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

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"Best food in the galaxy, huh?" Cama rubbed his chin in thought. "Alright! I'm definitely going to pay this world a visit. Good luck, Tasure. See ya around sometime!" He waved goodbye and flew back into the battle.

Two jumps later and Tasure found herself on the planet Rysoa. It wasn't far from Tobaga, but the situation couldn't have been more different. The world was comprised of two races, the Saiyans and a strange race of small rock-like creatures. The latter were the overwhelming majority. In fact, there were only about a hundred or so Saiyans on that world. Even against a thousand invading soldiers, the Saiyans were holding their own well. However, there wasn't much they could do to protect the rock creatures, who appeared helpless against the army.

One small creature caught sight of Tasure and waved to get her attention. "HELP! HELP US!" she cried out in common.

A man snatched her up and put his blaster to her head. "Quiet, you."

The situation here was not as secure as the colony before. The saiyans, even outnumbered ten-to-one, were holding their own--not surprising--but their neighbors, small... rock creatures, appeared to be more or less useless in a fight. And given that the colony had likely been blind-sided... there were a lot of these rock creatures out in the open.

One invader, actually, took one of the creatures hostage, in an attempt to get an advantage over... her, presumably. She didn't care one whit about the rock creatures, to be perfectly honest, but... it'd piss off the saiyans here if she just treated their likely friends and neighbors as disposable nuisances. Never mind what her family would think.

She raised her hands in a non-threatening surrender. "Now now, don't do anything you'll regret later."

From the sole of her feet, a Diamond Fang emerged, discreetly piercing the ground. There, Tasure pushed it a bit deeper, then willed it to change directions, bending at a 90 degree angle, and continue digging. Once underneath the enemy, she bent the fang again, its deadly blade facing upwards.

And then she struck, extending the diamond fang at breakneck speed, the ki construct erupting from the ground directly beneath the hostage taker. Unfortunately, the idiot already had done something regrettable--picking a fight with her. And also using cowardly tactics like taking a hostage and using them as a shield.

Tundra really knew how to pick his minions, didn't he?

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Maiz made it outside with Parsley slung over her shoulder just in time to witness Inanna disappear without a trace. Wherever she was going was probably important. She got in touch with Pois and was quickly brought up to speed. The worlds were invaded, but her people won the day. That was a huge weight off her shoulders.

She set Parsley down and conjured a small mote of Creation energy. She set it on her forehead, healing the swollen eye that resulted from the inexplicable suckerpunch from Sarada. A moment later, she started to rouse.

"Ugh, what happened?" She sat up and rubbed her head.

"You were knocked out cold." She helped her to her feet, then stared her down coldly. "You're going to explain everything that happened on that world."

Her tone brooked no arguments, so Parsley had no choice but to relent and acquiesce.

Parsley started from the beginning, actually. Maiz only wanted to know what happened on this Darkle, but the context stretched back a few days to Earth. Her daughter took several trips to other universes - a thing that Maiz didn't even know was possible - to inquire of different things. A ill-fated deal with this Night weighed heavily on her, as did the training with a former Creation God. However, the source of all the conflict was Ochazuke's offended outrage at being kept in the dark about various things. Ultimately, it narrowed down to just two things: the location of Eldfen's dragonballs - or rather, the location of the Palantines who absconded with them after his defeat - and whatever this thing that filled Inanna with such dread and terror. Words escalated to a nuclear degree once Sarada got involved. To the point that it seemed Inanna turned her back on the people she called allies.

Maiz let out a long, tired sigh. Communication was key in any kind of relationship. If communications broke down, the relationship wouldn't last much longer. On the one had, keeping secrets from allies was a recipe for disaster. On the other, that information couldn't fall into the wrong hands. She could understand the benefit of keeping those locations to herself.

In the end, the entire affair was irritating and mentally draining.

"I thought you were above hypocrisy," Maiz said sharply.

"It had been a long few days," she said in reply. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"Or not at all. This is what happens when emotion gets in the way." She sighed again and sat down on a nearby rock. "So many dead, with no way to wish them."

Eva, Totoma, even her little Rutaba. She let out a shaky sigh. Her little girl was gone. How was she supposed to cope with that? She didn't even get a chance to say any final words to her. At least Pinach was still around and had ascended, so there was that. She was proud of her boy, but it wasn't going to be the same.

"We should go," Parsley said. "I can take you to Earth so we can pay our respects to Eva, then to Langal."

That sounded fine. "Alright." She stood and let Parsley put her hand on her shoulder. A moment passed, then they disappeared.

To those going to or already on the Lookout, 60% of it is gone. Pretty much just the main building and the RoSaT remain intact.

Eva’s body can be found on her bed, where Sarada laid her in death, eyes closed and hands folded over the hole left by the Judge’s attack.

No bodies remain for Jack and Nunlil, and Kai is not present either, left behind on Reshlan after being rescued by Totoma.

And reappeared within the Lookout. The destruction of the holy platform was extensive. Over half of it was gone, a distant memory from times long gone. She had only been there once, five years ago; constant circumstances prevented her from returning. Regretful, as she never had the chance to meet Eva.

Maiz sighed and stepped inside her bedroom.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The yellow light of her teleporter faded, allowing Sarada’s vision to clear and giving her the chance to take in her new surroundings. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. She was standing in the center of a wild, unruly, and unkempt jungle. It was hot and muggy. Just a few seconds of standing had sweat dripping down her face. It wouldn’t be long before her hair started to frizz and look like a small shrub.

“So, this is Sadala,” she said to herself. Vocado’s journals contained the name of the previously unnamed homeworld so many times. Learning the name of the planet her ancestors hailed from was a monumental moment in her young life. Actually standing on that planet was a little overwhelming. She wasn’t sure how to feel. She felt excited, ecstatic even. “I’m home.”

It was a simple declaration that felt more true than it should have. Vocado was gone. Reduced to nothing but a cloud of space dust by Tundra. While there were other colonies for her to go back to once her business on Sadala was done, her home was gone. And without the dragonballs, she couldn’t wish it back. Even if I could, should I? There was no question if she could. Should she? Vocado was the root source of their five hundred year reign of terror over the galaxy. While they had made several admirable steps to make up for the mistakes of the past, that bloody past still remained.

Sarada found herself in a very unique position. Before her was a rare chance to completely and physically wipe the slate clean. There were plenty of uninhabited worlds in their possession still; she saw no reason why they couldn’t build a new throne world. It would take time, but the ability to craft a fresh future completely free of the blood-soaked soil of Vocado was worth it.

