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

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She swallowed. Her breath was shaky, almost like wheeze. She couldn't have heard that right.

She was going to give the Ulthan what they wanted?

"Your life was what they wanted," she spoke, announcing her presence to anyone who may not have been aware. "What, were you going to let them kill you? Kill yourself and them as some kind of suicide mission? And Maiz was okay with that ****? She said nothing to try and rebuke the obvious dumbass reasoning that you probably had to use to talk her into the obviously idiotic plan that any fucking smooth-brained simpleton could see was a terrible idea? Oh, and it was, because you, like a goddamn r****d, walked right into their trap with nothing more as backup that fucking Etrina."

She stopped. Her fist was clench so tightly, her fingers had pierced through her palm and dug into the circuitry. Small sparks of electricity popped from the puncture.

Her breaths were slow and heavy. Her rage, oddly, wasn't as smoldering as one might have thought.

She wasn't even angry.

Her breaths weren't heavy out of a Herculean effort to control her temper to keep from lashing out. No, her emotions swung to the opposite end of the spectrum. She had come so close to losing the one person she loved more than nearly anyone.

And she had heard the small bit about secrets that Inanna was keeping. She had no idea what that was all about. She assumed Inanna had been telling her everything. Sarada told her everything; even about government **** that civilians weren't supposed to know about, just so she could get her input on different things. If she was keeping things from her...

Lashing out in something resembling anger was the only way she could keep it together.

"You fucking piece of ****."

Of all the voices that had spoken out in the aftermath of her- current- greatest misstep; only two had the power to shake Inanna's composure. Ochazuke was the other, his ability to cut to the quick with little more than a few sentences being by far the most annoying e̶n̶d̶e̶a̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ thing about him. The other... well. This was the one she'd least looked forward to.

"Yes, that's certainly what I am." Inanna agreed, calmly. No sense arguing the point when it was largely true.

[KingofPie]

Inanna smiled. "You got me, Sasheem. Good one." All this talk of Zurvan, and the associations therein however did remind her that Ishtar had done something similiar... so, fishing out the Katchin knife that Ishtar had bound his soul to; Inanna crushed it to dust in her hand.

"Free to go, Lesser Destroyer."

Tch...Right before his eyes, the one thing Ishtar and now Inanna had used to keep him in check had dissolved. He should be feeling grateful, but the barb at the end stung as it always had even if his goals had been muddied throughout his time with the M-Fighters.

"Thanks...is what Sasheem would say if he wasn't sure he could overcome it's power anyway," the Majin folded his arms in disdain. "But all the same, looks like you were mistaken again..." Sasheem continued, beginning to turn away to pester someone else.

"You fucking piece of ****."

"Yes, that's certainly what I am." Inanna agreed, calmly. No sense arguing the point when it was largely true.

"Only thing gettin' destroyed here is you," the Majin snickered, before finally walking off a bit.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Of all the voices that had spoken out in the aftermath of her- current- greatest misstep; only two had the power to shake Inanna's composure. Ochazuke was the other, his ability to cut to the quick with little more than a few sentences being by far the most annoying e̶n̶d̶e̶a̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ thing about him. The other... well. This was the one she'd least looked forward to.

"Yes, that's certainly what I am." Inanna agreed, calmly. No sense arguing the point when it was largely true.

Sarada didn't know what kind of response she had been expecting, but unquestioned agreement was near the top of the list. They both agreed she was a piece of ****, so she could move on from that.

Her steely gaze bored upward as she looked into the woman's eyes. Her question was simple. "Are you keeping things from me?" The answer should have been just as simple. The implications if Inanna's answer was what she feared it was going to be were anything but.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sarada didn't know what kind of response she had been expecting, but unquestioned agreement was near the top of the list. They both agreed she was a piece of ****, so she could move on from that.

Her steely gaze bored upward as she looked into the woman's eyes. Her question was simple. "Are you keeping things from me?" The answer should have been just as simple. The implications if Inanna's answer was what she feared it was going to be were anything but.

