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

[grampagen]

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.

"The Namekians have already lost their Elder to the Judge for no more than guarding their craft. Do this, and you'd be putting a target on your heads."

Ochazuke did not say this dismissively, nor lightly.

"The heinous things people will do for the sake of a wish...they are already in of themselves deeply unnatural. Perhaps in some way, the Ulthan were right to fear it."

Just how many times had the Earth's Dragonballs been used for the sake of the world that bore them? Over the years the sky had darkened over this blue world to serve the interests outside of this sphere, the swift ritual taken for granted as a way to escape fretful consequence, time and again. Would that Tiamat did not linger in the shroud of another Dragon here on Earth.

"The Remnant's manifestation, that was the end result of one such creature escaping his fate," he continued, "Koorimaru sought to undo his loss, but that was not enough to slake his addiction to power."

Even with enemies pit against enemies, at this point it was difficult to discern the path forward.

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.

Perhaps because of this, at that very moment, Ochazuke moved to act despite his latest words.

"Zaofan. Kai," he said, "A part of her still lingers."

The chef dried his tears. Steeling his face, he rubbed his palms together as he gathered ki within them.

"The damage is worse than Totoma's...but still, we have to...try..."

Whatever would transpire in the next moments, the defiance of the dark deeds rendered here would not be done through a chance gathering of baubles, but in an act of will. "Concentrate."

A subtly aura of meditative focus swept from Ochazuke to those gathered, embuing the collective effort with Kei'i-Ken to bolster their powers of concentration. Zaofan slowly gathered his ki to feed the Phoenix Resurrection, and started by finding the ki meridians within Evangeline's cold flesh.

Until this was over, I swor to you I would not desist.

As his brother went to work, Ochazuke captured the last butterfly, using the Phoenix Fire to guide its silvery essence and bolster its presence to what anchored it to the world of the living while it remained.

"Do not be idle, Ronin," he said, "restore the worst of her wounds."

I'd made a promise.

"...and together, maybe...we can bring back our Guardian."

And so did you.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"The Namekians have already lost their Elder to the Judge for no more than guarding their craft. Do this, and you'd be putting a target on your heads."

Ochazuke did not say this dismissively, nor lightly.

"The heinous things people will do for the sake of a wish...they are already in of themselves deeply unnatural. Perhaps in some way, the Ulthan were right to fear it."

Just how many times had the Earth's Dragonballs been used for the sake of the world that bore them? Over the years the sky had darkened over this blue world to serve the interests outside of this sphere, the swift ritual taken for granted as a way to escape fretful consequence, time and again. Would that Tiamat did not linger in the shroud of another Dragon here on Earth.

"The Remnant's manifestation, that was the end result of one such creature escaping his fate," he continued, "Koorimaru sought to undo his loss, but that was not enough to slake his addiction to power."

Even with enemies pit against enemies, at this point it was difficult to discern the path forward.

"We've had a target on our heads for five hundred years," Parsley answered. "This is just one more thing. Besides, several of our worlds were invaded recently. There are people who need to be wished back. Including my cousin." If seeing Rutaba again meant being targeted for yet another thing, so be it. They were used to be attacked. She and Sarada had grown stronger since Auroc's attack.

On the other hand, if someone else like the Judge decided he wanted to dragonballs, there was little they could do to stop him. Losing Maiz like the humans lost Eva would have been even more heart-rending, as the woman raised Parsley from an infant. But, the only other option was to let Rutaba stay dead, which was not an option.

They were at a crossroads.

"We'll have to discuss it with Sarada," Maiz said. "In the end, it's her decision."

Remnant's release was a bothersome thing, but there was nothing they could do about it at that point. A God of Destruction, even one as diminished as it may have been, was well beyond their scope. It would take years of training and for them to achieve godhood to even begin to challenge him. She supposed one thing they could do was find Asha'rah, but saving her from what Parsley felt was a just punishment almost seemed unfair. It was the fool goddess' fault Indar'en was even in that position to begin with. If it were up to her, she would leave her to her fate; doing that, sadly, would only cause more problems.

"Our options seem limited," she responded. "I have a few stops to make in other universes. I'll ask some questions and see if I can gather some leads." Surely Night or Caliban knew something of Remnant, Genesis, or Eldfen. Night surely could tell her a great many things about the elder dragon. "For now, my main concern is making sure my people are safe. Sarada's battle with Tundra should have started by now."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

In the ruins of the Lookout, in a small bedroom, three men worked simultaneously as Parsley and Maiz watched.

Zaofan found the meridians, pushing energy into them even as Ronin Kai desperately attempted to heal her wound. He was not a traditional healer, more an elemental one, but he did the best he could and slowly, the wound does close.

Ochazuke guides the last butterfly to reside within her, keeping its fragile energy from sputtering out.


For a long moment, nothing happens. Then slowly, slowly pallor returns to her cheeks, her chest rises and her eyes open as she gasps.


She lives.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Shit,” she muttered when she realized what she had done. She had no idea if those forests contained anything sacred to the native Saiyans, and Saiyans in general. If there was, it was all gone. No real big deal; once a set of dragonballs had been created, or recreated, she planned on using them to restore the planet from any damage done by the battle. It was the least she could do. I need to keep calm, she realized. Getting pissed off and making stupid mistakes wasn’t going to win her the fight. It was only going to get her killed. I need to fight smarter. Take advantage of his disadvantages.

The moment she came to that realization, what she feared to be the case was proven to be the reality. Tundra had indeed gotten swept up in the blast, but he was absolutely unscathed.

“No way,” she mumbled.

“I so hope that wasn’t the best the ‘mighty’ Saiyan Queen has to offer,” he said. Then, he vanished.

