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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He nods.

Then hops up to eye level and pokes Parsley in the forehead.

Her body convulses slightly, then knowledge pours in. Her mana pool grows just a bit, and the spell work for Shadow Walkjng fills her mind.

It also makes her body ache as if she had just run a marathon in increased gravity for years.

Caliban shrugs.

“Quick and dirty. Just downloaded the spell knowledge to ya. How ya feel?”

!!!

It was an intrusion unlike any other. Much like how Kakarot forcefed her power to help her ascend to the next level, Caliban forcefed her knowledge, the very spellwork of Shadow Walking. Her body convulsed and shook briefly before his work took hold of her. Her mind felt like it was on fire for those few seconds.

The burning faded, quickly supplanted by utter exhaustion. She felt like she had just fought Reshlan's entire army, including Auroc, by herself nonstop for years.

She collapsed to her knees. Dull pain ebbed through her entire body. There wasn't a crack or crevice that wasn't throbbing. "Ungh," she grunted. "I...I'll be fine."

She opened a capsule and picked up one of the fruits she nabbed from Auroc. "I just need some food to replenish my energy." She bit into, practically eating it all in one bite.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

!!!

It was an intrusion unlike any other. Much like how Kakarot forcefed her power to help her ascend to the next level, Caliban forcefed her knowledge, the very spellwork of Shadow Walking. Her body convulsed and shook briefly before his work took hold of her. Her mind felt like it was on fire for those few seconds.

The burning faded, quickly supplanted by utter exhaustion. She felt like she had just fought Reshlan's entire army, including Auroc, by herself nonstop for years.

She collapsed to her knees. Dull pain ebbed through her entire body. There wasn't a crack or crevice that wasn't throbbing. "Ungh," she grunted. "I...I'll be fine."

She opened a capsule and picked up one of the fruits she nabbed from Auroc. "I just need some food to replenish my energy." She bit into, practically eating it all in one bite.

OT: Hey Sub......would you roll a D20 for me, please?

[Sub-Zero MKA]

ot: Hey sub......would you roll a d20 for me, please?

ooc: ....7.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

ooc: ....7.

OT: Well, not the worst thing. But still a negative effect.

IC:

Parsley, as you eat this strange fruit, and it tastes quite good to be sure, you.....blank for a moment but then finish the fruit and Caliban looks at you.

“Ya good, Miss?”

OT:

A 7 or 8 on the Chance Fruit are the same effect: Lose Knowledge.

Parsley no longer remembers her contract with Night is do in a year. In fact, she doesn’t remember it at all. She knows she met him, but otherwise that mission is just kind of foggy.

She must not have been paying attention.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

OT: Well, not the worst thing. But still a negative effect.

IC:

Parsley, as you eat this strange fruit, and it tastes quite good to be sure, you.....blank for a moment but then finish the fruit and Caliban looks at you.

“Ya good, Miss?”

OT:

A 7 or 8 on the Chance Fruit are the same effect: Lose Knowledge.

Parsley no longer remembers her contract with Night is do in a year. In fact, she doesn’t remember it at all. She knows she met him, but otherwise that mission is just kind of foggy.

She must not have been paying attention.

"..."

Something... wasn't right? Parsley felt off for a moment. She bit into the fruit, then... felt strange.

Whatever it was, it didn't affect her for long. A few seconds later, she felt fine.

"I'm fine." She stood and dusted herself off. "I guess I just zoned out." How strange. It had something to do with these fruits.

They looked like normal fruits, but she should have known better than to consume anything that belonged to Auroc. She had just come to that conclusion not even an hour ago. She picked the two remaining fruits up and gave them a look over.

Observational Focus

[grampagen]

“Very well.”

A small holo-projector opens up and an image appears in mid air, that of Maiz. She is bound in strange chains, but seems otherwise unharmed. She floats in mid air as another Frost Demon moves her with TK, her body trailing after him.

“I’ve ordered my......acolyte.....to move her. She’s on Cortis II, an uninhabited planet most notorious for its bad weather. Seek her out there. Or don’t. Once Remnant awakens I doubt we’ll speak again until the final confrontation, and he’ll gather her himself.”

Silence passed as he surveyed the visual feed the drone played out. A woman...and his kinsman... So far, it seemed to be as he had laid out.

However...

"You come to me for help, and yet you've given me no incentive, only your threats and this...this hostage negotiation."

Something still seemed off.

"I only have your word, without so much as a indicator leading to this place only you know of, and nothing more to gain than preserving your self-interest."

So what was Koorimaru really after? Even if what this Remnant carried with were enough to be so dire as to force his hand, who truly was the one in control?