It wouldn't have been the same. Vocado was her home. She had made so many priceless memories there. She also had several horrible memories that would never leave her, no matter how many times that dreadful Mean Market was torn down. That trauma was going to stay with her the rest of her life. Was shedding the place of her torment worth losing her home? She still had the memories in her mind; it wasn't like those were destroyed along with the planet. They remained with her and would remain with her for as long as she lived. The Saiyan race was going to live on; a planet didn't define them. They defined it.

She sighed and floated upward. The moment she did, the foliage around her rustled. She could feel dozens of power levels around her. They weren’t a threat, but they were far too powerful to be any kind of wild animal. “They must be the natives.” Avoca called them primitive when she returned from the excursion to that world a few months - well, last month - ago. Whether that was true or not wasn’t certain, but it didn’t matter to her. She was just wondering why Sellerie hadn’t evacuated them yet. That was the entire reason she sent for her a few days ago. It had been four days since that call went out. The planet should have been barren by that point, but it was instead brimming with life. She wasn't sure how many people were usual there, but it felt like no one had left.

She sighed and tapped her wrist. She still needed to call Pois and have her bring up to speed. A moment passed since she dialed where there was nothing but silence. Many fearful thoughts crossed her mind. Had they lost? Was Pois dead? Was she too far out to call anyone? Her heart started thumping in her chest as these thoughts and anxieties circled through her head on repeat.

Those thoughts didn't stop until Pois' exhausted and bloodied face materialized in front of her. “Your Highness! What happened to you?! You should have been on the homeworld three days ago!”

It hadn't occurred to her until the moment she heard Pois’ worried voice that those three days had likely been filled by people wondering where she was and why she hadn't come to help them before going off to fight Tundra. Curse you, Ochazuke. You almost ruined everything! Three days had passed since the human foolishly tried to kill Eldfen by himself. In doing so, the warhammer he used to strike the dragon somehow jumped them forward in time. Those three days was time she could have and should have spent going from world to world to bolster and encourage her soldiers, and helping them fight off and destroy the invaders. Instead she was... she didn't know, floating in the void or something.

“Something came up a few days ago. It’s hard to explain, but the long of it was the area I was waiting was attacked. I had to take care of that. It took longer than I expected.” Even that kind of vague explanation left a bad taste in her mouth. It made her sound like a flake at best, and someone incapable of keeping her more relevant priorities in mind at worse. “Did you get a hold of Sellerie?”

“Yes. She arrived on Earth shortly after you called. After you didn’t show, she and Corra went ahead and traveled to the homeworld. They should still be there.”
Two power levels - one abnormally high and the other much lower - were quickly approaching. Given the urgency, it didn’t take much discernment to figure who they were. “Yes, I can feel them coming this way. How are things around the Empire?”

“Tasure and Avoca defeated the army on Ruco. After that, our strongest fighters were stretched thin, but we managed to liberate the rest of the worlds. And you’ll be happy to know your daughter is safe and sound. I protected her with my own life.”

Sarada let out a sigh of relief. Hearing that not only were her planets and people finally safe, but her daughter had been spared any trouble were both like key components to a professional orchestra. It was beautiful, wonderful, and two less things she had to worry about. “Excellent news. ...thank you, Pois. Are Garnish and Mais there, too?”

“Yes, they’re okay, too.”

“Good.” She nodded and ended the call. With hope, the battle with Tundra wouldn’t take that long and she could have her little girl in her arms shortly.

Sure enough, Sellerie and Corra landed near where she was standing. A moment later, a pair of figures shot out of the jungle. “Your Highness!” the former called out. “Look out!”

She dodged the first one and caught the second by the throat, halting his momentum that instant. As he struggled to free himself, he futilely laid what she supposed he felt were powerful punches to her face and head. Holding him up, she was able to get a good look at these so-called natives. From the Avoca described them, it was like they were in the Hitozaru form. Brown fur, wild bushy hair, and piercing red eyes. Hm, interesting, she thought to herself.

The second one latched onto her back. Their strength was fairly impressive, considering they probably didn’t have any kind of formal training program and that was more than likely their innate strength. She couldn’t imagine how powerful they would be if they actually knew what they were doing and weren’t just acting on some amount of instinct.

A burst of power removed the native from her back, followed by her flinging away the one in her grasp. With them temporarily disposed of, she turned her attention to her fellow civilized Saiyans. “Explain why these people are still here. I thought you would have started an evacuation.”

“We... w-we tried,” Sellerie stammered briefly while Corra just averted her gaze to somewhere else. “They... they said they weren’t afraid of the Arcosian,” she finally said sheepishly.

Sarada had never spoken much to these Turrip and Langal Saiyans, so she wasn’t familiar with their disposition. What she saw when she was finally was able to pay attention to them, as opposed to whatever other important thing she was doing when they were yammering on about **** she wasn’t particularly interested in, wasn’t encouraging. She knew those Turrip Saiyans were barely Saiyans, but to not even be able to look her in the eye while she was talking to them... it was disgraceful.

“We’ve been trying for the last three days, Your Highness,” Corra added quietly. “They are very stubborn.”

“Tch. Tundra will be here any second. He could very well be bringing an army with him. I won’t have the time or the focus to both fight him and protect them from any enemy soldiers.” She sighed tersely and pinched the bridge of her nose. She supposed a mass evacuation of hundreds of thousands of ornery and uncooperative people on such short notice was too much to ask of two people who, combined, barely had half a spine. “It’s too late now. We’ll just have to figure something out.”

Sarada wasn’t sure how much time she had before Tundra and his army arrived. She wanted to do some exploring and really dig into the secrets that planet held, but she couldn’t allow herself to lose focus even for a second. The last thing she wanted was for a repeat of Blizz’s and Cooled’s attack to play out. She was fortunately way stronger than they were, even combined, but she had no dreams of that being the case this time.

“I’ll try to keep the fight contained to one area. Try to corral them in their homes if you can. If not, then the fight will have to do the convincing for me.” With that said, she found a spot on the ground to sit down. Immediately, one of the men she dispatched earlier cautiously approached her and started sniffing. “...”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He chuffed and growled before backing away. She realized that one was the one who was on her back. Up close, she noticed that he was wearing what appeared to be rudimentary jewelry; bracers on his wrists and a circlet on his forehead.

“Ah, he’s just trying to see if you’re friendly,” Sellerie explained.

Sarada sighed. “Don’t know about friendly, but I won’t hurt them.” She looked at Sellerie, who recoiled slightly. “You can speak their language, right?”

“Y...yes,” She stepped forward and cleared her throat. Then, she let out a series of the most unconvincing growls and chuffs Sarada had ever heard.