****! She had no idea where he went, but she didn’t want to be out in the open. She did the only thing she could think of, and quickly flew into the forest. He couldn’t sense energy, so hiding in the dense forests was the best way to go. It also reminded her of something she did during the very last part of her training with the Archons on Tatenen II. It was during her trial with the Wood Archon, Adhmad. She had to find it in the dense forest, where it could blend in with the environment. Surviving meant having to trust her primary senses, namely her hearing. Succeeding also meant having to come up with a new application for an old tech on the fly. One she resolved to save again for just this occasion.

She dissipated her aura and flitted deep into the forest. Every so often, she left globule of energy hidden on the forest floor to be used very soon. She also let loose smaller orbs of ki that floated in the air like bits of iridescent pollen. Everything was working out thus far.

She could feel Tundra closing in on the forest and smirked to herself. Perfect.

Those globules of ki she left behind? The first one was fired like a torpedo from an underwater submarine. It cut through the forest and hurtled toward Tundra to make it seem like she was in that area; in reality, she was nowhere close.

As predicted, an explosion cut through the forest right where the first missile was launched. Hehe. She continued deeper into the forest, leaving ki pollen behind. She also let loose larger orbs of ki higher above, near the canopy of the forest. Those orbs were connected together with energy tendrils, recreating the ki web she used against Adhmad during her trials. That time, it was to hem it in; this time, she planned on catching Tundra off-guard. An easy feat given his lack of even the most basic of ki sense.

She let loose another missile to buy her more time.

“Hiding, Monkey?!” she heard him bellow from far above just before another section of forest was destroyed.

She grimaced, but kept moving unabated. Almost out of forest. At least the natives are out of the way. She finished laying her traps on both extreme heights of the forest, along the floor and up near the canopy, and then laid in wait. She could feel Tundra closing in, as if preparing to enter the forest himself. She breathed in and steeled herself.

Like a wild bull, he barreled into the forest recklessly and immediately triggered a section of the web. “Wha-?” he managed before being caught up in a ground-shaking explosion. He was knocked for a loop and fell out of the air and to the ground, where he subsequently triggered a section of the pollen. That also exploded like a million explosive grenades detonating all at once.

He growled angrily and shielded himself as he moved forward to escape, only to find that he kept triggering the pollen. Countless explosions besieged him, peppering his body relentlessly.

“ENOUGH!!” An unseen force erupt from his hand. It barreled through the forest, utterly obliterating everything in its wake.

****! Sarada managed to get out of the way before she was caught up in... whatever it was. It was only because she measure which section of trees were being destroyed directly that she managed to safely get out of the way. What is that? She had no time to figure it out. Her plan had been undone by his short patience, so she had to improvise.

She sent the final missile at him to distract him. She saw it hit directly, but have no impact. The distraction was more than enough for her to score a vicious knee to the back of the head, then a thunderous kick to his chin that sent him flying out of the forest. She quickly caught up to him and landed a double-booted kick to his face that not only halted his momentum, but nearly knocked him out of the air.

Tundra was thrown for a loop and thus wasn’t able to defend himself when Sarada closed in to assail him again. This time, her blows landed solidly and crumpled his form like a cheap tent. She finished her truculent assault with a tremendous kick that sent Tundra hurtling into the ground like a meteor from space.

Once again, she refused to give him a chance to recollect himself. She quickly closed in on him, sending a pair of blasts ahead of her to conceal in approach. Unlike the last time she tried it, she wasn’t fast enough.

A blast erupted from the cloud of dust Tundra’s crash landing kicked up. It was nowhere close to actually hitting her, but the power it contained was beyond anything she had ever felt.

...no... that wasn’t quite true. She had felt it before, a few days prior.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

Tundra rose to his feet. He looked none the worse for where despite her scoring countless free hits on him. “Ohohoho! Very clever, Ape. Though, that you’re now resorting to underhanded gorilla tactics at this early juncture makes me fear you’ve already reached the end of your short rope.” He smiled and shook his head. “Maybe now you’ve finally realized how outclassed you really are.”

She gawked briefly, then let out a low growl.

“No?” He raised a single finger. “Allow me to demonstrate.” He turned and turned his attention to the moon that had been slowly setting under the horizon as early morning had been giving way to the afternoon sun. With a minimalistic gesture - a literally twitch of his index finger - he... did nothing. Nothing happened right away, yet she felt his power spike to heights she had only ever experienced twice before.

Totoma and Parlsey.

No... it isn’t possible...

He wasn’t quite on their level, but he was close enough to send a fearful chill down Sarada’s spine. Then, her eyes looked upward at the moon. He didn’t appear to have done anything, but something had happened. The moon... the moon had been split clean in half!

How? All he had done was gesture... and the moon was suddenly in two pieces.

Tundra chuckled and returned his attention to Sarada. “Now, I must make a confession, I’m afraid. It seems you’ve been doing your best, while I haven’t. You see, I’ve only been using around 20% of my full power this entire time I’ve been in my final form.”

Her eyes bulged out of her head. “Twenty... percent...?” He was lying. He had to have been. She hoped beyond all hope that it was all a ploy to psyche her out, to get in her head and make her fight more desperately than she needed to.

Deep down, though, she knew it wasn’t.

When his power spiked right before that demonstration, she felt a power that was far beyond anything he was displaying at the moment. She couldn’t put a number to it, but she didn’t have to. It was beyond his present power, and beyond hers.

“That’s right. I do apologize for the utter lack of battle decorum I’ve displayed. You see, I’m actually quite inexperienced with combat.” He flashed a thin, menacing smile, one that sent an icy cold chill up her spine. “Allow me to rectify that disrespectful approach right now by fighting at 50%!” Suddenly, his power jumped up tremendously.

She couldn’t even react before his fist was buried in her abdomen. Two more punches nearly caved her chest in, then a kick to the arm snapped it in half with ease. Pain shot through every point of impact, screaming in agony before her lungs could absorb enough air to do it literally.

