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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Seri calmed herself when told to... mostly. She was super-excited about all this, but her future master had given her an order, and she didn't want to ruin the chance to get some top-notch training!

She listened intently to the brief explanation. It was indeed a form beyond the normal Super Saiyan. And there was even a form beyond it still. She didn't know--and didn't think to ask--how Parsley even know about this, um... Super Saiyan 3, but the very prospect excited her to her very core.

"When I get strong enough, you mean," she said, striking a triumphant, confident pose. After a moment, she dropped the pose, realizing that she was letting that energy of hers boil over again, risking annoying the already-exhausted Parsley. "Um... anyway, you've gotta be super-tired... and super-hungry! I'm gonna go to Vaikuntha and get everyone as much food as possible!"

She touched the earring Neva had given her--her 'key' to Vaikuntha, to open a portal, and...

...nothing? No portal, no... nothing.

"...huh, that's weird, it's not working."

Parsley raised an eyebrow when Seri failed to open a portal to Vaikuntha. "Hm." Quietly, she tapped her own key, a silver ring she wore on her left index finger. When nothing happened, her other eyebrow raised to join its counterpart. "This is strange." She glanced down at Nevanlinna. The woman was still sleeping. That should have had zero effect on whether or not they could access her realm.

Grunting softly, she kneeled down and placed her hand on her forehead. "Perhaps she drained her energies fighting Auroc. It should be back to normal once she rests." It was clear she wasn't sure what she was talking about. Hozon was a wholly unknown matter to her, outside of whatever Neva told her about it. Rest usually solved most issues, but she feared this was beyond eight solid hours of sleep.

[grampagen]

"Zaofan and Ochazuke?"

The harmonious energies within the single man confirmed it. The two martial brothers had somehow managed to merge into one body. The resulting fusion created a vastly more powerful being, a being greater than the sum of its parts.

She wasn't sure how this was possible, but the proof that it was indeed possible was standing right there before her. Several questions arose. Just how powerful did this technique make the resulting fused being? Was it permanent? If not, then how long did it last?

Regardless of the answers to those questions, such a technique would be invaluable in the coming conflict with Genesis. If she and Sarada could do the same and merge into one body, combined with their techniques and transformations, they could potentially be the most powerful being in the universe. Genesis would hardly stand a chance.

"You will teach me this fusing technique," she said to Zaozi. "According to Sarada and Inanna, we have seven years until Genesis comes to Earth. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Is that so?" He folded his arms beneath the cape, frowning contemplatively, before his long smile stretched out again. "Well it seems we all have our secrets, don't we?

With her sight still trained upon him, it was plain to see that it was far more than one presence integrated with the other. There was something else within the entity that could not be accounted for simply by way of quantification of powers, beyond the melding of energy into a composite.

Besides which, it's not really up to me."

"Tell me this isn't permanent." Dash, places her fingers on her temples before taking a closer look at them, "Seriously, how can you live like this?"

Zaozi looked Dash dead in the eye, scrunching his eyes and screwing his lips as he tilt his view over her face from different angles.

"I'd ask you the same thing, but that would simply be rude. So I won't."

Casually, he then pat her shoulder gently as he brushed past.

"Zaozi is it?"

At some point during his introduction, Etrina had turned her attention back to the mystery man....just in time it seems to hear the startling revelation. "A fusion? Of Ochazuke and Zaofan?" The Mage stepped up and looked him over, walked around behind him, then back to the front. "....Hmm....are the features of the fusion chosen at random....or is this a natural blend. A perfect amalgamation......Hmmm..."

Etrina put a finger under her chin, and smiled. "....I wonder....if there is a dominate personality...."

She turned her finger and pointed at the ground in front of her. "How about this.....get on your hands and knees, and kiss my foot. If you do I promise a lovely evening, just for the two of us....Zao~fan"

Lifting his eyebrow, Zaozi sidled over to Etrina, and, sweeping his cape with a flourish, was soon at her side. Staring straight into her eyes were ones that were familiar yet piercing at the same time, almost too close.

When he stepped over where the mage was pointing, definitely too close.

"I'll do you one better."

His lead hand took ahold of her smaller one, and as he interlocked his long fingers within her delicate scholar's digits, obscured from view behind the Z-cape, his other hand nestled itself in a rather fresh manner upon her hip, then went lower and he swept her off her feet entirely.

"Something I should've done...a long, long, time ago."

As they both dipped, suddenly everything became shrouded in a flash of silent, white light.

And when the radiance receded, Etrina found only Zaofan, cradling her in his arms...and he leaned into the kiss as he held her.

Ochazuke, in the meantime, just kept walking where he'd materialized from the split, and did not stop.

