ki erupted, skewering the structure from within.

The largest and most sturdy of these branches, built like mighty redwoods erupted in front of Held and his companions, hoping to shield them from the blast as countless smaller branches of pointed thorns jettisoned outwards from within the obelisk.

If Held could see her face through the chaos, he imagined she would be irate. In the span of moments a place of worship was degraded into a pincushion, defiled more and more with each passing millisecond.

They at once served to provide further protection, doing their part dampen the attack while at the same time threatening the priestess, as it was only a matter of time before even her domain was penetrated by the sheer scale and density of the attack.

The Nevadian had considered dispersing the concentration of energy he embedded in the stone floor below, planted like a seed to counter Blacktongue's attack, similar in nature to Held's own.

However, as fate had it, such precautions were unnecessary. He felt it to be more trouble that it was worth dig up the seed, a choice that paid dividends in the moments not long after.

...I guess I should be thankful that Herald was more bark than bite...

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"I've seen one of those too..." Etrina momentary glanced in Inannas direction and then sighed. "Well....I can't complain. The search for knowledge is just as great a drive for a mage....."



Etrina looks momentarily confused, then plants her fingers against her forehand and smiles. "Divination huh....Hilarious isn't it. Always feels like someone is decided what I'm suppose to do before I've done it......Hey, show me mine, maybe I can convinse Inanna to trade." The mage chuckled.

The steam swirls and shows Etrina in a cage, not one of iron bars but of magecraft instead.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"It wouldn't do if I missed things. Though to say I'm on par with Parsley or Ochazuke on that front would be hilariously inaccurate," Inanna commented off-hand before watching the Majin war with... himself.

"The days to come are full of wonders, it would seem, certainly." Delightful. An already full schedule was becoming all the more so. "So tell me, Hilda... does the divination come with meaning or are we to interpret our own?"

She nods.

“An impression or warning. For you, it is ‘Beware the Ulthan.’”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Or," Dash pointed to a nearby wall, "We could just follow the signs." On the wall just ahead of them was a map of the interior of the spaceship with directions to each area including the Engine room. On the lower right hand corner of the sign was the Capsule Corps insignia.

Leading them were indeed bright and cheerful CC logos at various intervals. Jinzi had insisted some mark of his presence was felt it seems.

They find the engine room quickly enough. A three tailed Kitani, Officer Tanaki, is speaking to two other people with Engineer stripes on their uniforms.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley didn't care a whit about Auroc at the moment. His time would come, and it would be over swiftly. The pretender would reap the rewards for his presumptuousness, and she would be there to laugh in his face.

She was far more interested in finding out, or rather confirming, who Hilda's mate was. She was 90% certain, but even she was wrong every other blue moon or so. "Husband, you say? Interesting. Is he prone to making life-endangering decisions like my sister is?"

Hilda smiles.

“Perhaps. He would say they happen upon him instead of him stumbling into them. Alas Held.....is drawn to interesting happenings.”

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

“Indeed. That is what the new Supreme Kai station is supposed to do. Nurture and prepare races.”

"Supreme Kai? I... see." She knew the guardian of Earth had a kai that worked for... or with(?) her, and he seemed a level-headed sort, but she still felt there was the potential for abuse. At the very least, there needed to be some system in place to ensure that these supreme kai did their duty instead of... oh, deciding that mortals were irredeemable and decided to wipe them out with some sort of absurd 'zero mortals plan'. "Well, I suppose it's better than the current system of gods, actual and self-proclaimed, simply doing what they will... but I still have reservations."

"Well, what have we here? A... tea party and no one thought to invite the newcomer? Ha ha ha." It was Voyavoda, who'd finally gotten himself situation on the ship. "Apologies for the intrusion, but I couldn't help but notice more and more gathering here."

Neva turned an appraising eye at this... Nevadian, as far as she could tell. He'd joined them for this trip and seemed to be a friend of that Tasure and her silly son. Admittedly, Nevanlinna didn't know Tasure very well, but the woman was well-regarded among saiyans, and she did not strike the princess as someone that would associate with anyone that wasn't exceptional in some way.