Saiyan Grit

Her body worked overtime to keep herself together as Tundra continued to rain devastating hits on her. Pieces of her snapped, broke, and shattered, then healed to something resembling full integrity soon after. The only issue was her healing didn’t restore the stamina she had lost up to that point by fighting, only the stamina lost due to her injuries. At least her cuts closed all the way and her broken bones set and healed properly. It kept her going, but didn’t help beyond that.

She was kicked in the stomach hard. She felt like she was going to puke, but never got the chance before she was slammed into the ground. She had landed head first and felt dazed and dizzy. Her vision was blackened around the edges and everything was blurry. Tundra was incoming, she could feel him closing in fast. She had to get out of the way, had to get back to her feet before he got there.

It was too late.

He landed by driving his knee at full speed into the base of her spine. My legs... I can’t feel my legs! All feeling in her lower body disappeared as she screamed in utter agony. The fear... no, the terror that tinged that agonized scream sounded so foreign coming out of her mouth. She feared no one; no man, beast, monster, or so-called god. A normal mortal like Tundra? She would never quiver in fear.

Tundra’s tail wrapped around her neck, squeezing tightly and suffocating her. She was lifted up in the air and left completely vulnerable. Her cape was torn from her armor, allowing him to punch her in the kidneys.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The first blow shattered her armor. She felt her body crumble and break with each successive blow. Every time her kidneys were struck with impunity, she grunted and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The front of her armor was stained crimson with her own blood. Saiyan Grit worked overtime to heal her wounds, but as soon as she healed, the damage was reapplied just as painfully, if not more so.

She could do nothing to defend herself. Everything was getting blurry and dark. She didn’t know if it was the blood loss or lack of air. Maybe it was both.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was in way over her head. She should have shoved her anger toward Parsley aside and had her come with her. With her magic and practicality, the fight would have been over within the first five minutes. Actually, Tundra would have been killed before he even stepped foot out of his ship. But she didn’t, and she was paying for it.

Mercifully, or perhaps because he was bored, Tundra relented. Slowly, she was turned around until she was facing him. “For a moment, I nearly questioned my own wisdom,” he said. His words were barely audible over her own labored breathing and the rattling in her chest. “Sending minions to test your measure was a risky maneuver, though Daroga and Letchee didn’t fail me.”

She remembered the message she had been given from Daroga nearly the moment she woke up after her encounter with him well.

Daroga helped Letchee to his feet, then pointed at a random Saiyan. “Inform your Queen when she awakens. In around one year, give or take, Lord Tundra himself with arrive to this world to finish what we started. Know that the Saiyan race will not survive his attention. Cherish your final days.”

Those prophetic words had come so close to being fulfilled at that very moment. Every world in the Saiyan empire, over a dozen, had been under siege by Tundra’s vast army. Vocado had already been destroyed, as had Turrip. She feared that other worlds would be destroyed. Ruco had been saved by Avoca and Tasure, against all possible odds, so there was that. Plus Parsley was working on defending the newer colonies against the invaders. They had a chance. But, it would have been all for not if she lost this battle. Sarada had to win.

She had to!

With every ounce of strength she had left in her broken and battered body, she threw a punch.

It was caught with ease. “Oh? Some fight left in you, eh?” He squeezed down on her fist until the bones in her hand crumbled. At hearing her pained groan, he smiled. “It’s quite a shame you have to die right now. I would rather spare you until your empire is completely in ashes. Only then, once very single horrid ape has been expunged from this universe would I allow you to die. Sadly, I’m far too practical for such theatrics.” He sighed and shrugged. “Oh well. At least you’ll die knowing that your people will die fighting. That is, after all, what your monkeys prefer, right? To die fighting? Ohohohoho!!”

With a casual gesture, her heart exploded out of her chest and landed in his waiting hand. Then, he forced her mouth open and shoved her heart down her throat. “Goodbye, Monkey. Enjoy your eternal stay in Hell.”

She could only gurgle sadly in response.

“Quite hard to swallow, I know.” He cackled gleefully as he booted her away.

[grampagen]

In the ruins of the Lookout, in a small bedroom, three men worked simultaneously as Parsley and Maiz watched.

Zaofan found the meridians, pushing energy into them even as Ronin Kai desperately attempted to heal her wound. He was not a traditional healer, more an elemental one, but he did the best he could and slowly, the wound does close.

Ochazuke guides the last butterfly to reside within her, keeping its fragile energy from sputtering out.


For a long moment, nothing happens. Then slowly, slowly pallor returns to her cheeks, her chest rises and her eyes open as she gasps.


She lives.

The last spark of the Guardian that yet lingered was a testament to her will. It was faint, but some part of her clung to the mortal shell. Like Totoma, all it needed was guidance, a place to go, and a reason to stay.

After the concert of reconstruction, guiding and stoking the life back into Evangeline, Zaofan leaned forward on his hands as he leaned on the bedside with a sigh of relief.

Ochazuke nod slowly, surveying Evangeline, and rest a hand on her shoulder as she rose, silently surveying the subtle condition of her spirit.

"Easy. You've been through enough already, but your watch has not yet ended."

By all appearances, her revival had gone as planned. Zaofan smiled as his shoulders sagged, but it faded the moment Ochazuke exchanged a look with him.

Appearances, they knew, could be deceiving...

"We've had a target on our heads for five hundred years," Parsley answered. "This is just one more thing. Besides, several of our worlds were invaded recently. There are people who need to be wished back. Including my cousin." If seeing Rutaba again meant being targeted for yet another thing, so be it. They were used to be attacked. She and Sarada had grown stronger since Auroc's attack.

On the other hand, if someone else like the Judge decided he wanted to dragonballs, there was little they could do to stop him. Losing Maiz like the humans lost Eva would have been even more heart-rending, as the woman raised Parsley from an infant. But, the only other option was to let Rutaba stay dead, which was not an option.

They were at a crossroads.

"We'll have to discuss it with Sarada," Maiz said. "In the end, it's her decision."