In the end, it mattered little. Through his skill of Banjakuza enhancing his meditation field, it would swiftly carry him to at least one truth.

For this whole time, Ochazuke had been tracing the remote signal frequency, the very medium that was carrying this conversation through the drone, and he would find the avaricious Arcosian himself.

"...I understand that honest conduct is very new to you, Koorimaru, but you're quite bad at this."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"..."

Something... wasn't right? Parsley felt off for a moment. She bit into the fruit, then... felt strange.

Whatever it was, it didn't affect her for long. A few seconds later, she felt fine.

"I'm fine." She stood and dusted herself off. "I guess I just zoned out." How strange. It had something to do with these fruits.

They looked like normal fruits, but she should have known better than to consume anything that belonged to Auroc. She had just come to that conclusion not even an hour ago. She picked the two remaining fruits up and gave them a look over.

Observational Focus

Probability and chance magic swim before her eyes like a whirling maelstrom of colors.

You gleam that this Chance Fruit cause random effects to happen. Potentially good, potentially bad, or potentially neutral.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Silence passed as he surveyed the visual feed the drone played out. A woman...and his kinsman... So far, it seemed to be as he had laid out.

However...

"You come to me for help, and yet you've given me no incentive, only your threats and this...this hostage negotiation."

Something still seemed off.

"I only have your word, without so much as a indicator leading to this place only you know of, and nothing more to gain than preserving your self-interest."

So what was Koorimaru really after? Even if what this Remnant carried with were enough to be so dire as to force his hand, who truly was the one in control?

In the end, it mattered little. Through his skill of Banjakuza enhancing his meditation field, it would swiftly carry him to at least one truth.

For this whole time, Ochazuke had been tracing the remote signal frequency, the very medium that was carrying this conversation through the drone, and he would find the avaricious Arcosian himself.

"...I understand that honest conduct is very new to you, Koorimaru, but you're quite bad at this."

It feeds off into the stars, a name, Khoolis, a wintery hell planet. That is where Koorimaru is.

And now Ochazuke knows exactly where that planet is too.

Koorimaru sighs through the drone.

“I couldn’t exactly get aboard myself with Maiz and get to you, my body is locked in place right now. Remnant is sleeping, and as the dominant force, he has control over my body. I, however, can exert some little bits of control here and there. These drones are one such thing.”

“As to why you, because you’ll listen at least. I doubt the Saiyans have any interest, and the majin is too dumb to care.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Probability and chance magic swim before her eyes like a whirling maelstrom of colors.

You gleam that this Chance Fruit cause random effects to happen. Potentially good, potentially bad, or potentially neutral.

Probability swirls from the fruit, intertwining with chance to create a profusion of randomness.

It was a literal, edible grab bag; random effects beset the eater. Her zoning out was her suffering one of the effects. "Tch."

It could have been anything, but she had no way of knowing which one for sure. It must not have been anything too detrimental. She was still standing and breathing. Yet, the unknown of how she was influenced was going to bother her relentlessly. I'll have to figure it out later.

On the bright side, she could use this to her advantage.

"The fruit hit me more differently than I expected," she said, pocketing the other two until she could examine them more closely. "I'm ready to head back now. Thank you for the lesson, Caliban."

Before it slipped her mind, she asked, "When can we expect to receive your visit?"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Voyavoda took a deep drag of a (self-rolled, of course) cigarette as he watched the various goings-on. The Earthling chef, Zaofan--or 'Zao-san' as Totoma affectionately called him--certainly had a way with food. Not that he doubted Totoma's claims, but it was surprising how adept he was at this. Warm food, warm smiles, warm laughter... it was a welcome sight on a planet that had only just gained its freedom from an oppressive god. It was a sight he had seen many, many times, though, and it was one of the few things that consistently brought warmth to his heart.

...or perhaps that was just the Alcohol?

Hmhm, regardless, today was a good day. A shame Totoma couldn't have witnessed this--he could almost see the half-saiyan hero, children gathered around him, as he made them laugh (...or cringe, in rare cases) with his antics. Unfortunately, with what he had done, he would require at least a bit of rest...

Another drag, followed by a chuckle. "...Super Hitozaru, huh? How nostalgic... it gladdens this old man's heart to know that his legacy lives on, at least in part." Neither Tasure, nor Totoma were the inventor of that form... no, it was something developed long, long ago... to the tune of two millenia. Its original creator had never actually mastered it, instead relying on his phoenix tribe inheritance--regeneration, to be precise--to counteract the negative side effects. But, oh, what a warrior he had been. Powerful, skilled, incredibly stubborn and headstrong... much like his father.

