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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Not staying long," Inanna replied curtly.

"You killed my friends. I'm here for a reckoning."

He nods.

“Technically I didn’t do a thing, but I understand semantics probably mean little at this point.”

He hammers a few times on what he’s working on before quenching it.

“I’m sure we’ll have many discussions on the matter.”

He wipes his hands off on his apron and then leans against the wall, looking at her and Etrina.

“A reckoning? I suppose that’s your due. Unfortunately, I’m afraid you won’t be able to get what you want from me.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Totoma listened to Parsley's... primer on what, exactly, was going on. It sounded completely insane, and yet, here they were. All this time, so much had been happening behind the scenes while he'd been blissfully unaware. He was sort of disappointed he hadn't been filled in on all this, but... whatever, he wasn't in the mood to raise a ruckus about it.

"Things just... keep getting crazier and crazier," he said, sighing. "Alright, I'm going to do what I can..."

Take a deep breath--difficult, given the thin air--he offered the Kizuna to Ochazuke, as he had many times in the past. A gentle light began emanating from him, and his friend only had to accept in order to gain its boon. Its ability to draw out more power might help him with this... and, well, he could get a visual on this Darkle through the Kizuna, and Totoma wanted to see who in the hell they were dealing with.

If Ochazuke accepts, Totoma your vision and perception suddenly zeroes in on the duel vision Ochazuke sees now.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

He nods.

“Technically I didn’t do a thing, but I understand semantics probably mean little at this point.”

He hammers a few times on what he’s working on before quenching it.

“I’m sure we’ll have many discussions on the matter.”

He wipes his hands off on his apron and then leans against the wall, looking at her and Etrina.

“A reckoning? I suppose that’s your due. Unfortunately, I’m afraid you won’t be able to get what you want from me.”

"Ah yes, semantics." Inanna said.

"Tell me, Forger. What is it you think I want from you?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Ah yes, semantics." Inanna said.

"Tell me, Forger. What is it you think I want from you?"

“Revenge. Or Justice. Probably my death, and a few other peoples too. Again, understandable. I would too in your place. You may even want to know why before you kill me. Or try to at least.”

He takes his apron off and hangs it on a hook before washing his hands in a nearby bucket of water.

“Truth is, The Judge picked his targets for good reason. Mostly to remove the dragonballs from the equation, to remove Remnant from truly emerging, he’s now stuck in a quasi life that will end once Koorimaru’s bodies are all found and killed, and to piss you off and make you come here. Because we all knew you couldn’t resist coming here after what had happened. As to Held, you don’t know what that boy really is, or rather was. He was mostly to nip a potential problem in the bud.”

He finishes and dries his hands on a nearby work towel.

“I’ll be honest, when Ishtar approached me with this idea I was hesitant. I had planned on taking Genesis first, but beggars can’t be choosers and now we’re here. I’m sorry to Ms. Etrina of course, she doesn’t deserve to be here, but collateral damage is hard to avoid when you play the cosmic game.”

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

“Revenge. Or Justice. Probably my death, and a few other peoples too. Again, understandable. I would too in your place. You may even want to know why before you kill me. Or try to at least.”

He takes his apron off and hangs it on a hook before washing his hands in a nearby bucket of water.

“Truth is, The Judge picked his targets for good reason. Mostly to remove the dragonballs from the equation, to remove Remnant from truly emerging, he’s now stuck in a quasi life that will end once Koorimaru’s bodies are all found and killed, and to piss you off and make you come here. Because we all knew you couldn’t resist coming here after what had happened. As to Held, you don’t know what that boy really is, or rather was. He was mostly to nip a potential problem in the bud.”

He finishes and dries his hands on a nearby work towel.

“I’ll be honest, when Ishtar approached me with this idea I was hesitant. I had planned on taking Genesis first, but beggars can’t be choosers and now we’re here. I’m sorry to Ms. Etrina of course, she doesn’t deserve to be here, but collateral damage is hard to avoid when you play the cosmic game.”

Inanna cracked a smile.