Remnant's release was a bothersome thing, but there was nothing they could do about it at that point. A God of Destruction, even one as diminished as it may have been, was well beyond their scope. It would take years of training and for them to achieve godhood to even begin to challenge him. She supposed one thing they could do was find Asha'rah, but saving her from what Parsley felt was a just punishment almost seemed unfair. It was the fool goddess' fault Indar'en was even in that position to begin with. If it were up to her, she would leave her to her fate; doing that, sadly, would only cause more problems.

"Our options seem limited," she responded. "I have a few stops to make in other universes. I'll ask some questions and see if I can gather some leads." Surely Night or Caliban knew something of Remnant, Genesis, or Eldfen. Night surely could tell her a great many things about the elder dragon. "For now, my main concern is making sure my people are safe. Sarada's battle with Tundra should have started by now."

"I appreciate the gesture, but what are you doing here, then?" Ochazuke said. "You have your duty to tend to. We have ours. We will gather the seven, and when your fight is over, we'll bring back those who were lost."

Leaning to the Saiyans, he added rather pointedly, "I'd caution you to not take the power of a wish for granted. It is not a thing to be seized on a whim."

After all, everything that had transpired since the dawn of time had been the result of a cruel ambition to remake reality. Those who now encroached upon seizing this sort of power for themselves now began to emerge from the depths of all the universe, damning all else that stood in their path.

"In the meantime, I'll go through that tome you'd taken from Auroc. He knew something was coming, but even the power he consolidated was fit for little more than hiding from it. Now that we know there are others watching, soon we'll have to take the fight to them."

A small, joyless chuckle escaped Ochazuke.

"With the Oni departed to her clandestine works, it falls to us to make up the lost ground. Be it as it may that perhaps she is unique in her role as Destroyer, it is our universe. We live in it, and so we shall have to fight for it."

So much to yet to do. The wheels had been in motion since before his reckoning. Yet it was this imperfect Creation, this legacy of primordial savagery and cold, celestial indifference that they had inherited. No longer were the divisions of space and planets sufficient to divide them, for it was no longer any one world's fight. It fell to all of them who could to invoke change where they could.

"The Ulthan will not be idle. Rest assured, I will find them, and they will pay for what they've done," he said. "And then there's the issue of a Parasite in Angelic vestments."

Somewhere in the ether on a Forsworn world build on the bones and decomposed flesh of Guardians, the renegade angel hid, plotting ever since Asha'rah's war of creation. That was the last thing Ochazuke had been preparing for before departing with Held's escort to Reshlan.

"We will find Sakin. And then I intend to kill him."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Eva nods.

Her energy, her demeanor, and that bit of Creational energy within Ochazuke all seem to agree: she’s back.

Eva coughs and looks at them.

“Thank you. Wasn’t sure how much longer...I could linger.”

She shakes her head, her voice intoning as it did when she plucked at Fate’s strings.

“We have two problems: In one years time something....something is going to happen. I don’t think it’s on Earth, but something is coming. A reckoning. Remnant, Sakin, these Ulthan.......something is going to come to a head, and Asha’rah will be there. So will Genesis, so will others. Second, my dragonballs were banished by that worm, Alakazah. They are not on Earth presently. We will need to send someone to retrieve them with Jinzi’s dragon radar.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"I appreciate the gesture, but what are you doing here, then?" Ochazuke said. "You have your duty to tend to. We have ours. We will gather the seven, and when your fight is over, we'll bring back those who were lost."

Leaning to the Saiyans, he added rather pointedly, "I'd caution you to not take the power of a wish for granted. It is not a thing to be seized on a whim."

After all, everything that had transpired since the dawn of time had been the result of a cruel ambition to remake reality. Those who now encroached upon seizing this sort of power for themselves now began to emerge from the depths of all the universe, damning all else that stood in their path.

"In the meantime, I'll go through that tome you'd taken from Auroc. He knew something was coming, but even the power he consolidated was fit for little more than hiding from it. Now that we know there are others watching, soon we'll have to take the fight to them."

A small, joyless chuckle escaped Ochazuke.

"With the Oni departed to her clandestine works, it falls to us to make up the lost ground. Be it as it may that perhaps she is unique in her role as Destroyer, it is our universe. We live in it, and so we shall have to fight for it."

So much to yet to do. The wheels had been in motion since before his reckoning. Yet it was this imperfect Creation, this legacy of primordial savagery and cold, celestial indifference that they had inherited. No longer were the divisions of space and planets sufficient to divide them, for it was no longer any one world's fight. It fell to all of them who could to invoke change where they could.

"The Ulthan will not be idle. Rest assured, I will find them, and they will pay for what they've done," he said. "And then there's the issue of a Parasite in Angelic vestments."

Somewhere in the ether on a Forsworn world build on the bones and decomposed flesh of Guardians, the renegade angel hid, plotting ever since Asha'rah's war of creation. That was the last thing Ochazuke had been preparing for before departing with Held's escort to Reshlan.

"We will find Sakin. And then I intend to kill him."

Parsley raised an eyebrow. "Why are we here? Are we not allowed to pay respects?" In hindsight, it didn't matter. Eva drew breath again, a miraculous turn of events that proved to offer a ray of light in an otherwise sullen and dark future. At the time, however, it was the respectful thing to do.

"But regardless, you're right. We have other things to do." She spared Eva a glance and a relieved nod. "I'll let Sarada know she's alive."

Parsley moved past Maiz to step out. Before she reached the doorway, she stopped and turned around. "Inanna is in Hell training with a fallen Angel. She needs the power to combat Genesis. If you intend on stepping to enemies who are beyond us mortals, I suggest you do the same. The people in that journal are Gods. Not like the Ulthan, but Gods of Destruction and Angels. It's impossible to kill an Angel, so don't bother wasting your time with that goal."