There was no hesitation, Inanna's response as simple as it needed to be. "Yes."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Too busy grandstanding, to even attempt to understand." Inanna said with a sigh. "I'd thought better of you." C'est la vie. Perhaps it was too much to ask of what amounted to little more than a child, to think through in the heat of the moment. "While you're busy censuring me for methodology and personal responsibility; consider a moment your plan to place the weight of an entire species on the shoulders of your sister... while you simply cheer her on at a distance."

Parsley wondered for a brief moment if Inanna knew of the arrangement she and Sarada made before she left Earth. That being Sarada fight Tundra while Parsley go and save Maiz from Koorimaru. In the end, she decided it didn't matter. The fractures were too deep for this simple correction to matter much.

So, instead of informing her of her orders, she simply said, "I was following my Queen's orders," and left it at that.

Inanna chuckled at this threat. "Only because it'd be in your interest to know; though as I am now you might stand a chance." The woman sighed, before shaking her head. "But no, everything I know, and everything you think you need to know; is in the book you handed to Ochazuke. More than that, even." She said calmly. "At best I only had scraps. Bits and breadcrumbs."

With another sigh, the former Oni attempted to wave her off. "Now leave me be."

She spared Inanna another glance, then shrugged. "Fine." With that, she lifted off and flew away. Coincidentally, she was heading in the direction Sarada had just come from. There were a few people absent and she needed to make sure everything was still okay. There hadn't been any signs of battle, but... but still.

What the hell just happened?

[Sub-Zero MKA]

There was no hesitation, Inanna's response as simple as it needed to be. "Yes."

The moment Inanna said yes would have been the exact moment Sarada's fist impacted her body in some way. A small part of her wanted to. A part of her wanted to lash out in her usual way, to use her fists to get her point across rather than her words. A part of her wanted to react like Queen Sarada normally would have.

It was only a small part.

The greater part was... hurt? confused? in denial? Some combination of all three? Probably that last one. Ishtar never kept anything from her. They shared everything. Every secret, every thought, every stupid little thing that popped in their heads. At least, that was what she thought. She, at the very least, was completely transparent. She always made sure to keep Inanna informed, to keep her up to date on what was going on in Sarada's life.

Why?

So Inanna could trust her. Trust was the second largest facet of any kind of relationship, behind only communication. Coincidentally, healthy communication led directly to trust. Sarada trusted Inanna because she had no reason not to. After all, even though Inanna wasn't bound by the same genetic quirk to always tell the truth like Ishtar, she never lied to Sarada before. Yet...

Yet...

...hiding things was the same as telling a lie. It was still dishonest. Sarada would know; she had to do it plenty of times before getting everything straight to make a public statement. She understood confidentiality, but this... why did it hurt so much? It may have been nothing.

If it was nothing, she would have said something.

It had to have been big enough, dangerous enough for her to keep it from Sarada. It had to be.

Her gaze fell from Inanna to the ground. "What?" she asked. "And for how long?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

It had to have been big enough, dangerous enough for her to keep it from Sarada. It had to be.

Her gaze fell from Inanna to the ground. "What?" she asked. "And for how long?"

"I..." Inanna started, before falling silent. "A few months, maybe. No longer." She answered, focusing on the latter half first. "As for what, I..." she fell silent again. It wasn't often she hesitated; but this was not a situation she'd planned on being in and as a result had no plan forward. Undone by something so simple as a heartfelt interaction... not helped in the slightest by the pain. Though it made for an interesting change of pace.

"I haven't lied, not to you. Just never explained," there was no need. She meant to add, but she knew before she even attempting it that wouldn't fly. "...what happened, after I met the Palatine. I couldn't." Not after what she'd learned, or what she found. "Now? I'd still hesitate." It was all she had, but it was honest. "One of them is more dangerous, now that Banespell's unshackled Eldfen. The other..." The Ossuary, a thing that even now whispered to her from where she'd buried it. Had since she buried it, but only when its need was evident. Like now...