What had once been merely hypotheses based on conjecture; had now been solidified into fact. As had her suspicions that this was bait. The Judge just as easily could have targeted her, but he hadn't. For what reason he wasn't sure but at least she now knew there was one. Of course that didn't at all help the current predicament. "But Etrina? What's a bit of collateral between would-be Gods, mm, Banespell? I'm sure the Wolf God, and my whelp of an alternate feel that way. As for Held? I knew full well what he was. An ally." And a suffering-based power supply. "But what's that matter now, mm?"

Not a whole lot.

"You're wrong about why I'm here, Banespell." Inanna continued, wearily. "Remember that chat we had awhile ago, about facades? I'm here for my own selfish ends, frankly. A confirmation." She was close now, could almost taste it. Was the Forge behind Banespell truly empowered by the same energy coursing through Eldfen's veins?

"I needed to know if it's possible, to attain True Magic..."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

OT: I wonder if I should have Praxat ascend right now?

[grampagen]

Ochazuke is the only one to witness....a split. His vision of the seven gathered Ulthan suddenly splits. One has the seven members, the other has Inanna, Etrina, and a single other person.


Lord Forger.


Like watching two different tv’s at once, Ochazuke is witness to a strange divergence in reality.



————

Caladash Banespell looks up from his outside forge as Inanna and Etrina arrive. He sighs and puts his hammer down, walking a few feet and looking at them.

“Goddess Inanna. Welcome to our home.”

He nods to Etrina.

“I didn’t expect a guest, but it makes little difference.”

He turns his back and walks back to his forge.

“Food’s in the house. Freshly cooked, help yourself.”

—————

Ochazuke, you watch this strange duel vision as the one Lord Forger greets Inanna and Etrina, while the other keeps speaking to the other Ulthan.

Ochazuke started, his breath growing short as he attempted to reconcile the divergent vision that played out across this hastily embued clairvoyance. By all the means he had possessed, he knew that he was, in a fashion, zeroed in on the correct location in physical space; the remainder of the assassin, this Judge from afar, had given away his position, and this heightened awareness let him reach his energy signature back to this place. Yet nestled there, beyond the veil of shadow where Inanna and Etrina had embarked...

"...this shouldn't be possible," he said, clutching at his temple as his eyes strained, "They're all gathered there, the Forger with his council, yet somehow Inanna and Etrina have merely encountered him solitary."

This made no sense. Whatever happened on this planet Darkle seemed to occur in tandem. As he silently grappled with the sense on the cusp of realization, under the duress he could only curse that he hadn't his departed Guardian's experience.

Totoma listened to Parsley's... primer on what, exactly, was going on. It sounded completely insane, and yet, here they were. All this time, so much had been happening behind the scenes while he'd been blissfully unaware. He was sort of disappointed he hadn't been filled in on all this, but... whatever, he wasn't in the mood to raise a ruckus about it.

"Things just... keep getting crazier and crazier," he said, sighing. "Alright, I'm going to do what I can..."

Take a deep breath--difficult, given the thin air--he offered the Kizuna to Ochazuke, as he had many times in the past. A gentle light began emanating from him, and his friend only had to accept in order to gain its boon. Its ability to draw out more power might help him with this... and, well, he could get a visual on this Darkle through the Kizuna, and Totoma wanted to see who in the hell they were dealing with.

So taken he had been with the span and distance of this expanded view, that through the ocean of noise his focus had been blurred to the matters far nearer to hand. It was a dull comfort that they now had new allies come from Earth to Reshlan, but Ochazuke hadn't the words to spare at the moment. When Totoma had reached out to him, the trickle of light was initally met with an icy shock; a cold, killer's hostility, paradoxically chained to a tempered, unspoken zeal.

Immediately, as Totoma gazed into the surface facets of Ochazuke's mind, so did he know that his was currently sculpted towards lethal, vengeful ends, and perceiving the newly awakened well of power within the young man, while he saw the familiarity of a friend there, the fury within him saw a weapon.

What good is strength if we are yet unable to reach the enemy?!

If Ochazuke accepts, Totoma your vision and perception suddenly zeroes in on the duel vision Ochazuke sees now.

