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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Well, at least the extreme actions they'd taken hadn't been in vain. Hopefully they wouldn't need to do anything that... that completely insane ever again. Of course, knowing how things were these days... they probably would.

Sigh

Totoma took the flask when Parsley offered it to him. He wasn't one for drinking, but today had been really... really... really trying, so a swig or two couldn't hurt. He nodded, then took a drink, handing it back to Sihn.

"There's... so much going on in this universe that I wasn't aware of," he said, sighing. "Plots against my friends, god... stuff. What the heck was up with that Wolf God guy? He seemed to really hate you. Why? And why couldn't I sense his power directly? All I could feel was a... hm, a pressure coming off of him?"

That was the best way he could think of to put it, even if it wasn't quite right. Ki normally had a sort of 'pressure' to it, but this had felt different, and far more... intense. Like standing in front of an insurmountable mountain instead of a person.

“My oldest enemy. He wanted my head because I beat him long, long ago. Buried and burned him, left him and his followers shattered and broken on his planet Balac. Wiped his entire scourge out of existence.”

He chuckles humorously.

“I was lawman at the time. Kind of like a Galactic Cop. He and his kind murdered and transformed dozens of worlds, and it was left to me and a few others to hold them back. I’m the only one who walked away from that final fight. Took up position as Supreme Kai shortly thereafter. As to why you couldn’t sense him...because he had ascended, reached the pinnacle of his race. Any race can achieve godhood, their utmost potential. When you do so you acquire God Ki, and such cannot be sensed by mortal beings.”

[grampagen]

A figure can be seen nearby, a dwarf in a cap with a cane. The cane is plunged into the earth, and the dwarf can be seen pumping a series of runes into it.

To Ochazuke’s senses, the Lord Forger is pouring that bit of True Magic from his forge into the planet itself, and through the Leylines he can see the damage healing itself, the core stabilizing, the wounds mending. He pours more of his Forge Magic into it as well, the cane becoming a hammer as he strikes runes into the ground to keep the planet stable.

He can also sense Ishtar is badly wounded in the hole Inanna made. The Ruination Goddess is broken in many ways, but still lives and still heals.

Ochazuke approached where the Forger stood, weaving his spell as he overlooked the planet's mantle, and made a landing a few paces before him. If he were to flee to Ishtar's side, he would not allow it to happen.

Slowly he lift his hand up. It would be so easy; a mere thought, a point of the finger...

Instead, he cast his hand out to the side, projecting his energy through the Leylines with Ishiki Toei, and creating a trail for the innate energies of the planet to follow.

All the while, he stood across from the Dwarf Lord of Darkle.

"Why did you do it, Banespell," he said. "Why did you set Alakazah free?"

[KingofPie]

A figure can be seen nearby, a dwarf in a cap with a cane. The cane is plunged into the earth, and the dwarf can be seen pumping a series of runes into it.

To Ochazuke’s senses, the Lord Forger is pouring that bit of True Magic from his forge into the planet itself, and through the Leylines he can see the damage healing itself, the core stabilizing, the wounds mending. He pours more of his Forge Magic into it as well, the cane becoming a hammer as he strikes runes into the ground to keep the planet stable.

He can also sense Ishtar is badly wounded in the hole Inanna made. The Ruination Goddess is broken in many ways, but still lives and still heals.

OOC: Is the cryomancy still in effect?

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“No, Sheki’hinah and your friends Jack and Nunlil helped keep them safe. No souls lost.”

Parsley sighed with relief. At least no one else lost their life. Again. "Good."

With the battle with Gallows Lord having come to an unforeseen but not unappreciated conclusion, there was nothing more for Parsley to do in Otherworld. She could have seen about Rutaba, but she would be seeing her again soon. When that "soon" would actually be remained to be seen, but her cousin's fate would not be to remain amongst the dead for much longer.

"I have to head back to Darkle. The battle with Ishtar and the rest of Lord Forger's cabal isn't over yet." She looked at Totoma and gave him an appreciative nod. "I'll make sure to wish you back as soon as we get the dragonballs back. Thank you."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ochazuke approached where the Forger stood, weaving his spell as he overlooked the planet's mantle, and made a landing a few paces before him. If he were to flee to Ishtar's side, he would not allow it to happen.