It knew, so it beckoned.

"The other... I'm afraid to say."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"I..." Inanna started, before falling silent. "A few months, maybe. No longer." She answered, focusing on the latter half first. "As for what, I..." she fell silent again. It wasn't often she hesitated; but this was not a situation she'd planned on being in and as a result had no plan forward. Undone by something so simple as a heartfelt interaction... not helped in the slightest by the pain. Though it made for an interesting change of pace.

"I haven't lied, not to you. Just never explained," there was no need. She meant to add, but she knew before she even attempting it that wouldn't fly. "...what happened, after I met the Palatine. I couldn't." Not after what she'd learned, or what she found. "Now? I'd still hesitate." It was all she had, but it was honest. "One of them is more dangerous, now that Banespell's unshackled Eldfen. The other..." The Ossuary, a thing that even now whispered to her from where she'd buried it. Had since she buried it, but only when its need was evident. Like now...

It knew, so it beckoned.

"The other... I'm afraid to say."

Inanna's answer was a rambling mass of confusion and it was going to take a minute for Sarada to sort through it all. First thing first, the secrets hadn't been kept long. A few months at most. At this point, where she had no choice but to tell the truth or just dig herself deeper into the **** pile, Sarada could trust that Inanna was being honest.

It started after she met the Palantine. That much Sarada already knew. At the time, Inanna was short on details, and Sarada was busy with Queen ****, so she didn't really bother to press her for answers. She felt she didn't have to, so why would she? What a mistake that was.

Okay. Whatever Inanna was hiding, she found out during or right after she traveled to see the various Palantines. Whatever it was, it was so harrowing that even then, she hesitated to speak about it. Hesitation wasn't something she indulged in.

She gritted her teeth and looked away. As much as she wanted to smack some courage into Inanna and tell her to grow a set, she couldn't bring herself to yell and scream. Not right then.

"Hesitating isn't like you," she said tersely. She must have had a good reason. Whatever it was, it had to do with the Palantine, and it was more dangerous with Eldfen free. "Is it something that will put the universe in danger if it gets out?"

As for the second thing... the only other time Inanna/Ishtar said they were afraid was when they first met Genesis. She admitted to Sarada freely that the then mysterious being was so powerful, it scared her. Sarada couldn't believe it, but soon found out she had reason to be so afraid. With that in mind, there were only a few reasons Inanna was afraid to talk about it. Either it was so horrible, she couldn't bear to speak about it... or it was so horrible, she couldn't bear to speak about it to her. Either way, Sarada wanted to know about it, fear or not.

"And the second thing?"

[grampagen]

“Couldn’t find my way back. Was...weird.”

Zaofan stood there with Sarada and Voyavoda at Totoma's side, slowly helping the young man off the remains of Lord Forger's parlor table and up to his feet. Where his hand brushed over his back, his fingers briefly palpated muscles and ki pathways on the sly in a manner of plucking strings.

Blood's flowing, which means circulation's back. Sure enough, the water had done its thing. Yet his friend seemed a mite...off. Well, coming back from that...

"Heh, well you weren't really going anywhere," he chortled, then very swiftly realized his error once he considered the implication of Totoma's comment.

"...wait, do you mean an out-of-body experience? For real-real?"

He slowly shakes his head negative.

“Sorry, didn’t see anyone.”

"...what can you remember, Totoma," Zaofan pressed. "Think hard."

Whoever got him and left him there in the clearing with a hole in his chest would get his, surely. But for now - especially with this hard affirmation of the Afterlife as a tangible thing - the important thing was he got back to his old self.

Totoma and him both.