A sigh escaped his lips. This recollection was... bittersweet. Many happy memories bubbled up from his metempsychotic memory, and yet...

He was getting nostalgic again. How curious that he always became more sentimental just before the cycle began anew, despite his past "lives" usually having a certain emotional distance between them and the current him. Why was that, he wondered?

...it was something the previous hims had also wondered, and yet he'd never found an entirely satisfactory answer for it.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Probability swirls from the fruit, intertwining with chance to create a profusion of randomness.

It was a literal, edible grab bag; random effects beset the eater. Her zoning out was her suffering one of the effects. "Tch."

It could have been anything, but she had no way of knowing which one for sure. It must not have been anything too detrimental. She was still standing and breathing. Yet, the unknown of how she was influenced was going to bother her relentlessly. I'll have to figure it out later.

On the bright side, she could use this to her advantage.

"The fruit hit me more differently than I expected," she said, pocketing the other two until she could examine them more closely. "I'm ready to head back now. Thank you for the lesson, Caliban."

Before it slipped her mind, she asked, "When can we expect to receive your visit?"

Caliban smirks.

“Thought I’d go with ya now. Bad time maybe?”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Caliban smirks.

“Thought I’d go with ya now. Bad time maybe?”

'A bad time' was quite an understatement. With Inanna, there was never a good time to catch her with some time on her hands. So much had fallen into the woman's lap, it was a wonder she had partitioned a portion off for someone else to handle. "Well, as I said earlier, Asha'rah is in captivity right now, though I doubt her captures could stop you. Inanna is very likely busy right now."

That left Shek'hinah. Presiding over a never-ending line of newly deceased souls was an occupation that left no time to socialize. Even still, the Death Goddess somehow find the moments she needed. "I suppose the Death Goddess can find a moment to chat with an old friend."

[Tami]

"No, I left it in the room...never bring your work to lunch, rule number 8 of being a proper mage. Little bit of something gets in your food, your growing an extra set of arms in minutes." Etrina mused. "Inanna is fine....She usually plans ahead when it comes to the important stuff, so I doubt we..."



"...So I doubt we have anything to worry about." Etrina said, denying the immediate reality as she continued to stroll happily towards the lunch area.

"Um, what was that?" Dash looked around but all she saw was

As Praxat is going toward the source of food she spots, Dash. Dash would see Praxat looking like she's licking the air and rapidly opening and closing her mouth.

Praxat. "Hey, Prax, if you want something to eat you'd better hurry up." She then kept pace with Etrina, looking for Zaofan as she did.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

'A bad time' was quite an understatement. With Inanna, there was never a good time to catch her with some time on her hands. So much had fallen into the woman's lap, it was a wonder she had partitioned a portion off for someone else to handle. "Well, as I said earlier, Asha'rah is in captivity right now, though I doubt her captures could stop you. Inanna is very likely busy right now."

That left Shek'hinah. Presiding over a never-ending line of newly deceased souls was an occupation that left no time to socialize. Even still, the Death Goddess somehow find the moments she needed. "I suppose the Death Goddess can find a moment to chat with an old friend."

Caliban waves a hand.

“It’s fine. I’ll drop by another time.”

He hands her a small button like object he conjures from mid air.

“Break that and I’ll know it’s a good time, ya see? Don’t want a passed off god or goddess angry I interrupted their time.”

He waves a hand and magic gathers in his palm.

“Stay safe, Miss. Good luck, ya know?”

He palm strikes her in the chest and Parsley finds herself wrenched through time and space, same as the potion vial effect, and suddenly finds herself back where she was last standing before drinking Auroc’s potion.

[grampagen]

It feeds off into the stars, a name, Khoolis, a wintery hell planet. That is where Koorimaru is.

And now Ochazuke knows exactly where that planet is too.

Koorimaru sighs through the drone.

“I couldn’t exactly get aboard myself with Maiz and get to you, my body is locked in place right now. Remnant is sleeping, and as the dominant force, he has control over my body. I, however, can exert some little bits of control here and there. These drones are one such thing.”

“As to why you, because you’ll listen at least. I doubt the Saiyans have any interest, and the majin is too dumb to care.”

The sight of that planet filtered through his sense-awareness, and with that he had its signature committed to memory. More than a name, he now had the means to find the locations of these two worlds.

And if he's as good as his word, it will be a relatively simple matter to locate a Guardian.

"More's the pity for one that would not listen at all." It seems in his haste to make a new acquisition, Koorimaru may have vastly underestimated the leverage he had over Sarada and Parsley to do his bidding...though his eyes on the situation will doubtless be many. "Until I confirm this, in the interest of escaping your bondage, surely you can do more?"

"What does your Remnant seek to do next?"