She turned her attention to Etrina. "In a few months, I'll be traveling to Universe 16 to train with a retired Creation God. His name his Caliban and he offered to train me and any magically-inclined people I know in magecraft. I thought of you, Sasheem, and Nevanlinna. ...Inanna was supposed to join us, but she's training with that Angel, so I suppose she'll go on her own when she's done with that. If you want to join, let me know."

Maiz gently touched Eva on the shoulder. "One day, I'll return so we can get better acquainted. Rest easy."

Eva nods.

Her energy, her demeanor, and that bit of Creational energy within Ochazuke all seem to agree: she’s back.

Eva coughs and looks at them.

“Thank you. Wasn’t sure how much longer...I could linger.”

She shakes her head, her voice intoning as it did when she plucked at Fate’s strings.

“We have two problems: In one years time something....something is going to happen. I don’t think it’s on Earth, but something is coming. A reckoning. Remnant, Sakin, these Ulthan.......something is going to come to a head, and Asha’rah will be there. So will Genesis, so will others. Second, my dragonballs were banished by that worm, Alakazah. They are not on Earth presently. We will need to send someone to retrieve them with Jinzi’s dragon radar.”

Parsley sighed, then remembered something. "Auroc had a vision of a woman empowered with Creation and Destruction energy. She was surrounded by twelve people, six with gold auras and six with pure silver auras. Inanna was of the mind that this was Asha'rah's reascension to godhood, the stripping of her metal prison and a return to her natural status as a god. Knowing what we know now, I don't believe she's quite right."

She had a hunch, but she had to do some digging before she committed to anything concrete.
Parsley placed her hand on Maiz's shoulder and searched for a familiar Saiyan signature to lock onto. She found Avoca's, thankfully, and prepared to teleport. "I'll be back in a month for the journal. I've barely had time to look over it myself."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Sarada flew aimlessly through the air until she landed hard at the top of a stone staircase and slid inside what appeared to be a stone temple.

Everything was cold. She was cold. So cold.

She wasn’t sure what was worse. Not being able to breath, feeling her blood squirting out of her chest, or the horrid taste her heart carried as it sat lodged in her throat. Or, maybe it was the existential dread of knowing she was about to die.

She had never come close to dying before. Every time she had even thought of trending toward that eventuality, one of the healers on the team pulled her back from the brink. There was no such hope that time.

Corra and Sellerie were gone. She had told them to leave, and they listened. She was alone. All alone on her homeworld of all places, slowly choking and bleeding to death. A deathly chill crept up her extremities, carrying with it the permanent end that all living beings feared, no matter how courageous they were.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even open her eyes. Or, maybe her eyes were open. It was dark. So dark. It was the middle of the afternoon, but she couldn’t see a foot in front of her. How much longer until that light at the end of the tunnel showed up? It hadn’t thus far, so she had at least a little more time.

What a shame. How could she die like that? On the ground, helpless and limp? She couldn’t even stand on her own to feet. She couldn’t die heroically like Rutaba, or for a greater purpose like Totoma. She was going to die a failure. She was never going to see her beautiful wife again, or her baby girl. If Kumara survived by some miracle, she would live the rest of her life knowing that her mother was a failure. A stubborn, stupid failure.

Sarada hadn’t changed. No matter how much power and prestige she earned, she was the same washout failure she was when she was sixteen. Except that time, there was nowhere to run away to. That time, her fate wasn’t slavery.

It was death.

Tears streamed down her face for the final time.

Is this the end of you, Sarada?! Dying on the ground like a slaughter lamb?! How many times have you been down and refused to stay down? How many times have you refused to quit, even in the face of gods and monsters?

The icy chill of death was tightening its grip on Sarada’s soul, but she refused to embrace it. Why should she? She still had so much to live for. She had so many people who were depending on her, waiting on her. How could she actually let them down and just roll over and die?

NO!

Queen Sarada did not give up. She bowed to no one, not even Death itself! I will not die!

Her hands slowly balled into fists.

---

The power on display from Tundra was absolutely unimaginable, beyond anything either Sellerie or Corra had ever beheld in their lives. It was almost like they were dreaming, a living nightmare made reality when Queen Sarada was killed before their very eyes. She laid on the stone floor of the temple, completely motionless and lifeless.

Both women stood at a distance, trembling like newborn fawns. Abject horror and utter disbelief filled their hearts, combined with a helplessness that was only felt by those wholly out of their depths. “What do we do?” Sellerie asked, her voice soft and shaky.

Corra didn't answer for a very long time. Out of the corner of her eye, Sellerie watched her shamble toward the fallen Queen and fall to her knees beside her. She placed her fingers on her neck, as if to check for a pulse. There, of course, wasn't one. Absent her heart, Sarada was as good as dead. “Nothing.” Whether she was talking about the lack of a pulse or their options wasn't clear. The word covered both well. “Wait. She's alive...”

“What?!”Sellerie quickly scrambled to fall by her side. “How? What do you mean?”

“I don't know. But her hand just balled into a fist.” Corra felt her hands beginning to tremble. A renewed feeling of hope was beginning to take root. She quickly shot to her feet and ran to the table where her equipment was sitting. “We can save her!” She set her case down and quickly slipped on a pair of gloves and grabbed a pair of tweezers. “If we hurry, we can set her heart back in place. Her healing can take it from there.”

“Okay.” It sounded incredibly unbelievable, but miracles were rarely based in believability. “What do you need me to do?”

“Hold her mouth open.”

As Sellerie held Sarada's mouth open, Corra stuck the tweezers down her throat. Tundra thankfully didn't jam her heart too far down, so she was able to grab it. “Come on...come on!”

“Hey, there are some Saiyans in here!” A battalion of soldiers, three dozen deep, barged their way into the temple.

