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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Still laboring under those delusions that you are a god. You may have increased your strength, but you are nothing, and soon you will be less than nothing," said Neva, glaring at Auroc with a hatred that would kill weaker beings... perhaps literally.

"Yeah, you're nothing but an ugly, evil monster!" Seri added, sticking out her tongue at the "god".



"Fascinating." It was Voyavoda. "You are the one who sent Jagam out into the universe all those years ago? I was expecting someone more... cogent. Tell me, you surely must be aware of this group's track record, ja? I've only heard of it second-hand from Tasure and Totoma, but I, for one, would not want to make an enemy of these fighters, as you have."

His eyes shone red as his Shingan activated, scanning the 'god' for anything that piqued his interest. "Ah, that reminds me... both Tasure and Totoma have something for you. Do you want it?"

“I’ve existed for more time than most civilizations, girl. This won’t be my end, I assure you.”

He looks at the Nevadian, who with his Shingan can see how deep, deep within the black mass something solid remains.

“Of course. Give it to me.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

For many, death was nothing but the ultimate end. For some, it was met without fear. Others cowered in fear and begged for their lives. Regardless of the emotions and mindset leading up to the end, the end came regardless. Only the privileged few got to taste life after death. She was one of them. The ones who lived on Turrip after the Tuffle's attack were others. For the vast majority of creation, sadly, death was the end and that was that.

The Saiyan conqueror named Kakarot tasted death over and over and over, but still drew breath. Effective immortality was a curse. One death haunted her for years before she finally took control of her trauma and overcame it. There was no such hope for Kakarot. The false god and his minion taunted him with death, punished him by carving him apart bit by bit. Runes of obedience, control, and death etched on every muscle, bone, and organ. Every piece of him was tied to a string that led directly back to Auroc. All because an infant in a pod crash-landed on this world with the intention of killing the entire race and placing the planet up on the Junjo black market.

It wasn't a tactic she had ever heard of. Vocado didn't send anyone under sixteen to other worlds to conquer, once they graduated from the CTC. Perhaps he was from another world like Callion. In the end, it didn't matter. His body was hollowed by endless resurrections and his mind hardened by hatred for his own race and lust for revenge. There was no getting through to him, but she could still help.

Bloodied and partially broken, she crawled out of the rubble that was left of the mountain she was slapped into. "We've shed our past," she said, breathless. "We've abandoned the ways of Otatop that damned us to centuries of tyranny." As she spoke, she used Toki Yo Tomare to scan his body for the runes that kept him ultimately tethered to the realm of the living.

Looking deep, she can see he wasn’t kidding. Every inch of his bones and insides are carved with invisible runes.

“Than someone else won’t suffer my fate. Good.”

He screams and his aura shifts again, brighter and bigger.

[KingofPie]

The more he sinks in, the more he feels surrounded by Auroc’s power.

OOC: This power would feel more akin to magic right?

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

“I’ve existed for more time than most civilizations, girl. This won’t be my end, I assure you.”

He looks at the Nevadian, who with his Shingan can see how deep, deep within the black mass something solid remains.

“Of course. Give it to me.”

Voyavoda approached the majin, hands in his pockets. "I'm just an old soldier. I can sense that, in terms of raw power, you far, far exceed me. Still, my friends send their regards..."

He removed one hand from his pocket and he delivered a punch. A punch that, from Auroc's perspective, would be pitifullu slow... until it wasn't. His aura flared--a blazing, fiery thing-- as he activated his Ma-Tobashi and then the space between them... was quite literally burnt away, accompanied by a most peculiar sound. His fist impacted, and he focused the energy with his Phoenix Eye Fist, sending a shockwave through the black mass, aimed at the still-solid mass inside him.

Voyavoda felt that this being, so confident in his power, and so disdainful of the power of others, would not be at all on-guard against someone like him.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The stores of hidden knowledge within the pulse-meridians of a planet had been an increased focus of Ochazuke's study of late. Within the Leylines that sustained a world with the echo of Creation, its very ki, were stored the incarnate memory-echos of the spiritual essence which made it turn.