Slowly he lift his hand up. It would be so easy; a mere thought, a point of the finger...

Instead, he cast his hand out to the side, projecting his energy through the Leylines with Ishiki Toei, and creating a trail for the innate energies of the planet to follow.

All the while, he stood across from the Dwarf Lord of Darkle.

"Why did you do it, Banespell," he said. "Why did you set Alakazah free?"

He sighs and continues his work.

“A few reasons. One, though freer he is not free. Some shackles still hold him, and I now have a means to neutralize him if necessary. So we reached a mutual point, in exchange for the wish. He gets to be a bit more free, I get a prison no one can escape from.”

He looks at Ochazuke.

“Two, He is an enemy I have faced before. The devil you know and all that. But Inanna and Genesis....they are not bound by ancient oaths and mentalities and proclivities. They each change, grow, and seek more and more power, more change, adapting and altering faster than it should be possible. Already both wield more God power than most, and still it is not enough.”

He shakes his head.

“Inanna is dangerous. Too curious and too willing to jump feet first into anything without thinking about the consequences. She just does because she can, and that is very, very scary. The Universes won’t survive if those two keep growing radically stronger and ever truly come to blows. I have seen the outcome of it. And so I have acted to curtail this.”

He adds more magic to keep the planet stable.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OOC: Is the cryomancy still in effect?

Only about at half power.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

And than Inanna slams into her like a thunderbolt from on high and an eruption of energy follows, flinging any nearby away as she planted Ishtar five miles down into Darkle’s crust and into some lava.

Inanna surfaced swiftly, molten rock dripping from her Katchin coated extremities and ruined clothes.

So this is what it's like, to burn...

One's ability to heal through the constant burn of magma, ruination... Hakai. Yet there was a silver lining. Ishtar's Cryomancy would struggle in Darkle's molten sea, if only enough to stave off the chill of Absolute Zero. So this is where they'd settle things. Come hell, or highwater.

"I know how hard it is to kill myself," Inanna said solemnly, before a simple glyph of blood was cast, sealing both within the confines of the molten cavern.

"Now get up."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He sighs and continues his work.

“A few reasons. One, though freer he is not free. Some shackles still hold him, and I now have a means to neutralize him if necessary. So we reached a mutual point, in exchange for the wish. He gets to be a bit more free, I get a prison no one can escape from.”

He looks at Ochazuke.

“Two, He is an enemy I have faced before. The devil you know and all that. But Inanna and Genesis....they are not bound by ancient oaths and mentalities and proclivities. They each change, grow, and seek more and more power, more change, adapting and altering faster than it should be possible. Already both wield more God power than most, and still it is not enough.”

He shakes his head.

“Inanna is dangerous. Too curious and too willing to jump feet first into anything without thinking about the consequences. She just does because she can, and that is very, very scary. The Universes won’t survive if those two keep growing radically stronger and ever truly come to blows. I have seen the outcome of it. And so I have acted to curtail this.”

He adds more magic to keep the planet stable.

"Unbreakable prison? Hah!" Sarada cackled as she approached. "I guess it's another seven foot tall Amazonian Oni babe whose wiping Ishtar's whole ass down there."

The man Ochazuke was talking to was a Darkling, which was not surprising in the least. He was the mastermind behind all this bullshit. What she couldn't understand was how Inanna was still alive. If she was so dangerous, like this clown implicated, then it would have been more prudent to simply kill her. Yet, he didn't.

"Anyone who knows Inanna and has even a half-functioning brain knows that trapping her will only compel her to break out. And exactly that happened, didn't it? She broke out, and you fucked up big time. If you thought I was just going to allow you to **** with my wife, you're even stupider than I thought."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

“My oldest enemy. He wanted my head because I beat him long, long ago. Buried and burned him, left him and his followers shattered and broken on his planet Balac. Wiped his entire scourge out of existence.”

He chuckles humorously.