"Nah. I figure I'd leave Slak alone unless I needed him." If Sarada was being honest, she had long gotten the vibe that Slak hated them. He was a reserved, sensible person. The majority of their group even back then was anything but. For someone like him, the constant antics had to have been grating on the nerves. It didn't surprise her that he had kept his distance all this time, with the exception of major things. Finding out that his Elder was killed due to some far-out scheme to kill someone he was only briefly associated with was going to piss him off.

She sighed. "They're licking their wounds, no doubt. Two of theirs are dead and The Judge and Ishtar both got fucked up pretty bad." She looked up, taking in the endless sea of stars above them. Somewhere near one of those stars, the Ulthan were waiting, resting, and preparing. "They underestimated us, big time." Not surprising. They managed to catch them off-guard. Even still, it was close. They were hurt, but still standing.

"We're all on their hit list now. That Judge guy is scrap, but this won't be the last time they try to **** with us." Her remaining hand balled into a fist. "I'm gonna beat them to the punch. No one fucks with my Queen and gets away with it." She looked at Zaofan and gave him a lopsided smile. "Rest up and get to training, Cookman. We got a lotta hard fights in the future. The remaining Ulthan, Genesis, Sakin. We're in the realm of gods now, buddy. It's time for us to ascend and square up."

It really shouldn't have been so unbelievable to him at this point, and yet Zaofan could do little more than nod along as Sarada began to lay things out. Each point, each foe, increasingly more daunting than the last.

Yep, there she went again. The moment things levelled off even slightly, she was already looking to the next level, and with a certain relish, the next challenge.

"Ascension huh?" He smiled weakly in response. For his part, he was getting shaky, and by the time he brought Totoma back he was already bottomed out. Yet even salvaging the loss of one friend wasn't enough to bring up his mood.

"I've been kinda floating out here for a lot longer than I thought I'd be,' he sighed.

Whether this dark planet's burning light, or the ruins on many-ringed Reshlan before it, for some time now, he as if things were drifting farther and farther away from the reason he set out in the first place.

"Right now...I just want to go home."

___

Moments Later

The mechanical form doesn’t move.

Clutching the gun in his grasp, Zaofan stood there for a long moment as he stared at that metallic shell slumped over by the tree.

It'd be so easy...

A pointer finger danced over the trigger, studying the surface that seemed to be filed down in the shape of finger indents, before raising to his thumb to twist a dial. Zaofan put the butt of the rifle against his shoulder with one hand, then fiddled and cranked back with something that felt like a bolt-action lever, when suddenly the scope fell off....

"..." Silence lingered as he stared at the heavy cylinder where as it rolled toward the Judge.

...too damned easy...

In a puff of smoke, the gun that had killed so many today was neatly sequestered in a Capsule, and as he lobbed another upon the ground, so was the Ulthan's body.

[grampagen]

"Makes no difference to me, who you share that information with. At this point you've climbed up onto a high horse over things with little relevance to the group." Inanna replied, with a shrug.

The Ossuary and its contents... the location of the Palatine. A few other things that had perhaps slipped Inanna's memory, after the deluge of more pressing information.

"Unless you'd like to know simply everything I'm dealing with; you've already got what you wanted out of me."



"I probably will make a bad deal. Likely already have." Inanna admitted, "and when that times comes, or they come to collect, it'll be my end." The woman smiled.

"But I'll ask no forgiveness for attempting to do more than bludgeon everything, and everyone, to death."



"A diary of sorts. Auroc's." Inanna explained.

"I'd only just translated it, before we departed to deal with Remnant and recover Maiz."

Parsley didn't know what a high horse was, nor did she know what equestrianism had to do with the matter at hand. What she did know was that Inanna had taken to deciding things on behalf of the group. What was relevant to their interests and what wasn't. What they needed to know and what they didn't, when they needed to know it, and who needed to know it. How she came to the conclusion that these were her choices to make with zero input from anyone else was a mystery. Perhaps she always felt that way. Perhaps the weight of the various burdens that had been heaped on her shoulders led to it.

