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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

She took the smaller, monumentally less impressive Astro-globe with a half-smile. "No, that will be all. Thank you again." She finished her "coffee" and took her leave. As soon as she was outside, she activated the globe and hoped she could at least use it to get back to Earth.

Yes, Earth is registered.

Unless you have a high end GP ship, a First Race ship, or swim thing super fast your standard Saiyan ship will take you about two weeks to get to Earth.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Yes, Earth is registered.

Unless you have a high end GP ship, a First Race ship, or swim thing super fast your standard Saiyan ship will take you about two weeks to get to Earth.

Parsley swept her rain-soaked bangs out of her face as she worked with the Astro-globe. Even at a more limited scope, the star-map's range was impressive. Earth was indeed registered, several light years away. It would take weeks for a standard Saiyan ship to cross that kind of distance. For her First Race ship, she wagered it would be cut down to a day, if not a matter of hours.

She let out a relieved sigh and pulled out the capsule holding her ship and popped it open. "Finally. One thing off my list," she muttered to herself as she entered and climbed into the pilot's chair. "Maybe one day soon, I can finally rest." Her to-do list had one less item, but was still very extensive. The amount of shit that had plopped down in her lap all of a sudden was startling, and there was the ever looming threat of more being added with each passing moment. She promised Sarada she would try to help her with Tundra, but every moment made that promise look less and less likely of being fulfilled. She still had confidence that her sister would pull through, but she wanted to be there to watch her back. That she very likely couldn't was... disappointing.

With the Astro-globe in one hand, she inputted the coordinates for Earth into the on-board computer, then lifted off. Once she was out of the planet's air space, she entered hyperspace and allowed the navigation system to take her to Earth.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Sure do." Inanna commented, before taking a look at the piece of paper.

.......the ingot’s composition, from my studies, is of an unnatural nature. Not actual natural metal as well know it, though it resembles such. It’s actual composition is some sort of energy absorbing ore that makes katchin and Ultra-katchin seem tame, which should be impossible. It is resistant to all scans we can produce, magical and psychic included, and each attempt has resulted in the energy being absorbed into the ingot. Perhaps a deep technological scan will gain results, Auroc has promised to deliver the man known as Jinzi Pantaloon to aid with this and other projects.

The potential energy within the ingot is unknown, though possibly of incredible use and level. Access could be key in integrating more power into the ‘Alteration’ magic Auroc uses. Of curious note is where Auroc found it. He claims it was discovered.......


The note ends there.

[Tami]

Dash stood closeby, looking at the note as Inanna read it.

OOC: Just need to know if Inanna read it out loud, or if someone needs to ask her about it.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

.......the ingot’s composition, from my studies, is of an unnatural nature. Not actual natural metal as well know it, though it resembles such. It’s actual composition is some sort of energy absorbing ore that makes katchin and Ultra-katchin seem tame, which should be impossible. It is resistant to all scans we can produce, magical and psychic included, and each attempt has resulted in the energy being absorbed into the ingot. Perhaps a deep technological scan will gain results, Auroc has promised to deliver the man known as Jinzi Pantaloon to aid with this and other projects.

The potential energy within the ingot is unknown, though possibly of incredible use and level. Access could be key in integrating more power into the ‘Alteration’ magic Auroc uses. Of curious note is where Auroc found it. He claims it was discovered.......


The note ends there.

Inanna's brow furrowed as she read the note. "Hrm."

More and more items sourced from unknown locales. End of the day it seemed her list of things to do continued to grow whether she wished it or not. Certainly problematic. eugh... as much as I may dread it, seems like I'll be busier than before... I wonder if that Diary of Parsley's would offer any insight into the particulars. Speaking of which, where did she get off to? Unlike her to pass up an opportunity to learn. Glancing up from the note after mulling over the particulars, she noticed- more like remembered- that there were individuals waiting for her to share the information on the paper. Mental notes could wait.

"The paper is about as informative as my poking and prodding, amusingly." Inanna said, as she quickly condensed the hastily scrawled paragraph into something easily digestible. "Only Auroc seemed to know where it was from, and he's too dead to be of any use. At the least, it seems to be similar to run-of-the-mill Katchin, and its superior version, 'Ultra Katchin'," who thought of these terms? "in that it can absorb incoming energy... just does so better than the two Katchin types." The woman shrugged.