Obfuscated by whatever distant trick, if they were to retaliate, they needed to unveil the truth of their target. He'd come this far, and for as far as they had come, Ochazuke reached further within himself to amplify Totoma's endeavour.

We'll do it together then. I've found them.

Banjakuza, rooted in the resolve to the one purpose, to unveil the Ulthan and the source of the Forger's schism; the collective noise trilling to his senses began to escalate to a cacophony once more as he attempted to strip all artifice from the vision.

Totoma...I'm counting on you.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley, after Sarada departed to futilely try and stop what had already begun, returned her attention to Ochazuke. Every so often, he offered updates if what was happening; soft murmurings of snippets that were transpiring on the planet Darkle. Inanna and Etrina had arrived in an instant and were currently engaging Banespell.

Yet, if she understood correctly, Banespell was also speaking with the Ulthan. It shouldn't have been possible to be in two places at once, presences perfectly synched in such a way so as to provide a, for lack to a better term, split screen for what was effectively scrying. Yet, exactly that was happening. "He's in two different places at once?"

Multiform allowed Inanna and Sarada to create different clones to act independently of each other. If Banespell knew the same technique, that would explain that. But, would that split his consciousness in the way Ochazuke alluded to?

She couldn't figure it out, but decided to leave it to Ochazuke. She had another idea.

"Totoma, what is the range of your Void Tunnels?"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Ochazuke started, his breath growing short as he attempted to reconcile the divergent vision that played out across this hastily embued clairvoyance. By all the means he had possessed, he knew that he was, in a fashion, zeroed in on the correct location in physical space; the remainder of the assassin, this Judge from afar, had given away his position, and this heightened awareness let him reach his energy signature back to this place. Yet nestled there, beyond the veil of shadow where Inanna and Etrina had embarked...

"...this shouldn't be possible," he said, clutching at his temple as his eyes strained, "They're all gathered there, the Forger with his council, yet somehow Inanna and Etrina have merely encountered him solitary."

This made no sense. Whatever happened on this planet Darkle seemed to occur in tandem. As he silently grappled with the sense on the cusp of realization, under the duress he could only curse that he hadn't his departed Guardian's experience.



So taken he had been with the span and distance of this expanded view, that through the ocean of noise his focus had been blurred to the matters far nearer to hand. It was a dull comfort that they now had new allies come from Earth to Reshlan, but Ochazuke hadn't the words to spare at the moment. When Totoma had reached out to him, the trickle of light was initally met with an icy shock; a cold, killer's hostility, paradoxically chained to a tempered, unspoken zeal.

Immediately, as Totoma gazed into the surface facets of Ochazuke's mind, so did he know that his was currently sculpted towards lethal, vengeful ends, and perceiving the newly awakened well of power within the young man, while he saw the familiarity of a friend there, the fury within him saw a weapon.

What good is strength if we are yet unable to reach the enemy?!



Obfuscated by whatever distant trick, if they were to retaliate, they needed to unveil the truth of their target. He'd come this far, and for as far as they had come, Ochazuke reached further within himself to amplify Totoma's endeavour.

We'll do it together then. I've found them.

Banjakuza, rooted in the resolve to the one purpose, to unveil the Ulthan and the source of the Forger's schism; the collective noise trilling to his senses began to escalate to a cacophony once more as he attempted to strip all artifice from the vision.

Totoma...I'm counting on you.

Ochazuke's presence was familiar, but that biting feeling of vengeance was not. He was not a 'kind' man, yeah, but...

...well, in these circumstances, with one of his closest friends having been slain, Totoma could more than understand that feeling. He was feeling it himself, in fact. Not quite as bitingly, but... it was there.

"Alright, everyone, get ready to show them what it's like," he said. "You'll know it when you see it."

"Totoma, what is the range of your Void Tunnels?"

"As long as I've got a visual, I'm good," he said. "But just in case..."

Clenching his fists, his aura turned golden, as did his hair. Drawing deeper upon his rage and power--remembering the sight of Eva's live slipping away, of the people of Ruco, Jack & Nunlil's... remains--bio-electricity sparked into existence around his body, filling the air with a pleasant crackle. Finally, his muscles bulged and his hair became spikier and more defined as he fully ascended!