More likely the latter. One would assume she would be more than eager to share her plate if it was overwhelming. The others, they had all proven themselves competent enough - some less so than others, surely - of handling things under her leadership and guidance. One would think saving the literal universe from The Doctor would provide more than enough evidence thereof, but evidently not.

She sighed, but didn't respond right away. Whatever Inanna was keeping from them - other than the things she herself knew - was such that it couldn't be heard by the wrong ears or something. At that point, she had suffered more than her fill of these ancient beings.

"It'd be in your best interest to start talking."


Parsley wordlessly handed him the journal in question.

Ochazuke took the book in a controlled, practiced motion, as if this subtle courtesy had been the most natural thing in the world. But a glimpse of his eyes, dark, thoughtful pools filled with a silent intensity filled the gesture with a certain, subtle friction that Parsley would no doubt feel was not reserved for the Goddess of Destruction alone.

How appropriate this venture started as it began, with Auroc's sequestered knowledge. He'd boasted aloud that day of his long life, his ability to survive despite all else, feeding on the worship and souls of countless civilizations until he'd perfected his begotten Threshlings.

Silently, he pored over the tome for a time, and took in the wealth of fearful things that even a self-minted god might dread as the conversation continued.

"You speak as if that knowledge is some manner of game changer." Inanna replied. "When have we not had our lot determined in that fashion?"

She let that question hang, before continuing.

The sound of heavy pages turning on the binding, his calloused fingers brushing over the texts and rendered visuals shift an uncomfortable silence in the face of Inanna's glib, dismissive reply.

It was around the start of Reshlan that the book slammed shut in his hands.

"Since the moment we were first drawn together we've been fed breadcrumb after breadcrumb, slowly learning more of the Universes and how fucked we all are. It literally broke Ishtar." From one fight to the next, the veil had slowly been pulled back; and when the truth of her existence and what that meant had confronted her... she could not stomach the truth.

"Taking after my father though, mm?" She fell silent awhile, then. Seeming to consider this question far more than the others posed so far, before she eventually responded.

"Despite my best efforts... I suppose I have, haven't I?" What a bitter pill, that was.

"..."

"Listen to you, resigned to the state of things as they are."

The chronicle of the mad god he held close. There was much to glean from this still.

"What purpose does the knowledge serve, if there were only the slightest chance to affect the outcome? Everything is fixed as they shall be by some fickle design, left to chance."

A cosmic joke without plan or purpose. Only the shadows of might and fear. Even for the Godkiller.

"You most of all know circumstance is not static. Things are always in flux, subject to change for those who possess the will to act and a purpose to fight for. It broke Ishtar because she would not bend."

He cast a hard glance over his shoulder at her.

"For you to espouse this ignorance as some act of charity, even as you collect and consume knowledge on a whim, or withhold, aloft in a solitary sphere of self-indulgence..."

That Ishtar reborn now walked among them; now he knew with certainty the Ishtar that he'd call friend was truly dead.

"I..." Inanna started, before falling silent. "A few months, maybe. No longer." She answered, focusing on the latter half first. "As for what, I..." she fell silent again. It wasn't often she hesitated; but this was not a situation she'd planned on being in and as a result had no plan forward. Undone by something so simple as a heartfelt interaction... not helped in the slightest by the pain. Though it made for an interesting change of pace.

"I haven't lied, not to you. Just never explained," there was no need. She meant to add, but she knew before she even attempting it that wouldn't fly. "...what happened, after I met the Palatine. I couldn't." Not after what she'd learned, or what she found. "Now? I'd still hesitate." It was all she had, but it was honest. "One of them is more dangerous, now that Banespell's unshackled Eldfen. The other..." The Ossuary, a thing that even now whispered to her from where she'd buried it. Had since she buried it, but only when its need was evident. Like now...

It knew, so it beckoned.

"The other... I'm afraid to say."

"Cheh, perhaps we've all misjudged you, Oni," he said. "In the face of all of you've learned, for months now, perhaps you've decided that mortal concerns are immaterial where they no longer serve you. It rather hearkens back to a Remnant of the Godly way of doing things."