“I was lawman at the time. Kind of like a Galactic Cop. He and his kind murdered and transformed dozens of worlds, and it was left to me and a few others to hold them back. I’m the only one who walked away from that final fight. Took up position as Supreme Kai shortly thereafter. As to why you couldn’t sense him...because he had ascended, reached the pinnacle of his race. Any race can achieve godhood, their utmost potential. When you do so you acquire God Ki, and such cannot be sensed by mortal beings.”

Parsley sighed with relief. At least no one else lost their life. Again. "Good."

With the battle with Gallows Lord having come to an unforeseen but not unappreciated conclusion, there was nothing more for Parsley to do in Otherworld. She could have seen about Rutaba, but she would be seeing her again soon. When that "soon" would actually be remained to be seen, but her cousin's fate would not be to remain amongst the dead for much longer.

"I have to head back to Darkle. The battle with Ishtar and the rest of Lord Forger's cabal isn't over yet." She looked at Totoma and gave him an appreciative nod. "I'll make sure to wish you back as soon as we get the dragonballs back. Thank you."

Totoma listened to Sihn's no-doubt-abridged story, as well as his explanation of the Wolf God's unusual lack of ki. So there was such a thing as god ki, which one gained once one had achieved the pinnacle of one's race? Yeah, that was something he had no idea about before... not even an inkling.

Logically, to even 'transcend', one probably needed to push themselves as far as possible for their race, using... less transcendental methods. Which meant that if he wanted to achieve this, he needed to train his ass off.

...yeah, even though he had a way back, he was going to stay here in otherworld to train a bit. And he knew just who to go to. A man who, by now, would probably know everything there was to know about saiyan powers.

"I... I see," he said, oddly thoughtful.

When Parsley addressed him, he returned the nod. "Actually, right about when I flew past you, I got the feeling that... someone--Zaofan, I think--managed to get my body healed enough for me to return. But..." Totoma fell silent. "...I'm not. Not for now, because..."

Returning his attention to Sihn, he finished his sentence: "...Sihn, I want to meet Vocado, the Legendary Super Saiyan. If I want to push myself as far as I can before I try to, uh... transcend my mortal limitations and get this god ki, I can't think of many that would know more about Saiyan powers than him."

Assuming, of course, that he'd be willing to take him on as an apprentice. If not, Totoma could at least learn-by-watching. After all, he was the guy that figured out Hitozaru just from hazy 10 year old memories of his mom doing it.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Unbreakable prison? Hah!" Sarada cackled as she approached. "I guess it's another seven foot tall Amazonian Oni babe whose wiping Ishtar's whole ass down there."

The man Ochazuke was talking to was a Darkling, which was not surprising in the least. He was the mastermind behind all this bullshit. What she couldn't understand was how Inanna was still alive. If she was so dangerous, like this clown implicated, then it would have been more prudent to simply kill her. Yet, he didn't.

"Anyone who knows Inanna and has even a half-functioning brain knows that trapping her will only compel her to break out. And exactly that happened, didn't it? She broke out, and you fucked up big time. If you thought I was just going to allow you to **** with my wife, you're even stupider than I thought."

“You’re a fool. Inanna’s mother is Death and he rUncle the Supreme Kai. Killing her has little meaning, especially if Sheki’hinah lives and there are dragonballs. She can also teleport between Otherworld and the material plane, so death cannot stop Inanna. As to my prison, you are wrong again: Arch-Mage Etrina was a complication I was not prepared for. The prison can hold Inanna, but I wasn’t going to bet it could hold them both.”

He looks down at the ground.

“The fight between the two begins.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Inanna surfaced swiftly, molten rock dripping from her Katchin coated extremities and ruined clothes.

So this is what it's like, to burn...

One's ability to heal through the constant burn of magma, ruination... Hakai. Yet there was a silver lining. Ishtar's Cryomancy would struggle in Darkle's molten sea, if only enough to stave off the chill of Absolute Zero. So this is where they'd settle things. Come hell, or highwater.

"I know how hard it is to kill myself," Inanna said solemnly, before a simple glyph of blood was cast, sealing both within the confines of the molten cavern.

"Now get up."