“Shit!” Without thinking, Sellerie jumped to her feet and quickly rushed to confront them. She had no fighting skills whatsoever. Her offense was wild and unfocused. Her inexperience, combined with overwhelming desperation made for an unpredictable and dangerous woman. She knocked people away with ease, just as easily as she shrugged off their retaliations. “Hurry Corra!” Every blow she landed cracked bones, bruised flesh, and sent bodies flying. Depending on where those blows landed, the recipients died quickly thereafter. Her heart thumped in her chest when the first signature vanished from her senses. One by one, enemies died. By her hands. Her peaceful, combat-averted hands. What am I doing?

What had the battle and the desperate desire to survive done to her? First fight, then killing? They were enemies who were trying to kill them, but... she felt ill. Her heart was racing. Her head felt light, yet her face felt like it was on fire. Just keep going. I have to do this. No matter how many times she told herself it was necessary, she still hated it.

Corra nearly had Sarada's heart out of the throat. She had to be gentle to avoid tearing the tissue and doing more damage to it than had already been done. “Come on... Gently...” She could see the bloody mound of flesh emerging near the back of Sarada's mouth. She gave it a harder tug and pulled it out. She had seen so many organs in her career.The one in her hand was just one of dozens. It was the first one she intended on placing back in the body with the intent of restarting it.

She grabbed a bottle of antiseptic and used it to clean the wound, the gently placed the heart back inside her chest, setting the four severed ends of her main arteries against each other. She needed another pair of hands, but that wasn’t possible with a hole that small. She could barely fit her one hand in as it was. “I’ll have to make the incision bigger,” she muttered.

She was racing against the literal clock. She dared glance in Sellerie’s direction and saw her friend standing tall in the midst of dozens of motionless bodies. Most were dead, she could feel it. The normally pacifistic woman had slain dozens in a matter of minutes.

Corra let out a shaky breath and picked up her scalpel. With a steady hand made so by years of practice, she cut a section of her armor off, then made a pair of incisions on both sides of the wound. She peeled the skin and muscle back and picked up a large syringe full of healing gel. She injected the severed arteries with the gel to kick the Queen’s natural healing into overdrive.

One final thing. She removed her gloves and transferred a small bit of ki to her to give her something to work with. Then, she stepped back and prayed to... whatever was out there that her efforts worked. It was a stupid idea with nearly 0% chance of actually working, but she had to try! Her entire race depended on it!

For the first time, she noticed that there was a group of natives standing off to the side. They must have been watching. One cautiously approached, sniffing as she crawled closer.

Corra let out a heavy, tired sigh. She supposed it couldn’t hurt, as long as she kept her distance.

Tense moments ticked by at a snail’s pace. Time itself seemed to slow as she watched intently for any sign of life. A breath, a twitch, anything. She held her breath and waited.

It was subtle, but she saw it. A small twitch in Sarada’s tail, like a snake trying to crawl away indiscreetly. “Sellerie! She’s alive!” It was the second time she had made such a proclamation, but that second time was filled with exuberance and hopeful joy. She scooted closely and watched. She could actually see bones knitting themselves together, muscles and flesh mending and becoming whole, and skin sealing itself off. “Wow.”

“Corra.”

The word was spoken with such haunting urgency that it immediately killed whatever joy she had been feeling. “What is...” When she looked up, she saw it. An bright orange light coming from outside. She thought it was just the sunset. She hoped it was just the sunset, but she knew that couldn’t have been the case. It was still midday. That left precious few options.

She scrambled to her feet and ran to the entrance. She saw Tundra high in the sky, a massive orange ball of ki hovering over his raised arm. “A death ball.” A cold, existential dread settled into her chest. She knew from her studies that a death ball had the power to destroy an entire planet. If it hit, they were all dead. “He’s going to destroy the entire planet!”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

She quickly ran back to the Queen and slid down beside her. “Please wake up, Queen Sarada! Tundra is going to destroy the planet, Your Highness!” The body beside her twitched. She was awake and could hear her.

“OH NO!!” Sellerie watched helplessly as Tundra tossed the death ball at the planet. Anxiety built up in the pit of her stomach like a pressure bomb waiting to explode. She felt sick, utterly sick. They were moments from death; how could they go out like this, when they were so close to finally being ride of that dreadful burden? I have to do something! She wasn’t very strong, but trying and failing was better than not trying at all.

Her fists clenched and she powered up. A swell of wind burst through the temple, knocking over tables, statues, and anything else that was securely fastened to the floor. She felt her muscles bulge to the point that her jacket was torn to shreds. Power swelled within her, a fiery tempest waiting to be let loose.

“...Sellerie...”

“I have to try and stop it!” She rocketed off toward the quickly descending Death Ball. She interposed herself between it and the planet and unleashed every ounce of power she had in the form of a massive energy blast.

It collided with the ball and... did nothing. If its downward momentum was slowed, it was to a microscopic degree. “No,” she gritted. Her beam, and her as a consequence, was being pushed back.

One native said something to the others, then they all sprinted out of the temple at full speed.

Corra could feel the power of the death ball and knew Sellerie wasn’t going to be enough. Even if the natives helped her, they weren’t going to be enough either. She also knew they were running out of time. “Please wake up! PLEASE!”

Yam and the Carrot tribe joined Sellerie and fired blasts to help her slow it down. Even with their help, it hadn’t slowed down even an inch. By that point, there was only a mile left before the death ball impacted the planet. The clouds above were swept away by its pressure, and the trees were uprooted and blown away. The sky was alight, colored a fiery orange. It was as if the entire planet was on fire.

Corra resorted to shaking the Queen violently. “A DEATH BALL IS GOING TO DESTROY THE PLANET!!!” Terror gripped her heart, seizing it and throwing it completely off rhythm. Her knees felt like jelly. If she hadn’t been kneeling down, she would have collapsed. Her friend wasn’t enough. The natives of Sadala weren’t enough. She had her doubts that even Queen Sarada would have been enough. That was assuming she was even in a position to do anything other than lay there.

They were going to die. Corra was going to die.