Entirely without regard for those who only wish to live their lives, all that remained was a cruel struggle, surrendered to broken things that yet lingered.

[grampagen]

Amidst the arguments and discussions, a single thing becomes noticeable.

Banespell’s energy just flared, than gutted out like a dying candle.

Moments later, a form emerges from the forest nearby.




The figure stalks forward, bloodied sword on his shoulders, and stops before getting too close. When he speaks, it is a harsh and unused voice, one struggling with galactic common. Banespell’s hammer hangs from his belt.

“You are.....strangers. You.....have been wronged, yes? Lord Banespell......had wronged you, yes? He has...admitted....to murder....and conspiracy....and...others. He has...been sentenced by I, Master Spireward, ......current Lord of Darkle . Restitution affirmed. You must all leave Darkle, now. Your...efforts to help...are appreciated, but....our home must recover....and we prefer...no unknown.....visitors.....”

He eyes them all before settling on Ochazuke.

“Lord Banespell......extends his apologies....and offers this.”

He tosses Banespell’s hammer to Ochazuke’s feet.

“He said.....forge a better...future....because he could......not. See...as Zxu’ro did....and make...the choices....needed.”

Spireward nods, stepping back, apparently glad to be done talking. He stands, watching, clearly waiting for them to leave.

Ochazuke appraised the stranger when he arrived, as if punctuated by the apparent death rattle of the Lord Forger, unseen across the other side of the planet. The picture seemed to be clear where his dread kinsman lift his freshly blooded blade, and there was a certain palpable irony that Banespell would reap Darkling justice for all his cosmic scheming.

He took a step forward and picked up the hammer. At a glance, he felt this curio of True Magic was an ill-fit for his possession.

Still, in this stifling atmosphere where trust had been upended between allies, Ochazuke's suspicions only redoubled for the fate of this most recent enemy.

"Lord Banespell said a great many things, Spireward. Restitution or otherwise, your world has already been sighted by visitors of his select company."

A truly vexing thing, to be sighted in the path of a horrid, unknowable force. They could crush a thousand worlds like this one on a whim. Ponderously, he moved a few paces to where the hammer fell last, near the battleground of the Destroyers, and contemplated what the instrument in his hand might do to the seals etched and tempered in the rock.

"Once our accounts are settled, we will leave, and that means leaving nothing to chance, for all our sakes" he said, "For a penitent death will not dissolve his oaths, nor the binding compacts he sought to build his future with. Where is his ring?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ochazuke appraised the stranger when he arrived, as if punctuated by the apparent death rattle of the Lord Forger, unseen across the other side of the planet. The picture seemed to be clear where his dread kinsman lift his freshly blooded blade, and there was a certain palpable irony that Banespell would reap Darkling justice for all his cosmic scheming.

He took a step forward and picked up the hammer. At a glance, he felt this curio of True Magic was an ill-fit for his possession.

Still, in this stifling atmosphere where trust had been upended between allies, Ochazuke's suspicions only redoubled for the fate of this most recent enemy.

"Lord Banespell said a great many things, Spireward. Restitution or otherwise, your world has already been sighted by visitors of his select company."

A truly vexing thing, to be sighted in the path of a horrid, unknowable force. They could crush a thousand worlds like this one on a whim. Ponderously, he moved a few paces to where the hammer fell last, near the battleground of the Destroyers, and contemplated what the instrument in his hand might do to the seals etched and tempered in the rock.

"Once our accounts are settled, we will leave, and that means leaving nothing to chance, for all our sakes" he said, "For a penitent death will not dissolve his oaths, nor the binding compacts he sought to build his future with. Where is his ring?"

Spireward takes a bloodied hand from a pouch on his side and throws it at Ochazuke’s feet. Banespell’s hand, freshly cut, with a ring on its finger still.