[grampagen]

Now separated from the fusion with Zaofan now that the combat had ceased, Ochazuke became all too aware of the brittle sensations that washed over his five senses. Outwardly his condition had been no worse than when he'd first joined his martial brother, but in many respects he had felt diminished as his sense of self re-emerged from the gestalt.

Thirty minutes. That would be the limit, no more. Idly rotating the remaining Hozon bracelet over his left wrist, he breathed deeply inward, and felt prickling within his chest where a thousand racing thoughts and emotions had roused within him, memories impressed with a phantom clarity; with a slow exhale, loosed and buried these faded dreams as he affixed his composure, and watched the sky settle over the ruined capital. The smouldering meteorite ash over the burning brick accentuated the hollow feeling within him.

Then suddenly, two very particular presences caught his attention. One, quite unique, was like few others he'd encountered - and would encounter again far too soon.

The other was one he had not sensed for three years.

"I had expected to be greeted by a few... but no one? I guess I wasn't popular..." Stroking his chin, the nude hybrid sat atop a nearby rock as he contemplated things," Even an ambush would have been welcomed."

"Lonely, are we?"

Glancing up, it took a few moments but he recognized her. He could still remember her staff plunging through his chest back when he had first peeked out of the void at the mountains. Without notice, one of his hands moved up to his chest, provoking a laugh from the angel, "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. In fact, I'm here to congratulate you on your birthday."

"Birthday, huh? I don't see a cake on you, so I'm calling bullshit."

She laughed again, "You seem quite spirited for someone going through an identity crisis. On that note, perhaps we should begin with your name? Yes, it'll be hard to address you without one."

The hybrid shrugged, not particularly putting much value into the topic, "Ehh, Charco will do, I guess. That's how most know me by and it'll be a pain in the ass explaining everything."

In an action that made Charco flinch, Islay brought that staff of hers before her before pointing it at him. A shimmer briefly washed over him before fresh clothing appeared over what was one bare skin, "There, much better. It was starting to bother me."

He smirked, "Getting distracted?" "Sorry, but you're a bit young for my tastes." "Your loss." Rising to his feet, he glanced out in the direction of various ki signatures, a conflicting set of emotions hitting him as each of those identified now had various opinions from different points of view. It would take some time to get used to being... whatever he was.

"So are you gonna do now?" He asked of the angel, "After all, making me was your end goal, right?"

"Not quite. Now that Old Dragon has fulfilled his duty of guiding you, I must fulfill mine."

Is that you, Charco?

His feet braced, ready to push off to flight, but having only recently regained his sense of self, it was as if his ki had exhausted itself in response. He'd overestimated his ability to respond; could this, too, be a mistake?

Yet, muddled between an echo of that cursed grey, there he was.

Grumbling, he resigned himself to sit upon the shattered dais that once held some Threshling folk hero whose stone head now lay by its broken body, and Ochazuke waited.

[Tami]

Feeling the bubbling up of a few choice words from the back of her mind to the front, Dash pushed them back down again. The one thought that lingered longer than the others was a feeling that, even if she was the gosh damn GoD of the entire universe, she'd still get ignored and treated like a little kid.

With a sigh and a shrug, she turned and walked away.


Respect needs to be earned. a voice echoed in the back of her mind.

"Yah think so?" she responded sarcastically in her own thoughts while finding a place to sit.

Slumping a little, "Maybe ah'm just tired."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

" Thanks for the compliment, Dash," Praxat said. Praxat then politely kneels in front of Threshling Queen. " So you must be the Queen, It is nice to make your acquaintance, your majesty. My planet Qaceria also went through something kind of similar to this," Praxat said.

" If you decided to want to make contact, I can contact my planet's Guardian or, It's Prime Minister, and put in a good word for you," Praxat said.

“That’s very kind of you, lady Praxat. Thank you.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Excuse me.....Queen Nevin?" Etrina took a moment away from salivating over potentially getting a new book to return her attention to the threshling queen. "Perhaps this is a bit too formal for me....but seeing as the others are making it a point to open talks of planetary friendship and peace, I suppose I should offer the metaphorical olive branch for my home as well....though I'm afraid it wouldn't be as official as I'd like it to be. Our current world leader is a bit of a prick you see."

"That being said...If your willing, I know of certain parties on my world who would be accepting of mutual cooperation. Capsule Corp, Jinzi Pantaloon, perhaps even the Mage Association.....and...." Etrina tapped her fingers together. "It would....well.....It was brief, but what I learned of your system of magic is very impressive....I would like to learn more, if you would permit me."