The two men laughed uproariously.

Sellerie blushed and looked down.

It was obvious the two men neither feared nor respected her. These natives - primitive in nature - were all about strength, both of body and conviction. Those two nerds didn’t have the former, and it didn’t seem they had the latter either. She wasn’t sure what went wrong on Langal - Turrip was obvious - but she thought they were more like the Saiyans on Vocado. Even Ruco and Pepa, as laid back as those worlds were, could likely handle themselves better in the face of stereotypical Saiyans. “You two need to toughen up. Grow a fucking spine.”

“I...”

“They won’t listen if they think you’re a pushover.” It didn’t help that she actually was a pushover. She rose to her feet and turned to face down the two laughing men. “Hey!” Before she could say more, a power signature pinged against her senses. Her attention was immediately turned skyward. “That power.”

It was him. Just as she feared, he wasn’t alone. There were thousands of much weaker powers around him. With the natives and Corra and Sellerie still there, Sarada’s worst nightmare had just come to pass. “You need to get out of here!” She lifted into the air. “I’ll draw their attention. Hide and don’t come out until it’s over. No one is dying today.” With that, she rocketed upward toward where Tundra’s ships were just beginning their descent.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

He hadn't gotten a chance to have fun before being called back to the Demon Realm. What a bother... but orders were orders.

'Totoma' made his way to the Dark King's palace, eyes trained at the pinkish-purple sky above. Occasionally, he'd pass by a demon, but, despite their malevolence, they'd invariably shy away from attacking him. He was, after all, far more powerful than most of their kind, and had the Dark King's protection, besides.

As he entered the palace, a certain... tenseness came over him. He always felt like this whenever he was going to meet the Dark King. In many ways, he had his liege to thank for his very existence--the Dark King had spirited him away as that abominable Guardian made her attempt to wrest him from his own body and give it over to that... faker--and he had the appearance of a somewhat kindly--and he was grateful for that, but there was an unmistakable malevolence about him. That he was also incredibly powerful did not help things.

Entering the throne room, the air was heavy with that malevolence and power. On the throne sat a somewhat unassuming elderly demon looking down upon him with beady red eyes encircled by black schlera. Totoma approached and then knelt.

"My liege, I have returned from the Mortal Realm, at your behest."

The man stood and silently walked down the steps from his throne, until he towered over 'Totoma'. Even a being as mighty as him felt his heartbeat--or whatever his equivalent was--quicken at the mere presence of this man...

Salamech, the Dark King, Lord of the Demon Gods, and Supreme Ruler of the Demon Realm

He smiled, an action as unnerving as his presence and power. "Good... good, my young apprentice. I trust you were successful in your endeavor?" His tone was expectant, carrying the slightest hint of a threat. Failure would not mean death... merely the desire for it. His vengeance was terrible, but the Dark King was far too practical to throw away a useful pawn at a whim.

Pawn..

Thankfully, he had not failed. 'Totoma' was free to do as he pleased, provided he gathered power for the Dark King. Both for personal use and... to secure his freedom. He, as a mortal and descendent of those that sealed Salamech, could pass between the Demon Realm and the Mortal realm as he pleased, but the magics that bound his liege were quite potent, capable of keeping even the Dark King bound for millenia.

"Of course, my Lord. I believe I've gathered enough ki and magical power to ensure your freedom," said 'Totoma'. Of course, that didn't mean that all the conditions were right for that... just that they had the oomph. 'Totoma' raised his hand and released the accrued power, ki, magical, and psionic energies swirling from him and into the staff Salamech held.

The Dark King's smile deepened. "My boy, you would not be able to comprehend how utterly pleased I am. To have such an effective, obedient, and... discreet servant is any king's dream."

Discreet. Uh... yeah, totally. Not like he'd burst out of that Threshling right in front of Held, laughing maniacally. Totally discreet... although the Nevadian was probably too drunk to really trust what he'd saw, so whatever.

"You praise me too much, sire," said Totoma. He paused for a moment. "If... if I may ask, what's the next part of the plan?"

Salamech tapped his staff. "We bide our time and plan."

"Eh? Plan?"

"Yes. Plan. As I understand it, the Earth is currently home to some rather potent fighters. We wait, learn their capabilities, and plan countermeasures."

"My lord, with your power, as... good as Earth's fighters and allies are, I don't think--"

A wave of malevolence hit him, and 'Totoma' shrank back. "Yes, that much is clear. Power is important, but I have learned what happens to those that consider mortals beneath their notice and not worth... planning for. We wait, am I understood?"

"Y-yes, my lord."

"Very good. You are free to go," said Salamech, returning to his throne. "I will call upon you when I have need of your services."

Wordlessly, 'Totoma' stood and left the throne room. Once outside, he exhaled sharply, then looked at his hand. It was shaking... not surprising, gien that the Dark King could wipe him from existence with but a single thought.

Honestly, serving Salamech didn't sit right with him, but what choice did he have? Even if he had his original body and trained for a thousand years... it still wouldn't be enough to win. Being a lapdog was better than not existing, after all.

Sighing, 'Totoma' made his way out of the palace and began wandering the wastes of the Demon Realm, eyes trained at the sky, and mind deep in thought...

[grampagen]

For a long moment things are quiet, until a slight noise of boots on stone reach their ears.

Kai, still looking very rough though heÂ’s been healed, leans against the door and shakes his head.

“Sorry.....just....sorry.”

He slumps and sighs.

“Anula dropped me off just now after Totoma took me to Reshlan after the attack.”

He clutches a small pendant around his neck, one with the sigil of an apprentice guardian on it.

“Jack and Nunlil didn’t make it either. They died....they died protecting me.”

BGM - Death of Optimus Prime

Could any part of it gone any differently?

Zaofan greeted Kai, stepping back to offer him a shoulder to lean on.

Several questions passed in Ochazuke's thoughts, ruminating over and over what had transpired here as he stood at the bedside. He'd traced the Judge's weapon shortly after it had struck Held. In that vison arrayed through the desperate use of Creation itself, he'd seen its path traced across stellar distances, meticulously constructed in advance down to the moment.

When he passed the frayed edge of the Lookout's foundation earlier, the damage was the same of what fell down on Reshlan. Burned clean, cast off from a trajectory decided long ago on a determined course. By the power they had obtained for themselves, without little more consideration than fear, they'd decided.

Could any part of it gone any differently? As he'd heard it from Banespell himself, his intentions had apparently been beside his better nature. Hiding in the shadows, fearful of the strength of another, this was the measure to, what? Buy time for what was coming?

"Hey, uh...about Totoma?" Zaofan said, "I brought him back and he seemed a bit...off. Has he been doing any better?"