"Seems like they thought this might be useful for Auroc and his magic. Not much use to them now."

[Tami]

Inanna's brow furrowed as she read the note. "Hrm."

More and more items sourced from unknown locales. End of the day it seemed her list of things to do continued to grow whether she wished it or not. Certainly problematic. eugh... as much as I may dread it, seems like I'll be busier than before... I wonder if that Diary of Parsley's would offer any insight into the particulars. Speaking of which, where did she get off to? Unlike her to pass up an opportunity to learn. Glancing up from the note after mulling over the particulars, she noticed- more like remembered- that there were individuals waiting for her to share the information on the paper. Mental notes could wait.

"The paper is about as informative as my poking and prodding, amusingly." Inanna said, as she quickly condensed the hastily scrawled paragraph into something easily digestible. "Only Auroc seemed to know where it was from, and he's too dead to be of any use. At the least, it seems to be similar to run-of-the-mill Katchin, and its superior version, 'Ultra Katchin'," who thought of these terms? "in that it can absorb incoming energy... just does so better than the two Katchin types." The woman shrugged.

"Seems like they thought this might be useful for Auroc and his magic. Not much use to them now."

"Oh, so, what do you do with it?" Dash leaned in a little as she spoke, "What can you do with it?"

[MrSandman]

Inanna's brow furrowed as she read the note. "Hrm."

More and more items sourced from unknown locales. End of the day it seemed her list of things to do continued to grow whether she wished it or not. Certainly problematic. eugh... as much as I may dread it, seems like I'll be busier than before... I wonder if that Diary of Parsley's would offer any insight into the particulars. Speaking of which, where did she get off to? Unlike her to pass up an opportunity to learn. Glancing up from the note after mulling over the particulars, she noticed- more like remembered- that there were individuals waiting for her to share the information on the paper. Mental notes could wait.

"The paper is about as informative as my poking and prodding, amusingly." Inanna said, as she quickly condensed the hastily scrawled paragraph into something easily digestible. "Only Auroc seemed to know where it was from, and he's too dead to be of any use. At the least, it seems to be similar to run-of-the-mill Katchin, and its superior version, 'Ultra Katchin'," who thought of these terms? "in that it can absorb incoming energy... just does so better than the two Katchin types." The woman shrugged.

"Seems like they thought this might be useful for Auroc and his magic. Not much use to them now."

"So its a material that absorbs energy....Interesting." Etrina tapped her chin. "Perhaps that drunk, foul mouthed smithy of yours will be willing to take a look into this one as well? We only have a single ingot of it....but you never know, she may be able to shed some light on this."

"In any event, lets add it to the pile of items that need investigating.....think of some practical applications over dinner, all this appraising and pointy ear bullshit is making me hungry....god I better not be a vegetarian now...."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Oh, so, what do you do with it?" Dash leaned in a little as she spoke, "What can you do with it?"

"So its a material that absorbs energy....Interesting." Etrina tapped her chin. "Perhaps that drunk, foul mouthed smithy of yours will be willing to take a look into this one as well? We only have a single ingot of it....but you never know, she may be able to shed some light on this."

"I mean its not particularly hard to figure out practical uses. There is, realistically, only two... which in theory they could be used in tandem." Inanna said.

"By absorbing energy far more efficiently than Katchin it would make for a decent enough 'shield' of sorts; Katchin is useful, but as I... Ishtar proved, you can overpower and annihilate it with enough force." A single, powerful attack from a much weaker Ishtar had after all punched through half of a kilometers long factory made of 'Ultra Katchin'... "and unless this material simply disperses this energy after being absorbed, there's bound to be- eventually- a sizeable reservoir of energy that could then be tapped into." The woman shrugged. "Of course the matter of actually being able to turn the ingot into anything approaching useable is the issue... considering it would simply absorb any attempt at molding it." Though that was hardly Inanna's problem.

Frankly she saw no real use for the ingot considering she was already able to do what it could, and then some; though for a mage of Etrina's caliber it would prove quite the useful object. Which was perhaps something worth addressing.