What was revealed to him in reading Reshlan's was the collective corruption that seeped into its very lifeblood; the very same he'd forcefully torn from those on Baradur.

It seems Auroc has seen fit to make himself inseparable from Reshlan itself... He could feel it there, a hidden chamber below the Threshling citadel, and and the essence flowing through some vile aqueduct to a hidden presence. At the centre, a large presence, unmistakably Threshling, yet somehow uncorrupted, fighting. Below it all, however, an insidious array of Runic magic.

"Cheh."

Zaofan turned to his martial brother, cocking his head one way as Ochazuke shook his head slowly, and silently traced a path with his finger.

With a sharp exhale, Zaofan tapped bounced from one foot to the other, building up the Pressure Kicker, slowly building up his aura; ki coiled within his body, twisting and distorting in the air.

Ochazuke meanwhile pinged the communicator in his ear, signalling his location to Held, before tightening his fist and standing to his feet.

"Doesn't sound like negotiations are going so well," Zaofan remarked.

"Diplomacy was never on the table," Ochazuke remarked, cracking his knuckles. "You know where to go?"

In response, Zaofan's aura flared up, prepared for battle with the Fist of the Altered Beast twisting within him with the oscillating effect of Kaiten. Ochazuke rooted his stance, and Zaofan mirrored it, as they simultaneously drew upon the Bear's Strength.*

The Chef kicked upwards with a flip, and brought his foot lancing down on the pavement with precise technique and strength at the very moment Ochazuke smashed his fist into the floor, a burst of Kiai bursting decisively downward with Zanshin Touki, augmenting the penetrative force of Zaofan's formidable drilling strike.

Faster still than the issue of ki came the psychic impression to of just what it was they had discovered...for those who could pick up on it anyway.

Coursing in freefall from the mouth of the Cathedral, Zaofan took off as quickly as he could to the Queen of Reshlan, while Ochazuke moved to the Runic Array.

OOC:
* Zaofan's strength is currently amped x5 (Altere'd Beast, Bear's strength) with the initial strike x7 (Pressure Kicker)

As soon as they land their blows, four Silver Knights leap from shadowed alcoves and head after them.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OOC: This power would feel more akin to magic right?

Yes it would.

[Miburo]

The four golden knights lead the rest of the group into the palace/temple.

As they enter, a chant starts to register on their ears as they move in. The chant/song is in the Threshling language, and any who speak it knows it seems to be a magical song to Auroc and Reshlan’s greatness, instruments adding to the tone and beat.

Though Nevalinna will know it’s been changed. It used to only be played towards the Queen and her court, not Auroc.

https://youtu.be/FnkTuHP9q3o

The chant grows louder and louder until they reach the massive throne room. Hidden in the hundreds of alcoves in the room, shadowed and hooded figures chant.





And at the end of the room, seated upon the massive throne, is a dark figure. Beside it a tall women in robes, both watch the M-Fighters as they approach.

“No.”

Kakarot tilts his head, observing her back.

A...tarnished golden aura erupts around him as he goes super Saiyan.

A challenge to her.

Dead eyes fix on her as he starts to float up into the sky.

“Follow.”

Parsley and her blunt force methods paid off for the Nevadian. He wasn't entirely sure as to the nature of the grudge between the two Saiyans---It just as easily could have been the thrill of battle, or Parsley viewing him as a traitor--but it made little matter.

"GaaaaaaooooOOOOoooo!!!" The primal roar of the beast echo'd across the magic soaked cityscapes, all the way to their destination far away. There arrival would be heralded with the sonorous warcry of a very hungry Id.

Pouncing down the ramp on all fours, Erosa took a long sniff of the air. "Ero....magic here stinks...........Does Reshyland have anything good to eat?"