"Moreover, where is he," Ochazuke said. "He should be here."

Of all the myriad, shadowy things that had cruel intentions for this universe, Evangeline had been a focal point, and rallied many of those cast off from the universe into a second chance. There had been something of an answer, and now...

"Jack and Nunlil shouldn't have had to die," Ochazuke muttered, "In a reasonable universe, none of this should have happened, Ronin."

Truly Kai had taken a risk coming back. It'd be unnecessarily risky for him, were it not that the assailant was currently contained in scraps, cloistered in a capsule within Zaofan's pocket.

"You were her apprentice, though," Zaofan chimed in, "If anyone knows what to do..." and then he let the thought stop.

"...if Anula's still around, she ought to come in as well. I mean, for a long stretch this was her home as well."

Of course, the Earth had inherited the struggles of other worlds and ancient grudges, and had become a battleground. They'd been more fortunate in the past...but had the fighting not gone well, they could still leave.

"We should go," Parsley said. "I can take you to Earth so we can pay our respects to Eva, then to Langal."

That sounded fine. "Alright." She stood and let Parsley put her hand on her shoulder. A moment passed, then they disappeared.



And reappeared within the Lookout. The destruction of the holy platform was extensive. Over half of it was gone, a distant memory from times long gone. She had only been there once, five years ago; constant circumstances prevented her from returning. Regretful, as she never had the chance to meet Eva.

Maiz sighed and stepped inside her bedroom.

As Kai says this, for a single moment, Ochazuke you see something. Just faintly, barely there, a near invisible butterfly moves from the corner of your eye and lands upon EvaÂ’s chest, just above the grevious wound.

As Maiz entered the room, Ochazuke cast a short glance at the Saiyan Guardian while Zaofan supported Kai as they moved to the opposite bedside. Strangely, it was as if the silent air had grown more lifeless the more that gathered to stand over Evangeline where she lay.

The presence of the Saiyans and the Kai stoked a long-dormant sentiment within him, and it had rest inert in the pit of Ochazuke's being for some time. It first manifest when Jagam had arrived, and though the Threshlings' master Auroc was now dead, with the emergence of the Ulthan and the silence of his allies on the quagmire of issues plaguing the universe, the resentment had begun to stir again.

For now, he said nothing, but drew closer in this mixed company as he spot the last Silver Butterfly where it landed. It would not do for this to be illusory... There had been enough dissolution of those false hopes and small grounds gained. Casting his focus about it, he analyzed this remnant, but what he sought from it, even he could not know.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Theme

The first and largest warship pierced the near intangible sea of white clouds that covered the sky above her. Its sheer size shifted the pressure of the air; everything felt heavier and more ominous. She swallowed and watched the ships descend. On the main ship was the strongest power, Tundra. Yet, from the feel of it, it was much lower than what she knew herself to be capable of if she pushed her Super Saiyan form to its limit. He was obviously stronger than Blizz and Cooled by a tremendous margin, who were both in their final forms. She wasn’t sure and couldn’t tell, but she hoped he was in his final form, as well.

She would find out soon enough.

She felt they finally saw her, as the ships slowed their descent. The smaller ships slowed to a stop, while the larger one continued downward. She turned her attention to the larger ship, and nearly missed scores of nameless soldiers pouring out of the smaller ships. Instead of immediately attacking her, they instead formed a perimeter so she couldn’t escape, as if that thought ever once crossed her mind. They were, quite literally, barely blips on her radar. Her gaze cast across the collective of minions. She snorted. She swore she had seen at least half of those guys on Vocado with Letchee and Daroga. “Tundra must have found you bums on clearance.”

“Hmph!”

She flew downward and quickly landed moments after the largest warship did. She waited with bated breath as both the hatch and gangplank opened. The former allowed dozens, if not hundreds of soldiers to pour out and join their brethren as part of the perimeter formed above. The latter was used by a single person. Colored varying shades of light blue with pure white carapaces on his chest, shins, and forearms, the Arcosian was none other than Tundra. A pair of black horns framed his face by pointing downward. A pair of piercing red eyes stared at her as he completed his exit and stepped foot on Sadala’s soil.

There were only a few dozen yards between them. The air filling that empty space felt heavy and tense. Sarada’s heart was racing, thumping like a drum in her chest. This was the moment she had been waiting for for the last year. She had trained for a year with the Archons of Tatenen II with Parsley just for this. Totoma was supposed to help her, but he was dead. She could have had Parsley help, but her services were best used to protect the new colonies. Even though it sounded like the war was finally over on that front, she still wanted the second most powerful Saiyan in the Empire available just in case something went wrong. Besides, this was her fight. She was the Saiyan Queen, their champion. She needed to be able to face any threat and prevail.

She had to go it alone. If she fell... No, she wasn’t going to lose. Not so close to the finish line. She couldn’t.

“Well, hello Monkey!” Tundra greeted with biting joviality. “Quite the escape artist, aren’t you? How else could you somehow survive Sword, Blizz, and Daroga?”

Just hearing that smooth voice and those honeyed words raised her hackles. It reminded her of her conversation with Parsley in the prison years ago. In fact, she compared Parsley’s voice to that of an Arcosian. It was refined and dignified, but still with the noticeable note of malice under those words. “Escape artist? That implies those chumps had any hope of killing me. How many times did you try? That assassin,” she held up one finger, “The Dragon” another finger raised, “and your own children.” A third finger raised, as did a smirk on her lips. “All four are dead, along with Letchee.”

Counting it all back, she realized just how lucky she had been. If Tundra hadn’t given that unorthodox order to spare everyone on Vocado if there was even one Super Saiyan, she would have been dead. She stood no chance against Daroga even as a Super Saiyan. If she didn’t have the form, it would have been a quick slaughter. Thankfully, such a thought was nothing more than a what-if.

“Hmph. Fortune has smile upon you, nothing more. Now, your luck has run out. You face me.” He chuckled and folded his hands behind his back. “Quite the shame, really. You apes have been more useful to me than I dared hope.”

She frowned, both at his statement and his posture. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh? You don’t know? How curious; I know you monkeys do enjoy unearthing the less sordid points of your history.” He chuckled as he gained a self-satisfied smile. “Dear King Otatop IV, I’m quite sure you know of him. I know of him as Prince Otatop, from back when we conversed hundreds of years ago.”

A cold chill ran up her spine. “What the hell are you saying?”

“Who do you think bought up all those planets you exterminated?”

“The Junjo, obviously.”