A soft and sudden groan, barely audible, attracted her attention. ”....****...”

[grampagen]

Parsley raised an eyebrow. "Why are we here? Are we not allowed to pay respects?" In hindsight, it didn't matter. Eva drew breath again, a miraculous turn of events that proved to offer a ray of light in an otherwise sullen and dark future. At the time, however, it was the respectful thing to do.

"But regardless, you're right. We have other things to do." She spared Eva a glance and a relieved nod. "I'll let Sarada know she's alive."

Parsley moved past Maiz to step out. Before she reached the doorway, she stopped and turned around. "Inanna is in Hell training with a fallen Angel. She needs the power to combat Genesis. If you intend on stepping to enemies who are beyond us mortals, I suggest you do the same. The people in that journal are Gods. Not like the Ulthan, but Gods of Destruction and Angels. It's impossible to kill an Angel, so don't bother wasting your time with that goal."

She turned her attention to Etrina. "In a few months, I'll be traveling to Universe 16 to train with a retired Creation God. His name his Caliban and he offered to train me and any magically-inclined people I know in magecraft. I thought of you, Sasheem, and Nevanlinna. ...Inanna was supposed to join us, but she's training with that Angel, so I suppose she'll go on her own when she's done with that. If you want to join, let me know."

Maiz gently touched Eva on the shoulder. "One day, I'll return so we can get better acquainted. Rest easy."

"Do you doubt that we would, were the means afforded to us? Cheh." Ochazuke said, casting his view sharply to the door. "Who was it that decided they should be beyond mortal ken?"

Zaofan, still reeling from the expenditure of the Phoenix resurrection, nod along slowly, even though by this point the both of them had been sweating bullets from pulling Earth's Guardian from the furthest brink. They had seen firsthand the power of Destroyers. On Terra, on Darkle, and the remains here on Earth.

In the far Northlands in the remnants of the Kingdom of the Magi, the Ghost of Hakai reared its horrid jaws against the powers of the Void, and the source of the deep magic that now split, sundered below the ancient ice shelf. Waiting. Dreaming. It was there that he first saw Islay, and the subtle power brimming within her, the aloof watcher and chaperone of the Legacy of Ogatan, astray from the old celestial office she'd once held. She had been content to watch from a distance, and could afford to wait thousands of years.

They, however, could not. Yet at the retort about Sakin, Ochazuke smirked faintly.

"'Impossibility,' from a Saiyan. What a strange conceit. Tell me, Parsley, who decided that this was so?"

Moreover, those that determined that power should be the only currency to govern the universe had determined their limitation. As ever it was far simpler to tear down than rebuild.

"I suppose we shall see soon enough, won't we?"

Eva nods.

Her energy, her demeanor, and that bit of Creational energy within Ochazuke all seem to agree: sheÂ’s back.

Eva coughs and looks at them.

“Thank you. Wasn’t sure how much longer...I could linger.”

She shakes her head, her voice intoning as it did when she plucked at FateÂ’s strings.

“We have two problems: In one years time something....something is going to happen. I don’t think it’s on Earth, but something is coming. A reckoning. Remnant, Sakin, these Ulthan.......something is going to come to a head, and Asha’rah will be there. So will Genesis, so will others. Second, my dragonballs were banished by that worm, Alakazah. They are not on Earth presently. We will need to send someone to retrieve them with Jinzi’s dragon radar.”

BGM - Days of Battle

"A year..." Zaofan sighed, brushing his fingers through his shaggy crown, and dragging them down his face. "We just got back..."

With that, he reached upward in a long stretch and a yawn. The emotional rollercoasters that kept happening around this place really took it out of him. What he needed right now was to settle in and...

"...if they touched the kitchen so help me~!" He grimaced, but his eyes bolted open to the whites. "No sense working on an empty stomach! The fridge, the tea--!"

Reaching over, he gave Evangeline a soft hug, then reached a fist over to Ochazuke, who stuffed it into an open palm.

"Don't let me catch you slippin' now."

Parsley sighed, then remembered something. "Auroc had a vision of a woman empowered with Creation and Destruction energy. She was surrounded by twelve people, six with gold auras and six with pure silver auras. Inanna was of the mind that this was Asha'rah's reascension to godhood, the stripping of her metal prison and a return to her natural status as a god. Knowing what we know now, I don't believe she's quite right."

She had a hunch, but she had to do some digging before she committed to anything concrete.
Parsley placed her hand on Maiz's shoulder and searched for a familiar Saiyan signature to lock onto. She found Avoca's, thankfully, and prepared to teleport. "I'll be back in a month for the journal. I've barely had time to look over it myself."

"A month's time, then," Ochazuke replied. "It seems others besides the First Ones have decided to cross over to our realm."

Holding aloft the Forger's hammer, for a moment he began to ponder what he the fallen Palatine knew of the plot that filled Auroc's mad thoughts.Whether borne of conspiracy, prophecy, or savagery, a great number of things spanning eternity were beginning to gather in to their universe. A Guardian, even one who reached beyond her station. could not have forseen the subtle symphony that rippled from touching Fate. Is there a connection?

"So it is, but this time it'll be different. We'll take the fight to them, and take back our hope for ourselves."

When the Saiyans had left, Ochazuke moved back to the main plaza, shattered as it was, and stretched out his sensory awareness. Kyokushin Keihatsu immediately resonated with the remainder of the energy cast from the Judge's weapon, the lingering essence of the shell held in Zaofan's capsule. Right now, his meditation field brought the extent of damage to his attention. The Room of Spirit and Time, evidently, was still functional, but there was another chamber that stood unused until very recently.

Searching for Arthur's Soul, he sought the Hall of the Guardians.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Saiyan Grit

A prickle of light penetrated the darkness Sarada found herself floating in. Her chest was overwhelmed by a white hot burning pain. It hurt to breath, like she was trying to inhale the hottest fire known to man.