Voyavoda smiled, took out a canister and a cup, poured some... tea of his own and, holding it between his hands, apparently heated it up. He placed the tea next to Hilda. "I do believe this is the custom among your people? A sharing of tea, to symbolize a sharing of trust."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Hilda smiles.

“Perhaps. He would say they happen upon him instead of him stumbling into them. Alas Held.....is drawn to interesting happenings.”

Parsley smiled and chuckled at the revelation. "Oh? So Held is your mate. I don't think he's said a word to me since we met, so I've always thought that he was afraid of women. Now I know the real reason."

She had a hard time believing that a soft Nevadian man like Held could withstand a woman like Hilda. There must have been something she was missing.

"So, how does an observer like yourself fall for a bureaucrat like Held?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Supreme Kai? I... see." She knew the guardian of Earth had a kai that worked for... or with(?) her, and he seemed a level-headed sort, but she still felt there was the potential for abuse. At the very least, there needed to be some system in place to ensure that these supreme kai did their duty instead of... oh, deciding that mortals were irredeemable and decided to wipe them out with some sort of absurd 'zero mortals plan'. "Well, I suppose it's better than the current system of gods, actual and self-proclaimed, simply doing what they will... but I still have reservations."

"Well, what have we here? A... tea party and no one thought to invite the newcomer? Ha ha ha." It was Voyavoda, who'd finally gotten himself situation on the ship. "Apologies for the intrusion, but I couldn't help but notice more and more gathering here."

Neva turned an appraising eye at this... Nevadian, as far as she could tell. He'd joined them for this trip and seemed to be a friend of that Tasure and her silly son. Admittedly, Nevanlinna didn't know Tasure very well, but the woman was well-regarded among saiyans, and she did not strike the princess as someone that would associate with anyone that wasn't exceptional in some way.

Voyavoda smiled, took out a canister and a cup, poured some... tea of his own and, holding it between his hands, apparently heated it up. He placed the tea next to Hilda. "I do believe this is the custom among your people? A sharing of tea, to symbolize a sharing of trust."

For the first time Hilda’s face breaks, a soft longing in her eyes as she looks at the simple gesture returned to her. The moment passes and she nods, drinking it.

“My utmost thanks, Riskbreaker. It seems Nevadians still recall my people’s traditions. I am grateful.”

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

For the first time Hilda’s face breaks, a soft longing in her eyes as she looks at the simple gesture returned to her. The moment passes and she nods, drinking it.

“My utmost thanks, Riskbreaker. It seems Nevadians still recall my people’s traditions. I am grateful.”

"Ahh, riskbreaker... now there's a title I've not heard in years. Nostalgic," he said, scratching his beard. "And think nothing of it. I, or rather, the one who... informed who I am, spent time amongst your people. That person has long since been consumed by the flame, a fate that I will share, in time, but I and those who follow will remember the important things."

Voyavoda sighed. "Word on the grapevine says that a certain... up-and-coming young Nevadian has attracted the attentions of a mysterious woman. Rumours abound of her pursuing him in a moon-sized battle station amusingly termed the, ahem... 'fuckmoon'." He paused to laugh at the absurdity of that name. "It is hard to sift through what is true and what is embellishment, but, tell me, has the chase been enjoyable thus far? We Nevadians can be quite the elusive prey, after all."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Leading them were indeed bright and cheerful CC logos at various intervals. Jinzi had insisted some mark of his presence was felt it seems.

They find the engine room quickly enough. A three tailed Kitani, Officer Tanaki, is speaking to two other people with Engineer stripes on their uniforms.

Praxat walks into the engine room and patiently waits for the conversation to end before introducing herself.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She nods.

“An impression or warning. For you, it is ‘Beware the Ulthan.’”

"That is not terribly informative," Inanna said with a sigh. "I'll be sure to add it to the list of priorities however. Thank you, Hilda."

Ulthan. Ulthan... a word worth ferreting clues over.

"On the topic of stories though... know much about Animancy, or Anima-mancy?"