Yeah, the trigger was the same as the normal Super Saiyan. Remember the trauma, remember the power. He'd probably be able to transform just by willing it eventually, but for now, this'd have to do.

Drawing in another labored breath, he concentrated, weaving his energy together and through Ochazuke--and thus, through the leylines... straight to the hideout of these jackasses. Suddenly, on both sides, Void Lens sprang into existence.

"NOW!"

OOC: The main group, not the... splinter... thing.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Inanna cracked a smile.

What had once been merely hypotheses based on conjecture; had now been solidified into fact. As had her suspicions that this was bait. The Judge just as easily could have targeted her, but he hadn't. For what reason he wasn't sure but at least she now knew there was one. Of course that didn't at all help the current predicament. "But Etrina? What's a bit of collateral between would-be Gods, mm, Banespell? I'm sure the Wolf God, and my whelp of an alternate feel that way. As for Held? I knew full well what he was. An ally." And a suffering-based power supply. "But what's that matter now, mm?"

Not a whole lot.

"You're wrong about why I'm here, Banespell." Inanna continued, wearily. "Remember that chat we had awhile ago, about facades? I'm here for my own selfish ends, frankly. A confirmation." She was close now, could almost taste it. Was the Forge behind Banespell truly empowered by the same energy coursing through Eldfen's veins?

"I needed to know if it's possible, to attain True Magic..."

He smiles sadly at her.

“Of course it is. It’s what made this prison you're in now.”

At that moment Inanna realizes something....isn’t right.

“You know, killing you doesn’t exactly make sense you know? Your mother is the Goddess of Death, you move freely between worlds like an eel in water, and eventually someone will bring you back with some form of dragonballs. An inevitability. No, killing you was simply never an option, and even I’m not sure the Judge could have anyways. He’s quite talented, but even he can only pack so much oomph in that gun of his. No, for you, Ishtar was right: a trap was a better option. A prison. A cage.”

He waves his hand at the surroundings.

“You’ll find this Darkle is not filled with any sapient live save our own, not any hidden leylines or magic means to aid you, not even my real Forge. Nor is there anything beyond its skies, not that you can leave them. Like a snow globe, if you will, crafted by True Magic by a source more powerful than any of us. More powerful than even your Hakai.”

He gives her a pointed look, and dawning realization hits Inanna.

“Eldfen. Alakazah. Grinthorn. Couldn’t use his dragonaballs, of course that would free him completely and besides you all have done a good job keeping them hidden. But he still has True Magic to use: a wish from a peer can still be achieved, and if one Inanna was a peer, why not an Ishtar and Goddess in her own right? He was grateful, and while I hate that he’s one step closer to freedom again, he can be contained. You? I’m not so sure.”

“This place is your prison. A perfect prison made from a Wish from the most powerful entity in this Universe. Inescapable. Unbreakable. Immortal. Once you enter, you can never leave. You cannot teleport out, no one can teleport in. No telepathic communication in or out, nothing. An eternal cage. We three are here, and we can never leave.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ochazuke, Totoma, you both can hear what Lord Forger said to Inanna even as the Fae creature in the ‘other screen’ turns sharply.

“They found a means to move here!”

Totoma’s void lens have been sensed. The seven are scattering.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Totoma offered her a means of exacting precise vengeance against the deplorable curs, and Parsley took it immediately. Her electric aura flared, pushing the peerless power of Super Saiyan 2 to its new and unknown limits.

She cupped her hands and pooled as much energy as she possibly could. Yet, instead of pooling in between her hands, it concentrated into ten hyper fine blasts centered around each finger. A technique she witnessed during Sarada's fight with the alternate version of Samson Balon, a true master of masters, or as close to it as any person could have gotten. While she wasn't anywhere close to his skill, she was good at mimicry.

Perfect Intuition: KamehaDodon Rays

The beams fired from her fingers and entered the void tunnel, crossing the distance of light years and the shadowy veil of outer space. She could see them scattering like roaches, yet there was no escape from he rcold judgement.