“And who bought them from the Junjo?” He shook his head at her obvious denial. “It wasn’t hard to twist his enormous pride and natural thirst for conflict toward my own purposes. I merely suggested that the Saiyans had the might to rule the galaxy as kings and he did all the rest. ‘Might Makes Right’, quite the slogan. The rallying cry of the most hated race in the universe! Ohohohoho!! And thanks to you, my empire has doubled, increasing my influence to even the furthest reaches of the galaxy!”

Hundreds of years... countless billions of people slaughtered for profit and to sow fear and terror... all because of him. For years, she and the rest of the Saiyans thought it was Otatop, but he was just a pawn. It was Tundra. Otatop did the work of rallying his people to this damned end, but it was Tundra’s idea. How different would things have been if that meeting had never happened, or if Otatop hadn’t listened or had been stopped by someone before his propaganda could take root? How different would her life be?

She felt her blood beginning to boil. All the worst moments in her childhood were because of the society she was brought up in. One where strength ruled above everything else. The weak were culled or enslaved, stepped on like doormats under the boots of the strong. Her fists clenched so tightly, they trembled from the barely contained rage. He used us as pawns! Sitting in the shadows reaping the benefits of our tyranny while we suffered for it!

“But your King had to ruin it. Bleeding hearts in a den of lions? Bah! What rubbish. He, and you after him, have ruined my enterprise. I would like to think my endeavors this day have been entirely personal, or they would have been if there were any living descendants of that wretch, Vocado. Sadly, young Otatop took my advice a little too seriously and wiped them out. As such, your genocide is purely business. Think of it as... me terminating our contract.”

She felt a pool of energy forming behind him. Before she could properly prepare herself, his arm quickly whipped out, finger extended. A death beam fired from that finger and cut through the air at speeds she could barely comprehend.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

As Maiz entered the room, Ochazuke cast a short glance at the Saiyan Guardian while Zaofan supported Kai as they moved to the opposite bedside. Strangely, it was as if the silent air had grown more lifeless the more that gathered to stand over Evangeline where she lay.

The presence of the Saiyans and the Kai stoked a long-dormant sentiment within him, and it had rest inert in the pit of Ochazuke's being for some time. It first manifest when Jagam had arrived, and though the Threshlings' master Auroc was now dead, with the emergence of the Ulthan and the silence of his allies on the quagmire of issues plaguing the universe, the resentment had begun to stir again.

For now, he said nothing, but drew closer in this mixed company as he spot the last Silver Butterfly where it landed. It would not do for this to be illusory... There had been enough dissolution of those false hopes and small grounds gained. Casting his focus about it, he analyzed this remnant, but what he sought from it, even he could not know.

Maiz kept her distance to allows who knew Eva better to grieve in peace. I thought more would be here, she thought after noting that only a handful showed up. Strangely, she only just realized that only the Saiyans and Inanna returned to Reshlan. The humans were there on Earth. There was no sign of the Arcosian. She supposed he paid his respects and left. Whatever he did had greater effects than Parsley realized, she thought as her eyes drifted to the warhammer in Ochazuke's grasp.

Parsley stepped forward, bowed, then turned to take her leave. Before passing Zaofan, she said, "I'm sorry. She didn't deserve this."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The situation here was not as secure as the colony before. The saiyans, even outnumbered ten-to-one, were holding their own--not surprising--but their neighbors, small... rock creatures, appeared to be more or less useless in a fight. And given that the colony had likely been blind-sided... there were a lot of these rock creatures out in the open.

One invader, actually, took one of the creatures hostage, in an attempt to get an advantage over... her, presumably. She didn't care one whit about the rock creatures, to be perfectly honest, but... it'd piss off the saiyans here if she just treated their likely friends and neighbors as disposable nuisances. Never mind what her family would think.

She raised her hands in a non-threatening surrender. "Now now, don't do anything you'll regret later."

From the sole of her feet, a Diamond Fang emerged, discreetly piercing the ground. There, Tasure pushed it a bit deeper, then willed it to change directions, bending at a 90 degree angle, and continue digging. Once underneath the enemy, she bent the fang again, its deadly blade facing upwards.

And then she struck, extending the diamond fang at breakneck speed, the ki construct erupting from the ground directly beneath the hostage taker. Unfortunately, the idiot already had done something regrettable--picking a fight with her. And also using cowardly tactics like taking a hostage and using them as a shield.

Tundra really knew how to pick his minions, didn't he?

The soldier was cut clean in half by the Diamond Fang and as a result dropped the small rock creature to the ground. She scampered for safety, but not before bowing at Tasure in gratitude.

A section of soldiers broke off from the greater battle and closed in on Tasure. "Kill that Saiyan before it's too late!"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

BGM - Death of Optimus Prime

Could any part of it gone any differently?

Zaofan greeted Kai, stepping back to offer him a shoulder to lean on.

Several questions passed in Ochazuke's thoughts, ruminating over and over what had transpired here as he stood at the bedside. He'd traced the Judge's weapon shortly after it had struck Held. In that vison arrayed through the desperate use of Creation itself, he'd seen its path traced across stellar distances, meticulously constructed in advance down to the moment.

When he passed the frayed edge of the Lookout's foundation earlier, the damage was the same of what fell down on Reshlan. Burned clean, cast off from a trajectory decided long ago on a determined course. By the power they had obtained for themselves, without little more consideration than fear, they'd decided.

Could any part of it gone any differently? As he'd heard it from Banespell himself, his intentions had apparently been beside his better nature. Hiding in the shadows, fearful of the strength of another, this was the measure to, what? Buy time for what was coming?

"Hey, uh...about Totoma?" Zaofan said, "I brought him back and he seemed a bit...off. Has he been doing any better?"

"Moreover, where is he," Ochazuke said. "He should be here."

Of all the myriad, shadowy things that had cruel intentions for this universe, Evangeline had been a focal point, and rallied many of those cast off from the universe into a second chance. There had been something of an answer, and now...

"Jack and Nunlil shouldn't have had to die," Ochazuke muttered, "In a reasonable universe, none of this should have happened, Ronin."

Truly Kai had taken a risk coming back. It'd be unnecessarily risky for him, were it not that the assailant was currently contained in scraps, cloistered in a capsule within Zaofan's pocket.

"You were her apprentice, though," Zaofan chimed in, "If anyone knows what to do..." and then he let the thought stop.

"...if Anula's still around, she ought to come in as well. I mean, for a long stretch this was her home as well."

Of course, the Earth had inherited the struggles of other worlds and ancient grudges, and had become a battleground. They'd been more fortunate in the past...but had the fighting not gone well, they could still leave.