“Banespell yet lives, but he will.....not Forge......again. Stripped....of power.....and imprisoned. Justice.....for now. Death....may still.....come. Our....elders will......decide.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Zaofan stood there with Sarada and Voyavoda at Totoma's side, slowly helping the young man off the remains of Lord Forger's parlor table and up to his feet. Where his hand brushed over his back, his fingers briefly palpated muscles and ki pathways on the sly in a manner of plucking strings.

Blood's flowing, which means circulation's back. Sure enough, the water had done its thing. Yet his friend seemed a mite...off. Well, coming back from that...

"Heh, well you weren't really going anywhere," he chortled, then very swiftly realized his error once he considered the implication of Totoma's comment.

"...wait, do you mean an out-of-body experience? For real-real?"



"...what can you remember, Totoma," Zaofan pressed. "Think hard."

Whoever got him and left him there in the clearing with a hole in his chest would get his, surely. But for now - especially with this hard affirmation of the Afterlife as a tangible thing - the important thing was he got back to his old self.

Totoma and him both.



It really shouldn't have been so unbelievable to him at this point, and yet Zaofan could do little more than nod along as Sarada began to lay things out. Each point, each foe, increasingly more daunting than the last.

Yep, there she went again. The moment things levelled off even slightly, she was already looking to the next level, and with a certain relish, the next challenge.

"Ascension huh?" He smiled weakly in response. For his part, he was getting shaky, and by the time he brought Totoma back he was already bottomed out. Yet even salvaging the loss of one friend wasn't enough to bring up his mood.

"I've been kinda floating out here for a lot longer than I thought I'd be,' he sighed.

Whether this dark planet's burning light, or the ruins on many-ringed Reshlan before it, for some time now, he as if things were drifting farther and farther away from the reason he set out in the first place.

"Right now...I just want to go home."

___

Moments Later



Clutching the gun in his grasp, Zaofan stood there for a long moment as he stared at that metallic shell slumped over by the tree.

It'd be so easy...

A pointer finger danced over the trigger, studying the surface that seemed to be filed down in the shape of finger indents, before raising to his thumb to twist a dial. Zaofan put the butt of the rifle against his shoulder with one hand, then fiddled and cranked back with something that felt like a bolt-action lever, when suddenly the scope fell off....

"..." Silence lingered as he stared at the heavy cylinder where as it rolled toward the Judge.

...too damned easy...

In a puff of smoke, the gun that had killed so many today was neatly sequestered in a Capsule, and as he lobbed another upon the ground, so was the Ulthan's body.

Totoma nods.

“Yeah....out of body experience.”

He looks down and flexes his hands, than stretches out and backflips.

Landing, he starts to laugh.

“Amazing. Just.....amazing.”

He does a few more flips and katas, punching and moving, before settling.

“Sorry, just needed to move. It feels like it’s been forever somewhere.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Mazy Horn....Dhis." Held slurred, his mind still reeling from the mule kick, "Whis, Crazy Horn."

Crazy Horn payed his ally little mind, lowering his head in a sign of respect to to the Angel, once the surprise of seeing one had worn off.

"He's an Angel---" Held began, groggily as his on board systems continued to reboot.

"I am familiar with what he is Held." Crazy Horn interjected, "Although, I had overlooked them as mere myth, a story passed down the line....Their very appearance proves our folly in dismissing the stories."

Held nodded to Vados, thanking her as she helped him rise to his feet. "You're an Ange--" He paused, realizing this might not have been the best turn of phrase, "--I appreciate it."

He questioned the Majestic Beast. "Why did you kick me?"

"That was not intended for you, although you are not undeserving of it." Crazy Horn explained simply, clearly annoyed that his charge seemed intent on interrupting him before he could speak to one of the Angels. "This may surprise you, but I have business of my own on Nevada, and your summon was so unexpected that I had no time to refuse it. Your injuries are the results of your own impatience."

The Nevadian sulked slightly as he continued to rise to his feet.