The wounded ploy is given up as Ishtar rises. Thin Ruination wisps rise from where her right arm should be, forming a new arm of orange light. In her other arm, a gleaming gladius.

“I’ll enjoy finally killing you.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Totoma listened to Sihn's no-doubt-abridged story, as well as his explanation of the Wolf God's unusual lack of ki. So there was such a thing as god ki, which one gained once one had achieved the pinnacle of one's race? Yeah, that was something he had no idea about before... not even an inkling.

Logically, to even 'transcend', one probably needed to push themselves as far as possible for their race, using... less transcendental methods. Which meant that if he wanted to achieve this, he needed to train his ass off.

...yeah, even though he had a way back, he was going to stay here in otherworld to train a bit. And he knew just who to go to. A man who, by now, would probably know everything there was to know about saiyan powers.

"I... I see," he said, oddly thoughtful.

When Parsley addressed him, he returned the nod. "Actually, right about when I flew past you, I got the feeling that... someone--Zaofan, I think--managed to get my body healed enough for me to return. But..." Totoma fell silent. "...I'm not. Not for now, because..."

Returning his attention to Sihn, he finished his sentence: "...Sihn, I want to meet Vocado, the Legendary Super Saiyan. If I want to push myself as far as I can before I try to, uh... transcend my mortal limitations and get this god ki, I can't think of many that would know more about Saiyan powers than him."

Assuming, of course, that he'd be willing to take him on as an apprentice. If not, Totoma could at least learn-by-watching. After all, he was the guy that figured out Hitozaru just from hazy 10 year old memories of his mom doing it.

“Not up to me, ask Sheki’hinah. Though if you do, I think your friend Neva can preserve your body so that it stays alive, much like Held’s is. When you finish your training you can will yourself back into than.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“You’re a fool. Inanna’s mother is Death and he rUncle the Supreme Kai. Killing her has little meaning, especially if Sheki’hinah lives and there are dragonballs. She can also teleport between Otherworld and the material plane, so death cannot stop Inanna. As to my prison, you are wrong again: Arch-Mage Etrina was a complication I was not prepared for. The prison can hold Inanna, but I wasn’t going to bet it could hold them both.”

He looks down at the ground.

“The fight between the two begins.”

Sarada could only laugh. "Asshurt much?" She shrugged one shoulder lazily. "I guess I would be too, if my careful laid plan was completely undone by a single unforeseen monkey wrench."

It was only then that she realized just how close she came to losing her wife forever. Had Etrina not went with her, Inanna would likely still be in that trap. While Sarada was confident that she would have eventually escaped, there was no guarantee that escape would have happened within her lifetime. She would have spent the rest of her life waiting, hoping for her Oni to return. Damn this fucker.

"And that's why basing your entire plan on prognostication is stupid. The future can't be predicted perfectly. Not even the Overseer of Time itself foresaw the path Inanna is on right now and you expect me to believe that you did and know exactly how her life is gonna go down? Are you actually serious?"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

“Not up to me, ask Sheki’hinah. Though if you do, I think your friend Neva can preserve your body so that it stays alive, much like Held’s is. When you finish your training you can will yourself back into than.”

Oh. So he had to ask Sheki'hinah, who was...

...

"...who's Sheki'inah? I assume she's some important god, but I'm kinda out of the loop with this stuff."

That was putting it mildly. He wasn't anywhere near the loop. And the comment about Neva... hm, well, yeah, that was idea. Totoma had no idea she had the ability to preserve stuff, though.

He turned back to Parsley. "So, uh, hey, when you see Neva next, could you ask her to preserve my body? I'd rather not return as a Zombie... no matter how awesome a zombie super saiyan sounds."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The wounded ploy is given up as Ishtar rises. Thin Ruination wisps rise from where her right arm should be, forming a new arm of orange light. In her other arm, a gleaming gladius.

“I’ll enjoy finally killing you.”

It was interesting, in the moment at least, to see that her counterpart seemed to have done with Ruination, what she herself had done with Hakai; but with the way it seemed to writhe just beneath the surface... Inanna sneered, before pulling arrows from thin air, and nocking one in an ethereal bow.

"Well come on then. I haven't got all day."