As Maiz entered the room, Ochazuke cast a short glance at the Saiyan Guardian while Zaofan supported Kai as they moved to the opposite bedside. Strangely, it was as if the silent air had grown more lifeless the more that gathered to stand over Evangeline where she lay.

The presence of the Saiyans and the Kai stoked a long-dormant sentiment within him, and it had rest inert in the pit of Ochazuke's being for some time. It first manifest when Jagam had arrived, and though the Threshlings' master Auroc was now dead, with the emergence of the Ulthan and the silence of his allies on the quagmire of issues plaguing the universe, the resentment had begun to stir again.

For now, he said nothing, but drew closer in this mixed company as he spot the last Silver Butterfly where it landed. It would not do for this to be illusory... There had been enough dissolution of those false hopes and small grounds gained. Casting his focus about it, he analyzed this remnant, but what he sought from it, even he could not know.

A faint thrum, a sliver.

Eva’s life energy. A single sliver of it remained. A faint spark of her, flittering about her body.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

She barely managed to raise her own arm enough to block the beam with one of the katchin bracers Ishtar got her for her 17th birthday years ago. The beam ricocheted off the bracer and pierced the ground below her.

It was so fast, she realized. It wasn’t that big a deal; once she turned Super Saiyan, that speed would be more than manageable. That wasn’t her deal.

The problem was that Tundra was only in his first form. She could tell. She had studied these wretched worms in school and knew all about their transformations and what they tended to look like. Final forms were smooth and simple, no horns. First forms were just as small, but with more horns. The gulf between first form and final form was too massive for words to describe.

She needed to end things quickly before he got to his final form.

With that in mind, she exploded forward. She fired a blast to conceal her approach, then quickly cut upward. Tundra dodged predictably, but seemed unaware of where she was. He can’t detect energy! She assumed as much, but receiving confirmation in real time was heartening. She dive-bombed in from above and booted him in the side of the head.

Tundra went flying, but quickly righted himself. He glanced upward.

Sarada did, as well, and bore witness to thousands of nameless soldiers bearing down on her like a massive tidal wave. She flew upward, barreling through them to escape the mass. The soldiers were at least well trained, as they recovered quickly and opened fire on her. The blasts weren’t much more than a nuisance, but a nuisance was all Tundra needed.

He burst toward her, also ignoring the blasts. He thrust his hand forward.

Suddenly, Sarada felt an unseen force overtake her and shove her back. Whatever it was, it kept its hold of her until Tundra was able to catch up to her and kick her hard in the stomach. She coughed up a glob of blood just before he booted her into the jungle.

She crashed through several trees, then skidded to a stop in the middle of an empty clearing. A pair of natives jumped back, then cautiously crept toward her. One of them grunted and patted her on the head.

Tundra landed softly. “Ohohoho! Well, well, what have we here? Some of your kinsmen, eh, Monkey?” He fired a blast, seeking to incinerate the two natives.

Sarada quickly jumped up and interposed herself between them and the blast. It wasn’t powerful enough to push her back, but she did notice it. “GET OUT OF HERE!” she said before transforming. Her golden aura showered over the two natives and Tundra, and filled the clearing with aureate light. Before Tundra could react, she burst forward and buried her fist in his abdomen, lifting him off his feet.

Another punch sent him flying out of the clearing and back through the jungle. She quickly followed after him so he couldn’t even have a second to catch his breath and even think of transforming. Any soldiers that had the ill-informed idea of trying to delay her by jumping in her way were splattered like bugs on a windshield. She tore through them with ease and closed in on Tundra’s prone form.

He noticed her and fired a death beam at her face. It struck her dead on and did absolutely nothing. She was nearly on him when he just managed to get his hands up. Again, she felt that invisible force pushing against her. Instead of shoving her back, it shoved him back instead.

Tundra careened through the air in a controlled motion. Sarada felt his power spike as a purple aura burst into existence and enfolded around him.

Damn it, I’m too late!

She had no choice but to watch him shift into his second form. His body expanded and grew, both up and out. His muscles bulged, nearly tripling in size. Other than mass and height, he looked mostly the same. The most important change was his power. He was easily over twice as strong as he was in his first form, which was par for the course.

Tundra righted himself and landed on his feet. Sarada landed nearby and immediately burst forward to engage him. Her first punch was blocked, but she still managed to push him back. Their fists blurred, punches either blocked or parried and countered if the opportunity was open.

Sarada immediately noticed that despite the fact that Tundra had doubled his power when he unlocked his second form, he was still weaker than she was. She wasn’t sure how much longer that advantage would hold up if he managed to get into his third and, Kami forbid, his final form. It only reaffirmed her resolve to end things quickly.

They disengaged and separated. “So, this is the power of a Super Saiyan,” Tundra remarked. She noticed that his voice was much deeper in that form. “I dare say I’m disappointed, assuming this is the extent of your so-called ‘legendary’ strength.”

She narrowed her eyes, then cut her gaze upward briefly. She noticed, of all things, the natives battling the soldiers. Damn it, I told those two to get them out of here! She supposed it didn’t matter. The natives were far stronger, and it kept the soldiers out of the way. If they were busy trying to not die, they couldn’t harass her. A win/win, she supposed.

When she returned her attention to Tundra, he was gone. She sensed him behind her and kicked her foot out to kick him in the abdomen the moment he reappeared. He was sent flying back and crash-landed into a clump of trees.

She hurried to reengage him, only to quickly cut upward to avoid the massive dome of energy that suddenly erupted from the pile of splintered trees that resulted from Tundra’s landing. Just under the roar of ki tearing through trees and earth alike was the roar of burgeoning frustration. Tundra had clearly underestimated her, a consequence of only being able to measure a fighter by what he saw and not what was hidden just underneath the surface. If he was, he would have known that she still had a long way to go before she reached the extent of her power.

The dome dissipated. All that was left was a massive crater, with Tundra in the center.

Sarada landed, a smarmy smirk on her lips. “What’s wrong? Not winning as easily as you thought?” Her aura exploded outward again. “If you thought that was bad, just wait!” Her power erupted like a recently awakened volcano. If she had fought Tundra a few days ago, as was the plan as she and Totoma were waiting on the Lookout just before those fucking Ulthan fucked everything up, she would have drawn nearly even with Tundra’s second form, and she would have definitely been royally fucked. She would have had Totoma with her to back her up, but the two of them may have barely been enough if he decided to kick it up to the third form.

As it stood, she was so far above Tundra, she was subconsciously holding back just to get a good fight out of it. She had been waiting for this moment for years. Given how powerful his henchmen were when they visited Vocado last year, she assumed he was way stronger than they were. Ever since that realization hit, she had been looking forward to facing him. To say she was disappointed wasn’t quite right, but...