“I know of Jinzi Pantaloons. Auroc, curse his name, wanted him. Any contact would be appreciated. As to our Magic’s....normally, I would say no due to them being old traditions passed down through our culture, but seeing as how I owe you all a great deal, I would be happy to allow you to learn our magic. In fact, I can do you one better. The Grand Maven had a small chamber she kept her bits and bobs in, including her magical paraphernalia and times. You may have whatever you wish that resides within.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Thank you kindly."

Exchanging the golden cloak to preserve the modesty of Queen Nevin's formidable self, he draped the cape over his shoulders with a flourish as an embroidered 'Z' flew majestically.



Lifting his hands and shrugging his shoulders, the Man in White resigned to this and shook his head with a warm smile.

"Heh, well, I could say the same for your path back here from the Royal Palace," he snickered with a wink, "Suppose nobody's perfect."





"Who knows? A bit too much to drink since Baradur, perhaps? But you're not wrong, Held."

Folding his arms, he thumbed his chin contemplatively.

"Now that we've been introduced, and things have calmed down considerably, having a name might make things easier, won't it? Alright then."

"Zaofan plus Ochazuke...accounting for the language of our forefathers on my mother's side...call me...Zaozi."

“How remarkable. A pleasure, Sir Zaozi.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Back on Earth, within the former Dino School temple located in the lush jungles outside of Brick City, Ogatan Zippa felt something peculiar wash over her. She began aware that something was missing. Although strange, there was a nostalgic feeling to it, as if it had been the norm long ago. Feeling restless, the elder martial artist got to her feet and just as she was about to head outside, she noticed something upon seeing her reflection in a nearby mirror. Approaching it, her hand rose to her face where her eyepatch rested and cautiously, she pushed it aside.

What should have been a reptilian eye, a permanent reminder of her past, was gone, her human features having returned. That peculiar feeling she had felt, she understood now. It was the absence of Rex.

-------

"I knew my faith in the Old Dragon would not betray me," A smirk crossed the feature of Universe 17's Angel, Islay, as she watched the egg. Millenia of patience had finally paid off and she would not miss this moment for anything in the universes.

--------

BGM: "Last Dinosaur"

Another crack formed on the Carrion Egg, this one sending smaller branches across the obsidian surface and from each line seeped a green light. The egg lurched to one side, nearly tipping over but swinging back to its resting place, producing even more cracks across it. The more damaged the egg became, the more power could be felt from it. Finally, a hand erupted from it, followed by a second as they gripped opposing sides opening and pushed it apart. What stepped out from the shell was not Rex and though it resembled Charco, it was neither him.

He was something more than human or dinosaur, humanoid in stature, although the reptilian tail and the pattern of dark scales that covered various parts of his body spoke otherwise. Long dark hair, black in hue with a dark green tinge, hung in jagged spikes to his shoulder blades, his bangs pushed back by the horn-like growths protruding from his hairline resembling a crown. His eyes, golden irises with irises that were a combination of vertical slits and complete circles, studied his surroundings before gazing down at his hands, which tested themselves by clenching and unclenching.

"She was called Genesis, right?" The hybrid said to himself, "She'll be seeking a rapture next time we meet."

A faint echo fills his mind as a single silver butterfly lands upon his shoulder.

‘Welcome back.’

Evangeline’s warm smile and congratulations fill his mind for a second.

[Yun Lao]

"All that self-pitying for nothing," The angel replied with a smirk, "You should go and greet your friends. We'll talk later."

"Wait, what did you mean by..."

His words trailed off into a sigh as Islay was gone. Despite his knowledge about her being very limited, he did know for certain that she was an annoying nuisance, just like the Old Dragon. Just what else did she have in store?

Is that you, Charco?

His feet braced, ready to push off to flight, but having only recently regained his sense of self, it was as if his ki had exhausted itself in response. He'd overestimated his ability to respond; could this, too, be a mistake?

Yet, muddled between an echo of that cursed grey, there he was.

Grumbling, he resigned himself to sit upon the shattered dais that once held some Threshling folk hero whose stone head now lay by its broken body, and Ochazuke waited.

A faint echo fills his mind as a single silver butterfly lands upon his shoulder.

‘Welcome back.’

Evangeline’s warm smile and congratulations fill his mind for a second.

It felt weird hearing Evangeline being so friendly, considering the last time they had spoken... or rather, one part of him had spoken to her. Mother-like figure or enraged reluctant ally, how should he address her? In the end, it didn't matter.

"Thanks It's... well... it's going to be interesting now."

Sensing a nearby ki signature, "Charco" smiled and made his way toward Ochazuke. Considering the wide range of emotions the martial artist had shown his aspects, he could only wonder how he would be seen.

"Yo," He figured the shorter the sweeter when it came to greeting Ochazuke.