"We're not here on vacation." A second voice followed after as Etrina descended the walkway, having barely been seen for the entire trip. "We're on business....Neva will take you out to dinner after we're done." The mage casually pushed the task of accommodating her familiar on the native spellcaster and focused on the royal guards with a sigh.

It was a moments opening, and the ear splitting scream unleashed by Erosa only helped to disrupt the peace even more, along with the random and poking and prodding the various mages were doing towards the honor guard, slightly tugging at the Shingans vision for such things.

Some part of Held felt conflicted, as he deftly ducked away, attempting to break off for the party. A subtle slowing of his pace to fall behind the entourage, a shift here, a slight segue into--and then behind a wall--should have been sufficient. He rarely traveled with his power-level unsupressed, so it would have been unlikely that anyone who didn't actively make an effort to care, would be aware.

And even those who did--his comrades, maybe--would usually have enough sense to be silent. Maybe.

Diplomacy was part of his job, after all, and he was quite good at it.

But it was also quite a waste of time. The second the rest of his comrades arrived on Baradur--no, the second they had been informed that Ochazuke had found Reshlan--diplomacy became impossible, even if by some divine intervention, Auroc had decided to sue for peace.

It was unfortunate, but it was also true. Neither party was particularly well suited to such things. Well, the few who were, were certainly in the minority.

Be that as it may, the Nevadians curiosity got the better of him. The battle would be started at some point, but Held had the measure of the Threshling 'God'. He'd no doubt pontificate and posture, and go on and on about his glory.

Held was half surprised there was not some show of force, demonstrating the absolute reverence the people held towards him.

It would be plenty of time to, if nothing else, walk the streets and get a feel for the type of world Auroc claimed as his capital, and that made Nevalinna and Luop feel so isolated and desperate as to flee to earth.

Maybe, if he was lucky, he would even find something unusual. There was always--well, usually--time for recon.

Where the hell would they put a bar in a place like this?

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Voyavoda approached the majin, hands in his pockets. "I'm just an old soldier. I can sense that, in terms of raw power, you far, far exceed me. Still, my friends send their regards..."

He removed one hand from his pocket and he delivered a punch. A punch that, from Auroc's perspective, would be pitifullu slow... until it wasn't. His aura flared--a blazing, fiery thing-- as he activated his Ma-Tobashi and then the space between them... was quite literally burnt away, accompanied by a most peculiar sound. His fist impacted, and he focused the energy with his Phoenix Eye Fist, sending a shockwave through the black mass, aimed at the still-solid mass inside him.

Voyavoda felt that this being, so confident in his power, and so disdainful of the power of others, would not be at all on-guard against someone like him.

The blow ripples Auroc and sends part of him blown backwards, slightly exposing an odd dark crystal. The body reforms and he back hands the old Nevadian away.

“It begins.”

[MrSandman]

As soon as they land their blows, four Silver Knights leap from shadowed alcoves and head after them.

"Rawrr!" A invisible force slammed into one of the knights closest to Zaofan, pinning him against the ground and then slamming down hard as Erosa materialized from her Hunter Killer. "Ero! No touch my cook!" She leap up and charged the next closest one to Zaofan.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Ah, so it is stupidity. Shame."

When the Maven disappeared Inanna didn't... do much of anything though. Simply shifted her weight, and folded her arms. All she needed to do for the time being, this wasn't her statement to make.

Besides... Inanna's Demensional Cachexia was a labor of love.

OT: The fabric of reality is being gnawed at by Hakai, so long as Inanna's focus is not broken.

A ripple, a shimmer, and something latches onto Inanna’s back and starts trying to drain her energy.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

A ripple, a shimmer, and something latches onto Inanna’s back and starts trying to drain her energy.

Inanna doesn't dignify the attempt with a response, the woman's Katchin tipped tail simply snakes up and stabs at the source.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Looking deep, she can see he wasn’t kidding. Every inch of his bones and insides are carved with invisible runes.