It was a struggle to reconcile her knowing that the fight needed to end quickly with her natural desire for a good fight. She supposed she could toy around with him for a little while longer. He deserved it for fucking around not only with her life, but the lives of every person in her Empire. Before she killed him, she was going to exact revenge for every life he took, most of all Parsley’s and Rutaba’s.

Her power exploded outward, showering the immediate area with dust and dirt from the ground being ripped up.

“What?! How?!”

She heard Tundra’s stunned shout from within the cloud of dust. She knew he didn’t know just how much stronger she had gotten after powering up, but he had to have some idea. Even absent ki sense, reading the environment was a sure way of gauging someone’s power after a display like that.

She disappeared and reappeared behind him within the dust cloud. He had no idea where she was when he flew upward out of the cloud to search for her. She followed him and punched him in the kidney, then again in the back of the head. As Tundra stumbled forward, she blurred and reappeared in front of him and caught him with a backfist. She heard his pained grunts and felt herself smile.

She kicked him into the air and quickly chased after his fleeing form. She caught up to, and overtook, him, then impaled his spine on a vicious knee.

His momentum was halted abruptly, and painful, then transferred downward as he careened down to the ground. With a mighty crash, he landed, creating another massive crater that melded with the one he created a short while ago.

Sarada landed nearby. “As much as I’m enjoying mopping the floor with your ass,” she said as she folded her arms over her chest, “it’d be nice if you, you know, actually did something to make me sweat. I’m not even trying!”

Tundra growled as he picked himself up off the ground. “Gloat while you can, ape. I haven’t even begun to fight!” His aura once again appeared. “Behold, my third form!”

Sarada allowed him to transform, mainly because she found Arcosians’ third forms to be absolutely hilarious. Not only was it not really any stronger than the second, but it was so fucking ugly. Their heads looked like fucked up dildos.

His transformation complete, Tundra sneered and stepped forward. It was far more grotesque than she anticipated. The elongated head was there, but so were a pair of small, stubby arms for some reason. The horns on his shoulders grew to gargantuan proportions, and he also grew an extra two pairs of horns along the length of his head.

As she thought, his power barely improved, if it did at all.

“Well, monkey, shall we continue?”

“Hey, you know your head looks like a dildo,” she commented.

[grampagen]

Maiz kept her distance to allows who knew Eva better to grieve in peace. I thought more would be here, she thought after noting that only a handful showed up. Strangely, she only just realized that only the Saiyans and Inanna returned to Reshlan. The humans were there on Earth. There was no sign of the Arcosian. She supposed he paid his respects and left. Whatever he did had greater effects than Parsley realized, she thought as her eyes drifted to the warhammer in Ochazuke's grasp.

Parsley stepped forward, bowed, then turned to take her leave. Before passing Zaofan, she said, "I'm sorry. She didn't deserve this."

"All she wanted to do was help," Zaofan sniffled, "And not just the Earth, either. Anyone who happened to come by..."

Dabbing his eyes, he lost the words for a moment. Evangeline tried to guide their humble planet from a path of destruction, when time and time again it was visited upon them or grew sick from within. There was more than survival at stake there, he just knew it.

"It's-it's not right. I don't know why things got so bad, but the way powerful people see everything as a threat...it's not right at all."

A faint thrum, a sliver.

Eva’s life energy. A single sliver of it remained. A faint spark of her, flittering about her body.

"Zaofan."

The small spark flittered there. Usually there would be a small number projected from the Lookout down to the Earth's surface, and an avatar of hers would manifest. That's how they'd all met her in the first place.

As he looked it over, he wondered if this the medium of some last message? Or would it be, hope, against all hope, enough to revive her?

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"All she wanted to do was help," Zaofan sniffled, "And not just the Earth, either. Anyone who happened to come by..."

Dabbing his eyes, he lost the words for a moment. Evangeline tried to guide their humble planet from a path of destruction, when time and time again it was visited upon them or grew sick from within. There was more than survival at stake there, he just knew it.

"It's-it's not right. I don't know why things got so bad, but the way powerful people see everything as a threat...it's not right at all."

To understand how Zaofan felt, Parsley only needed to imagine how she would feel if Maiz were in Eva's position. The horrible, heart-rending pain she would have felt was indescribable and she was thankful it was only a bid to put herself in his shoes, rather than reality.

She squeezed his shoulder. "I won't pretend I was close to her, but she was a good woman." After all, she still welcomed Parsley into the fold even before her reformation, and allowed Sarada to use the dragonballs to bring her back to life. That alone showed her the kind of person Eva was.

"Just remember that the Dragon clan on Namek will eventually make a new set of dragonballs. We can wish our friends back then, or at least Eva."

"I can make a set, as well," Maiz said quietly. "It's about time we had our own, I suppose."

Parsley nodded.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Tundra snarled and fired a death beam at her. Then another and another. A continuous stream of death beams erupted from all four of his index fingers. Sarada dodged easily every time, which only added to his frustration. He burst forward and tried to engage her in close quarters.

He had an extra set of arms, but they were so short they might as well have not been there. He could have fired death beams from them, but every time he did, they barely scratched her armor. With her defense on high due to her having to defend his punches, she didn’t even notice.

At that point, she was toying with him and had been ever since she transformed. He had been thirsty to fight a Super Saiyan, she guessed to prove that he was stronger. The problem was, he wasn’t. At that point, she had her doubts that even his final form was a match for her. Matter of fact, I should go ahead and let him transform into his final form just to prove that. She smirked to herself and caught his incoming fists, then pulled him in and kneed him in the face.

Tundra flew back and skidded to a stopped, carving out a long trench in the ground in his wake. Purple blood poured from his mouth and down his chin as his snarled and rose to his feet. “This... this...”

Her smirk grew into a sneer. “What’s wrong? Can’t believe a ‘monkey’ is whooping your ass?” She chuckled, then outright laughed at him. “You should have had your goons kill me back when me and Parsley barely could stand up to them. But you let me live, and even gave me years to train. Thanks, by the way.”

“Trained? For years?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Pushups, sit-ups, and plenty of juice.” She powered up again, this time pushing her power to its absolute limit. Aureate power filled her every pore, her every cell. Her muscles bulged slightly as they hardened from the added power coursing through them. Her aura exploded outward like a tempered wildfire; ferocious, but completely under control. She let out a mighty bellow and let her power explode outward. Like a golden tower, it stretched upward into the sky, like an ethereal monument to her strength. “Face it, not even your final form can beat me.”