[MrSandman]

“I know of Jinzi Pantaloons. Auroc, curse his name, wanted him. Any contact would be appreciated. As to our Magic’s....normally, I would say no due to them being old traditions passed down through our culture, but seeing as how I owe you all a great deal, I would be happy to allow you to learn our magic. In fact, I can do you one better. The Grand Maven had a small chamber she kept her bits and bobs in, including her magical paraphernalia and times. You may have whatever you wish that resides within.”

"Oh?" Etrinas eyes light up like a little girl on Christmas morning. A look she has to forcibly suppress immediately with a self induced slap to the face. "Excuse me....Naturally, I'm at your service should you need any assistance in the future, and I'll pass along your desire for contact to the trustful of my world." The Mage gave a rather distinguished curtsy.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Oh?" Etrinas eyes light up like a little girl on Christmas morning. A look she has to forcibly suppress immediately with a self induced slap to the face. "Excuse me....Naturally, I'm at your service should you need any assistance in the future, and I'll pass along your desire for contact to the trustful of my world." The Mage gave a rather distinguished curtsy.

She would hear Parsley's chuckle from somewhere behind her. "I see you have your own prize to claim. I assume this means you no longer desire to read this journal?"

[MrSandman]

She would hear Parsley's chuckle from somewhere behind her. "I see you have your own prize to claim. I assume this means you no longer desire to read this journal?"

"Oh, I still do....but now I have something to occupy myself while I wait for Inanna." Etrina turned and smiled politely. "That being said.....If you wish to come have a look for yourself, once I've made sure the chamber is safe I'm sure I could definitely....pencil you in after Inanna." It was expected, but the mage delivered the expected with the amount of relish one would have expected from a smug mage of her caliber.

[Tami]

“I know of Jinzi Pantaloons. Auroc, curse his name, wanted him. Any contact would be appreciated. As to our Magic’s....normally, I would say no due to them being old traditions passed down through our culture, but seeing as how I owe you all a great deal, I would be happy to allow you to learn our magic. In fact, I can do you one better. The Grand Maven had a small chamber she kept her bits and bobs in, including her magical paraphernalia and times. You may have whatever you wish that resides within.”

Overhearing this, Dash slowly stood up and went over. "Jinzi is married to the Guardian of Chroma, ah'm sure as soon as ah talk to her he'll know as well. In fact, ah suspect they both know already."

"Excuse me, your majesty, not to be rude or anythin, but would it be alright if ah took a look at Maven's odds and ends? A good friend of mine is studing magic and ah'd like to find her a present. If it's okay with you."

[MrSandman]

Lifting his eyebrow, Zaozi sidled over to Etrina, and, sweeping his cape with a flourish, was soon at her side. Staring straight into her eyes were ones that were familiar yet piercing at the same time, almost too close.

When he stepped over where the mage was pointing, definitely too close.

"I'll do you one better."

His lead hand took ahold of her smaller one, and as he interlocked his long fingers within her delicate scholar's digits, obscured from view behind the Z-cape, his other hand nestled itself in a rather fresh manner upon her hip, then went lower and he swept her off her feet entirely.

"Something I should've done...a long, long, time ago."

As they both dipped, suddenly everything became shrouded in a flash of silent, white light.

And when the radiance receded, Etrina found only Zaofan, cradling her in his arms...and he leaned into the kiss as he held her.

Ochazuke, in the meantime, just kept walking where he'd materialized from the split, and did not stop.

The Prideful Mage side of her rebelled almost immediate, the Dom side of her was taken aback by the unfamiliar situation, and whatever side of her head Erosa came from rather enjoyed it...leading the the mage sputtering out in Zaofans arms like a broken dolls during, and for several moments after, the surprise kiss.

".....Zaofan...." Etrina said all dreamy eyed. "...You...."

Her hand snaked around his waist, and with eyes filled with love...



...she renewed her vow to forever cherish her one true love.

[MrSandman]

Overhearing this, Dash slowly stood up and went over. "Jinzi is married to the Guardian of Chroma, ah'm sure as soon as ah talk to her he'll know as well. In fact, ah suspect they both know already."

"Excuse me, your majesty, not to be rude or anythin, but would it be alright if ah took a look at Maven's odds and ends? A good friend of mine is studing magic and ah'd like to find her a present. If it's okay with you."

"For Cyanna I presume?" Etrina passed an eye over Dash. "Hmm...Forgive my bluntness, but The Grand Maven was a particularly powerful spellcaster and we have no idea what could be just sitting around in her room....everything needs to be apprised and identified properly. Unless you want to accidentally give Cyanna a magic bomb, or a Auroc in a jar.....gods forbid..."

Etrina sighed. "What I'm saying is.....caution first....I'd like to at least do a through sweep before we start picking apart her belongings."