Perfect Intuition: Hunter/Prey

They had all been marked for death. For their hand in the deaths of Held and Guardian Evangeline, for their attack on her sister and the pending attempt on ruining what happiness she had manage to carve out for herself, they had been marked guilty. There would be no escape. The beams curled through the air, zeroing in on the present Ulthan like sharks in the water.

Yet, that wasn't where her vengeance ended. She outer more power into the center of her hands, a more familiar attack to her, one she had spent years perfecting both the form and formation of. "SPIRAL FLASH!" The two-tone, dual energy blast erupted forward, entering Totoma's Void Tunnel and barreling downward toward the ground, seeking the very planet's destruction. If innocent lives were lost, well, that was just too bad. They would have their own lord to blame for their permanent stay in Otherworld.

For her part, she merely had one thing to say. "I hope you lot suffer in hell."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Sarada and Maiz both felt Parsley's power skyrocket before they saw a bright flashes of light high above them. "What's going on?!"

Maiz squinted, then nodded once. "An addendum to Inanna's plan, I suppose. Or Parsley's own." She stepped back, her work on Sarada's damaged hair complete. Not that she got a chance to look over what she had done before she immediately transformed and blasted into the air.

Sarada's power flared, fueled by the rage, pain, sadness, and overwhelming thirst for revenge that she had felt earlier. She wanted to personally jump through that Void Tunnel and carve their heads from their bodies, bit that probably wasn't a good idea. She would have to make do with this.

Her hands cupped by her side as she closed in, violet energy pooling around them. This is Jack...! more power, ...and Nunlil...! more power, ...and Kai...! more power than she had ever used in a Galick Gun, ...and Held...!

Sarada quickly flashed by Parsley and thrust her hands forward, unleashing the culmination of all her rage and grief. Grief at watching a woman she respected more than most die for no other reason than for the duties she shoulder to keep her planet safe. "FOR EVA!! GALICK DESTROYER!!!"

[MrSandman]

Caladash Banespell looks up from his outside forge as Inanna and Etrina arrive. He sighs and puts his hammer down, walking a few feet and looking at them.

“Goddess Inanna. Welcome to our home.”

He nods to Etrina.

“I didn’t expect a guest, but it makes little difference.”

He turns his back and walks back to his forge.

“Food’s in the house. Freshly cooked, help yourself.”

"Not staying long," Inanna replied curtly.

"You killed my friends. I'm here for a reckoning."

Blah Blah Semantics Blah

*incoherant charlie brown adult sounds

*Senile old man buggering on and something about Etrina being collateral damage

TRUE MAGIC BLAH! CONVOLUTED TRAP BLAH! PLANS WITHIN PLANS BLAH

Etrina, despite herself, rubbed her temple to quell the aggravating headache starting to mount. This was what happened when two being who spend all their time plotting and scheming meet up in a magic snow globe....between the banes nonchalantly explaining his plan and Inanna smugly acting like she was playing 6D chess it was a full on cosmic chess sandwich and she was theoretically stuck there with them for what amounted to eternity.

Stuck for an eternity....listening to this.....

".....perfect prison...what rubbish." Etrina suddenly stated. "...and I take offence to being called collateral....not that it'll matter when I find a way out of here." Etrina glanced around a moment a sighed. "I'll take a cup of tea if you have it in the meantime..."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Etrina, despite herself, rubbed her temple to quell the aggravating headache starting to mount. This was what happened when two being who spend all their time plotting and scheming meet up in a magic snow globe....between the banes nonchalantly explaining his plan and Inanna smugly acting like she was playing 6D chess it was a full on cosmic chess sandwich and she was theoretically stuck there with them for what amounted to eternity.

Stuck for an eternity....listening to this.....

".....perfect prison...what rubbish." Etrina suddenly stated. "...and I take offence to being called collateral....not that it'll matter when I find a way out of here." Etrina glanced around a moment a sighed. "I'll take a cup of tea if you have it in the meantime..."

“In the house, help yourself.”