".....I died, you know." Held interjected weakly. "This is the afterlife."

"The Halo around your head gave me some indication of what transpired, although our connection told me long before then...." Crazy Horn snorted, "I assume it must have been quite the battle, to overwhelm you in such a way?"

The Uneasy silence lingered between the two for a moment, before the steed shook it's head forlornly. "The shame on your face tells me all I need to know."

It turned it's attention to Whis and Vados.

"I am Crazy Horn, Lord of The Sunlit Planes of Nevada." He continued, "It is an honor to stand in your presence. How may I be of assistance to you? Has the time come to honor the pact between our species once more?"

Held looked around nervously in the background.

....Oh good grief. He's taking this really seriously.....Please don't make me tell him this is because I needed some training....

Whis and Vados both bow back.

“Lord Crazy Horn, forgive our intrusion to your work. My brother and I were visiting our father, the Grand Priest, when Held appeared in a guest bedroom here. He has a connection to our Angelic nature, and thus in his current state of flux ended up here instead of the Afterlife proper. We believe he shall return to the living soon, and we offered to train him since in some way he is connected to us and we would like to explore that aspect. When we discovered he was of the Unicorn Clan, we could not turn away the prospect of meeting a descendant of our long list steeds and friends. Truly, seeing you brings back many fond and old memories.” Vados says, smiling warmly.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parlsey spent much of her time in the air thinking. Thinking how quickly her friendship eroded to the point of resentment. Had she pressed too hard? Been too sanctimonious? This apparent "high horse" she evidently mounted led her to believe so.

Every word she had spoken was the truth, but the manner by which she spoke that truth, she realized far too late, left too much to be desired. Naturally, she came to that realization after the fact, and after it was too late to smooth things over.

Since when am I so beholden to emotions?

Her smooth, honeyed words were a natural weapon, sharpened claws in the hand of the most subtle predator. She could cut a man down with biting remark, and reduce what should have been a Super Elite into a washout and a runaway. Yet, ever since her resurrection...

She had thought reclaiming her pride meant a more tangible return to her old self, but that apparently wasn't the case. A swell of emotions after an incredibly long, arduous two days left her claws dulled and her words filled with a pious venom.

Piety was unbecoming of her.

Parsley was right. Every word she spoke was the truth, but that truth applied just as much to her as it did Inanna. The latter was just an easy scapegoat for her emotional anguish. She wondered if she intended on telling Avoca about any of the horrible things she found out the day prior. She wanted to say yes. After all, she informed her of the marathon week of time-displaced adventures she had undergone in her joint quest to undo the mess Midori Pantaloons created. Why not that, also? Avoca still, somehow, had been blessed with a certain ignorance that left her blissfully unaware of the universe just outside Vocado's priorities. She hated to kill that bliss, but she would rather not prove herself a hypocrite.

She tired. So... so tired. She just wanted to complete her deal with Night and find somewhere to run away, at least for a little bit. But, she couldn't, could she? Sarada needed support to battle Tundra, and then his empire needed to be dismantled. That would take time, and power and effort from those who had it. That meant her. Negotiations and diplomacy would needed to be utilized, rather than martial might. That also meant her.

It never ended.

It...

Totoma nods.

“Yeah....out of body experience.”

He looks down and flexes his hands, than stretches out and backflips.

Landing, he starts to laugh.

“Amazing. Just.....amazing.”

He does a few more flips and katas, punching and moving, before settling.

“Sorry, just needed to move. It feels like it’s been forever somewhere.”

T...Totoma?

No, that wasn't possible. He should have still be in Otherworld, training with Vocado and Rutaba. He said as much, and Shek'hinah was more than amicable. She would have allowed it for a hero of his caliber. Yet, there he was.

There was something off about him. She had spoken to Totoma before she left. This man spoke in a manner completely foreign to the half-blood Saiyan.

Her eyes narrowed as she set her heavy gaze upon him from a distance.

Observational Focus