"I suggest you hold onto it, Etrina. If it can be fashioned into something useful, it will serve you well."

"In any event, lets add it to the pile of items that need investigating.....think of some practical applications over dinner, all this appraising and pointy ear bullshit is making me hungry....god I better not be a vegetarian now...."

The mention of food and Etrina's need of it, elicited a nod from Inanna. "I'll flip through the spellbook while you're busy, perhaps tinker with the Forge; should be finished, by the time you're full."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

According to the on-board navigational computers it was going to take her a day before she reached Earth. She let out a long, frustrated groan, mixed with mental exhaustion and annoyance that she didn't realize she would probably needed both vials of that damned teleportation serum to make a timely return trip.

She decided to contact Inanna, just so she and he others could know where she was and where they could meet her. `I'm on my way back from the Rookery. I'll meet you on Earth tomorrow. Unless you want to give me a lift.`

She really didn't want to waste an entire day. She wanted to avoid asking for a ride, but at the moment, she had no choice.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

According to the on-board navigational computers it was going to take her a day before she reached Earth. She let out a long, frustrated groan, mixed with mental exhaustion and annoyance that she didn't realize she would probably needed both vials of that damned teleportation serum to make a timely return trip.

She decided to contact Inanna, just so she and he others could know where she was and where they could meet her. `I'm on my way back from the Rookery. I'll meet you on Earth tomorrow. Unless you want to give me a lift.`

She really didn't want to waste an entire day. She wanted to avoid asking for a ride, but at the moment, she had no choice.

There is no response.

[grampagen]

After leading "Charco" back to the gathering there in the ruins before the Reshlan Capital's palace, he hadn't yet found the words to help this new entity to find his path. It had been a long, arduous campaign, starting from nearly a year ago when he and Zaofan had fought redeem another friend. Now that they had avenged the misdeeds against their world and Auroc was no more, they bore witness to a world that seemed to teeter on the edge of a new beginning.

So much potential depends on this moment...

With such bloody histories that yet lingered, through these violent days it was becoming increasingly difficult to see what promises the future held. For what remained of that eternal grudge borne from the beginning of the universe and those that would fight to reassert their place within such turbulent cosmology, the stakes never seemed larger, and yet for all the might and knowledge their lot had accumulated, how small they still seemed to be on this stage.

For the moment, the violence stopped, and the atmosphere about the relief effort brought a measure of order and calm as Zaofan busied himself with feeding the masses, starving for companionship and amnesty. For now, Ochazuke had decided would leave the Ogatan Reincarnation to mingle, and perhaps discover, at least in part, the better portion of an existence Ogatan Charco had belonged to where he had once lived among them.

Inanna, there is nothing untoward that you sense save one thing.


High in the sky, a single, small , capsule Corp issue drone floats and records.

For his part, the martial artist had little appetite, only discontented dread and malaise. He had set out with Held and the Nevadians intent on redressing the threat of Auroc, and only with the most daring and intrepid effort had they managed to finally come close enough to settle the account. The frontier had been breached, the godling was dead. And yet...why does this feel so hollow?

Climbing higher into the burning sky, he'd searched perhaps fruitlessly for any remaining loose ends about the planet.

What he found instead was something that chanced to be far too familiar to be possible; and yet there it was.

In an instant he broke off his flight to match its speed. Then, with some hesitation, began adjusting the frequency in his communicator until it synchronized.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

After leading "Charco" back to the gathering there in the ruins before the Reshlan Capital's palace, he hadn't yet found the words to help this new entity to find his path. It had been a long, arduous campaign, starting from nearly a year ago when he and Zaofan had fought redeem another friend. Now that they had avenged the misdeeds against their world and Auroc was no more, they bore witness to a world that seemed to teeter on the edge of a new beginning.

So much potential depends on this moment...

With such bloody histories that yet lingered, through these violent days it was becoming increasingly difficult to see what promises the future held. For what remained of that eternal grudge borne from the beginning of the universe and those that would fight to reassert their place within such turbulent cosmology, the stakes never seemed larger, and yet for all the might and knowledge their lot had accumulated, how small they still seemed to be on this stage.