She exploded forward and kneed him in the face again, then grabbed the elongated part of his head and flipped him head over heels. Wasting no time and not giving him the chance to recover, she quickly caught up to him and began the beating anew. Every time she found a pound of flesh, she exploited it for maximum damage. She could feel his bones breaking under her heavy blows. Even as bulked up as his current form was, he still stood no chance against her vastly superior offense.

They streaked across the sky, her attacking with impunity and him scrambling to offer a defense that amounted to paper mache. She couldn’t believe she was actually nervous about fighting that clown. She wasn’t even going that hard. She hadn’t even thrown an energy blast outside of generic ones that wouldn’t have amounted to anything to a fighter of an actual competent caliber. Instead, Tundra fell victim again and again to the most conservative of her offensive arsenal.

“Well, now I’m bored,” she declared as she put a little space between the two of them. They were still in the midst of combat and were streaking across the sky. Their hyper strong bodies barreled through soldier and native alike; she made a concerted effort to avoid the latter while splattering the former like insects. “Time to end this.” Her hands cupped together, and a familiar ball of violet energy pooled around them. “Goodbye. Galick Gun.... FIRE!!”

Tundra let out a harrowing roar as the Galick Gun struck him dead on with zero attempt to defend himself. Like a purple rocket, he careened down toward the planet, where the blast exploded in the middle of an ocean with a deafening explosion. A nacreous mist from the ocean’s water rained down on them. The blast created a massive void in the seemingly unending body of water. Somewhere down there, Tundra’s body was floating. She could just barely feel his energy, so he wasn’t dead.

Not yet, anyway.

A sudden explosion erupted from the void in the water. White in color, the energy being expended from the explosion - or perhaps causing it - was tremendous. It’s magnitude could be measured, but she couldn’t believe it when she managed to get her head wrapped around it. “It... it can’t be...” It was Tundra. She didn’t know how, but he managed to survive her Galick Gun long enough to finish his final transformation. The power he was putting out wasn’t just beyond what he had been putting out up to that point in any of his previous forms, it was beyond anything she had been putting out.

It shouldn’t have been possible. She was so much stronger than he was just a few moments ago! Why didn’t she kill him right away like she determined she needed to before the fight even started? Stupid. Fucking stupid!

The eruption dissipated, leaving nothing but a cloud of superheated vapors from the ocean water that had been quickly evaporated. Other than a soft hiss of the water continuing to evaporate from the lingering heat, it was deathly quiet. The battle between the natives and the soldiers had halted. Everyone was waiting with bated breath for Tundra to reemerge.

She swallowed nervously as the shadowy outline of a figure became visible through the mist. It was him; there was no one else it couldn’t have been. No one else on the planet came even close to her... except him.

The figure floated slowly out of the mist until he was fully visible. His form, like all Arcosians in their final form, was small like his first form, but much sleeker. Not a horn was to be found. All his edges had been rounded out, any superfluous bits and pieces were gone, leaving only a sleek and simple physical appearance. The piercing, demonic red eyes remained.

Tundra floated silently several hundred yards away from Sarada. Despite the distance, it felt like they were standing right next to each other. Any gap that had been between them was gone, evaporated like countless gallons of ocean water.

Sarada kept her eyes on him. While they were about even, she didn’t dare take her eyes off him even for a second. Unlike before when they bounced off her armor with little to no trouble, a Death Beam at that level was going to kill her without doubt.

Tundra apparently wasn’t going to give her the same consideration. His crimson gaze drifted from Sarada to the natives that were interspersed around her. “Hm.” His pupils began glowing. It was only a second’s worth of warning before he struck. A pair of beams shot out of his eyes and zipped right toward her. Before she could react, the beams shifted, curling around around and continuing unabated. The beams pierced native after native, punching through them then curling and twisting through the air to pierce the next one.

Sarada was useless, unable to do anything as the natives that had been fighting to keep these soldiers off her back were killed with contemptuous ease. When the last was killed, the beam dissipated. The bodies, numbering in the dozens, fell in unison and landed like flies caught in a cloud of bug spray.

“...no...” Just like that, dozens of innocent people were dead. In a blink, their lives were snuffed out, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“Hm? What’s this?” Tundra’s voice came from behind her.

Sarada hadn’t, not once, taken her eyes off him. Yet, he was behind her. Her eyes widened, which proved to be the only thing she could do before he buried his fist in her kidney. She tried to shrug off the pain and sluggishly turned to retaliate, only to find him absent. “Wha-?”

“Your confidence hasn’t waned already, has it, Monkey?” Tundra was floating approximately in the same spot where he had been previously.

“Not a chance!” She shot toward him, fists aglow with crimson power. Her body blurred, her fists carrying her still confident power.

Tundra’s smirk never wavered as he defended himself. His body moved the minimal distance necessary for Sarada to barely miss. Her attacks were measured, so her misses didn’t leave her open for long, but he still never capitalized on those openings. Instead, he opted to casually dodge around her. “Heh.” He leaped away in a heartbeat, putting dozens of yards between them in the blink of an eye. “You seem to have some grasp of how outclassed you are now,” he said as he slowly turned to face her.

“I’m not outclassed at all!” It wasn’t happening! It couldn’t have been! There was no way some two-bit would-be despot had completely dwarfed her in power. There was no way he was that much stronger than her. It wasn’t possible. She could feel it. Their power was just about even. There was no way, no reason he should have been dancing around her.

Yet, he was. She managed to get close enough to engage him again. Once again, her measured attacks were so frustratingly close to connecting, only to barely miss at the last possible second. Her eyes were wide with fury and growing frustration.

She barked out an unintelligible cry and unleashed a massive energy wave. It engulfed as much space as the eye could see; there was no way he would have been able to dodge. In fact, it looked like he got swept up in it, as he didn’t reemerge before it detonated, taking out miles of forest in the process.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"All she wanted to do was help," Zaofan sniffled, "And not just the Earth, either. Anyone who happened to come by..."

Dabbing his eyes, he lost the words for a moment. Evangeline tried to guide their humble planet from a path of destruction, when time and time again it was visited upon them or grew sick from within. There was more than survival at stake there, he just knew it.

"It's-it's not right. I don't know why things got so bad, but the way powerful people see everything as a threat...it's not right at all."



"Zaofan."

The small spark flittered there. Usually there would be a small number projected from the Lookout down to the Earth's surface, and an avatar of hers would manifest. That's how they'd all met her in the first place.

As he looked it over, he wondered if this the medium of some last message? Or would it be, hope, against all hope, enough to revive her?

There is a fragile piece of energy present, and Ochazuke thinks there is a possibility it could be used to revive her.

But its faint.