“Than someone else won’t suffer my fate. Good.”

He screams and his aura shifts again, brighter and bigger.

Parsley's findings were disconcerting. Every inch of him was covered in runes. It was as if Auroc and his maven foresaw a situation like this and tried to make the task of undoing it all and free this man to a rightful death as Herculean as possible. "Tch."

She figured she had only two ways of dealing with those runes. One, Rulebreaker, the anti-magic enchantment she placed on her ax. The second was blood magic, but that would certainly take far longer, even if it had an indeterminably higher chance of success. The problem with either method was that she was going to need time. To get the time, she needed him to cooperate; and if his aura growing exponentially more potent was any indication, she wasn't going to get it.

"I can help you," she said. "Give me the time and I can undo what the false god has done to you. You can die a warrior's death with whatever dignity you have left." It was worth a try to appeal to his sense of pride, no matter how small it may have been. If nothing else, it gave her a small moment to start preparing.

She drew her ax. The runes on the head started shining brightly until the entire head was captured in a brilliant white light. She stood tall, ax held in both hands. She needed an opening and him powering up was probably the only one she was going to get.

Perfect Intuition: Instant Transmission

She disappeared and instantly reappeared behind him. Windup already in motion when she initially vanished, she swung the ax, intending on burying it in his spine.

OT: Just a reminder, Rulebreaker negates any enchantment placed on a person or object the ax comes into contact with. As long as her PL is higher than the person who originally placed it at the time it was cast, it should work.

[KingofPie]

Yes it would.

OOC: Gotcha

IC: Sasheem continues his trek down further, searching for a root of leylines. He remained alert and kept his guard in case any of this malicious aura decided to lash out.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley and her blunt force methods paid off for the Nevadian. He wasn't entirely sure as to the nature of the grudge between the two Saiyans---It just as easily could have been the thrill of battle, or Parsley viewing him as a traitor--but it made little matter.



It was a moments opening, and the ear splitting scream unleashed by Erosa only helped to disrupt the peace even more, along with the random and poking and prodding the various mages were doing towards the honor guard, slightly tugging at the Shingans vision for such things.

Some part of Held felt conflicted, as he deftly ducked away, attempting to break off for the party. A subtle slowing of his pace to fall behind the entourage, a shift here, a slight segue into--and then behind a wall--should have been sufficient. He rarely traveled with his power-level unsupressed, so it would have been unlikely that anyone who didn't actively make an effort to care, would be aware.

And even those who did--his comrades, maybe--would usually have enough sense to be silent. Maybe.

Diplomacy was part of his job, after all, and he was quite good at it.

But it was also quite a waste of time. The second the rest of his comrades arrived on Baradur--no, the second they had been informed that Ochazuke had found Reshlan--diplomacy became impossible, even if by some divine intervention, Auroc had decided to sue for peace.

It was unfortunate, but it was also true. Neither party was particularly well suited to such things. Well, the few who were, were certainly in the minority.

Be that as it may, the Nevadians curiosity got the better of him. The battle would be started at some point, but Held had the measure of the Threshling 'God'. He'd no doubt pontificate and posture, and go on and on about his glory.

Held was half surprised there was not some show of force, demonstrating the absolute reverence the people held towards him.

It would be plenty of time to, if nothing else, walk the streets and get a feel for the type of world Auroc claimed as his capital, and that made Nevalinna and Luop feel so isolated and desperate as to flee to earth.

Maybe, if he was lucky, he would even find something unusual. There was always--well, usually--time for recon.

Where the hell would they put a bar in a place like this?

OT: Is he looking in the palace/temple, or outside it in the city?

[Miburo]

OT: Is he looking in the palace/temple, or outside it in the city?

OT: Outside. He snuck away during the opening when everyone was feeling everyone out and making challenges, to see what the hell sort of place Reshlan is. I don't think he even considered Auroc having a bar in his temple.