For the moment, the violence stopped, and the atmosphere about the relief effort brought a measure of order and calm as Zaofan busied himself with feeding the masses, starving for companionship and amnesty. For now, Ochazuke had decided would leave the Ogatan Reincarnation to mingle, and perhaps discover, at least in part, the better portion of an existence Ogatan Charco had belonged to where he had once lived among them.



For his part, the martial artist had little appetite, only discontented dread and malaise. He had set out with Held and the Nevadians intent on redressing the threat of Auroc, and only with the most daring and intrepid effort had they managed to finally come close enough to settle the account. The frontier had been breached, the godling was dead. And yet...why does this feel so hollow?

Climbing higher into the burning sky, he'd searched perhaps fruitlessly for any remaining loose ends about the planet.

What he found instead was something that chanced to be far too familiar to be possible; and yet there it was.

In an instant he broke off his flight to match its speed. Then, with some hesitation, began adjusting the frequency in his communicator until it synchronized.

“Ahh, hello old friend.”

Over the comm system, transmitted via one of the drones given to him by Jinzi so long ago, is Korrimaru’s voice.

“My little friend tagged along on your journey and was watching the whole time. I must say I was quite impressed.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

There is no response.

Parsley waited for a response.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Inanna sometimes took a bit to respond, especially if she was busy, but this was just plain rude.

She tried again, then a third time. After getting no response, she cradled her head in her hands and let out another profoundly irritated sigh. "The distance must be too far. God-fucking-damn it."

The realization that she faced a day wasted was then unavoidable. On the bright side, at least I get a chance to unwind and relax.

She stood up from the pilot's chair and laid down across the longer seats against the walls of the ship. She used some spare clothes she had stored in a capsule as a pillow and blanket, then went to sleep.

[Miburo]

A sigh escaped the lips of the Nevadian as Blacktongue said his piece. He had some manner of....skepticism about the power of Saiyan Healing Fluid himself, and had always been the type to believe in shades of truth. It was...not a primary concern for the Nevadian at this moment.

Neither was Blacktongues lecture. It was almost an entirely a dispute between Threslings--Between royals and nobles, and knights---and Held had been content to hold his peace through the majority of it.

But....This self-pity, this inability to face reality as it was....It urked him on a very personal level.

Some part--most parts-- of him felt inclined to simply lock the Threshling away and forget about him, or simply to knee him in the face until he became silent. However, Held knew that would prove nothing, and would only convince the Herald of how right he was, allowing him to bask in the illusion of self-vindication.

No, the proper way to deal with such a man, such a deluded believer was to wield the weapon forged of words and truth, and cut him down in a pool of his own foolishness.

"Are we still going to pretend that this couldn't have been otherwise? Or is accusing my people of being as monstrous as you are the only way to justify your fears?" The Nevadian asked, weariness and annoyance in his voice.

"After all, it wasn't us who was found knee deep in the middle of crushing the souls of an entire planet."

He turned to face the Herald and made no attempt to hide the disdain he felt. "You turned them into nothing but husks, robbing them of their freedoms in the most depraved way I have ever seen...And to make matters worse, you really did think it was the best thing to do--no, the right thing to do. You inflicted suffering with a joy that would make a Saiyan blush."

The slightest twitching of an eyelid could be felt as he spoke.

"And even despite the fact that you were undeserving , and despite my first impulse being something to the contrary, I came to you in the hopes that we could cease hostilities, that you would stop your horrifying antics, at least long enough for us to talk, and try to find a relationship that would be beneficial to both planets. I simply proposed the idea of co-existence."

The Nevadian now realized his folly. He once thought that such an idea was possible, albeit unlikely..But seeing the horrors inflicted on Reshlan and it's people quickly made him realize that peace was never an option.

"Your idea of 'co-existence' and 'diplomacy' was to be offer my people the option to be turned into stock like the poor souls on Baradur, or become extinct like---"

He paused, stopping to contemplate a question he had never bothered to fathom.

"Actually, How many planets have been treated to a similar fate in your misguided attempt to spread the Gospel of a God who thinks of your people as nothing of disposable?"

He shifted his glance from his prisoner to a part of town miles away, where he had snuck away for a drink. "I mean, after all, he did find a way to weaponize the lifeblood of this very planet to drain the essence of every living thing on Reshlan, and was already in the midst of doing so in the time it took me to find a pint at a pub."

Even now, the image of the vacant faces of the Threshling's beneath the bar was fresh in his mind, Auroc's tainted energy leeching their life force from them, until at last one body gave out, turning into dust and blowing away.

"And that's to say nothing of that intricate rune apparatus he placed beneath the capitol. I wasn't there to observe it first hand, but the general sense I got was that it's sole purpose was to destroy this planet for reasons I can't quite fathom."

His anger began to fade, being replaced by bewilderment and exasperation. Auroc and the Maven were gone, and yet this cult-like belief still persisted.

"Can you explain to me how you can explain your supposed love of your planet and it's people coincides with your absolute devotion to a being who has put in a frankly impressive amount of effort into grinding your people into dirt?"

Even as he spoke, he could sense a strength return to the planet that had been shattered through no fault of it's own, the stagnation of this world finally at an end.

"Into blocking their advancement at every turn? Into turning them into food for his own power? I have never met a being in this universe try so hard to kill and oppress something that literally treated them like a God."

He shook his head sadly, feeling pity for the people of Reshlan if this was the fate they endured for so long.

"I've seen bitter enemies of all species give more regard to one another. Kami help how he treats his enemies..."

I had believed that the majority of the damage done to the Planet was ecological and technological...I never bothered to contemplate how difficult it would be to undo Auroc's influence at is it. The guy's been a god for ages....I guess we better hope that everyone is as influenced by Saiyan Goop...And that they aren't true believers.

"Even this....To remind you, your 'god' in his 'wisdom' sought us out, and made enemies of us. Had he been content to simply have his piece of the universe, to not present a very real threat to Earth, or to Nevada we would never have made the efforts we did to come here."

The Nevadian laughed darkly.

"...Well, most of us. From what I understand, he attempted to kidnap the child of two of my allies, and they do tend to take things to heart."

And yet, despite that, another part of the man felt some level of...sympathy.

He was no longer speaking--solely--anyways, of the 'glory' of Auroc, or the power of Reshlan. He could sense a fear of what Held--of what outsiders--would bring to his planet, and his people.

There was a very real terror of what awaited his people, and it was palpable. But....

The Nevadian returned his gaze to the Herald. Enough pontificating on both ends.

"What could we possibly do to you, that Auroc has not already done?"

[Tami]

"So its a material that absorbs energy....Interesting." Etrina tapped her chin. "Perhaps that drunk, foul mouthed smithy of yours will be willing to take a look into this one as well? We only have a single ingot of it....but you never know, she may be able to shed some light on this."

"In any event, lets add it to the pile of items that need investigating.....think of some practical applications over dinner, all this appraising and pointy ear bullshit is making me hungry....god I better not be a vegetarian now...."

"I mean its not particularly hard to figure out practical uses. There is, realistically, only two... which in theory they could be used in tandem." Inanna said.

"By absorbing energy far more efficiently than Katchin it would make for a decent enough 'shield' of sorts; Katchin is useful, but as I... Ishtar proved, you can overpower and annihilate it with enough force." A single, powerful attack from a much weaker Ishtar had after all punched through half of a kilometers long factory made of 'Ultra Katchin'... "and unless this material simply disperses this energy after being absorbed, there's bound to be- eventually- a sizeable reservoir of energy that could then be tapped into." The woman shrugged. "Of course the matter of actually being able to turn the ingot into anything approaching useable is the issue... considering it would simply absorb any attempt at molding it." Though that was hardly Inanna's problem.

Frankly she saw no real use for the ingot considering she was already able to do what it could, and then some; though for a mage of Etrina's caliber it would prove quite the useful object. Which was perhaps something worth addressing.

"I suggest you hold onto it, Etrina. If it can be fashioned into something useful, it will serve you well."



The mention of food and Etrina's need of it, elicited a nod from Inanna. "I'll flip through the spellbook while you're busy, perhaps tinker with the Forge; should be finished, by the time you're full."

Dash addresses Etrina, "Ah'll walk with you to where the food is, though ah may ask a question or two as we head there."