”....eas.....up....ee.....undr....ness!”

A disembodied voice floated in from the pitch black ether. The words were too broken and the voice too faint for her to understand. The pain was spreading through her entire body. It felt like she was being stuck by millions of tiny needles on every inch of her body.

”Plea... ke....PLEASE!”

Corra? That was definitely her voice, but Sarada told her and Sellerie to leave. Had they actually disregarded her direct order?

If they had, and Corra was within speaking distance of her, then that meant she was alive. That explained all the pain she was feeling. It was her body healing itself from a near death experience. She remembered it all so clearly. Tundra tearing her heart out and shoving it down her throat. Her slowly fading away into what she thought was death. At some point after she closed her eyes for what she thought was the final time, Corra must have gotten a hold of her.

For once, her stubborn bullheadedness actually paid off.

She could feel herself shaking. ”....death ball....”

Death ball? ...no... **** no!

Her heart started beating hard in her chest. A tired, pained groan escaped her. Her eyes cracked open. Everything was blurry still, but her vision was quickly clearing up. “...****...” She just wanted to lay there on the ground. It was rock hard, but still was better than walking around in sheer pain. As her hearing cleared from the watery ringing noise that filled her ears, she could hear the distinct sound an energy beam being pushed back, combined with the desperate yells of dozens of people.

Gotta get up... get up, Sarada! Get up! Moving her limbs was like trying to mill around in mud mixed with concrete. Her legs bent; her abs flexed as she twisted her body so she could flip over on her stomach. Slowly, she hefted the deadweight that was her body to her feet. She looked up; a bright orange light shone outside.

One foot stomped in front of the other as she slowly walked out of the temple. The closer she got to the front entrance, the louder the desperation outside became. It was a fever pitch of abject terror mixed with futile effort. They were about to die.

When she reached the steps leading inside, she saw just how close everything was to coming to an end. The death ball from Tundra was only a few hundred feet from colliding with the planet’s surface. Sellerie of all people was leading the resistance of natives trying to push it back. It was a futile effort, but with her help, they could do it.

She breathed in and transformed. The power of Super Saiyan coursed through her, reinvigorating her.

A Saiyan’s Pride

Her stamina restored, she lifted into the air and rocketed toward the death ball. Her moved with more speed than she thought herself possible of putting out. The desperation of the band of Saiyans was tangible. She could feel her heart racing as the ball steadily pushed them back onto the planet’s surface. Their feet were touching the ground, with only a precious few dozen feet remaining.

The sheer size and power of the death ball was such that the very pressure it exuded shredded plateaus and nearby forest canopies. It bled energy off in circular waves that pulsated through the planet’s surface. Clouds were displaced, the sun blotted out, leaving nothing but the bright orange glow of certain death.

Sarada gritted her teeth and flew past those that had been trying to stave off their demise for a few more moments.

Lasair’s Gift, All-Consuming Flame x1

Her aura shifted. It always resembled a golden flame, but at that moment, it took on the qualities of a literal wreath of fire. Her forward motion was not halted or slowed in the slightest as she neared an inevitable collision with Tundra’s death ball. Her hand reached out ahead of her and was the first thing to touch it.

It was heavy. She was immediately stopped and pushed back. Her opposite hand raised to join its twin as she started to push back. Her muscles bulged as she strained herself against it. The flame of her aura ate away at the death ball, leaving orange sparkles of energy trailing behind her. Despite all of that, it was still too much.

The distance between herself and the ground was quickly dissipating. Come on Sarada! Her teeth gritted together. Come on, Sarada!! Her feet touched the surface of the ground, shattering the earth under her as she continued downward. COME ON SARADA!!!

Her power was at its limit, but it still wasn’t enough. Not only was she going to die, but everyone else on that planet!

No!

There were too many people depending on her to win and too many people waiting to see her again for her to fail. She didn’t defy death itself mere moments ago just to fail immediately after! She had been given a second chance to win the day; she couldn’t squander it by being too weak!

She dug deep, desperately scratching the bottom of the barrel that was her power supply for any and every spare morsel of energy she could find. She dug until her fingers bled. Then, she felt something.

It felt like a jolt of lightning had struck her. Instead of killing her, though, she felt like it supercharged her. It was a rush of power the likes of which she had never felt before. She unleashed a harrowing roar and pushed the ball back with all her newfound might.

It was like she was carrying a paper ball all of a sudden. With ease, she pushed the death ball away from the planet and sent it careening back to its source. She shot upward, her aura still like that of a raging inferno. She pierced the death ball, reducing it to a misty cloud of energy and hurtled like a flaming meteor toward Tundra.

She slowed to a stop when his utterly shocked and gawking form came into view, a scant mile or two from the upper atmosphere. She happened to glance at her arm and noticed it was more muscular than it had been before. When her aura returned to normal, she really noticed the differences. Sparks of lightning jumped around her aura, just like Parsley and Totoma. Her sister called it Super Saiyan 2.

That was it. That was what they had been looking for during their training. They had been trying to surpass Super Saiyan that entire year, but couldn’t quite crack the secret. Whatever Sarada did just then was it. The trauma, maybe digging past her limits, or something to that effect. Regardless, she had ascended once again.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Tundra quickly recovered and moved to descend. Sarada was right behind him and actually landed before him. They stood fifteen yards apart.

“I don’t know how you keep managing to elude death, but it ends today,” he growled. His lips peeled back into a vicious sneer. “You're nothing. Not even a blip on my radar.”

Sarada simply stared at him. She could feel his power pulsing more acutely than she could before. In fact, she could feel every person on the planet with greater clarity than before. Most important, she could feel the exact difference in power between herself and Tundra at that point. She was more than twice as strong as he was at that point. Not that he knew that. “You’re done, kid.”

“...what?”

“You heard me. My power now far exceeds yours. You’d do well to give up and go home, but I won’t give you the chance.” She shifted into her fighting stance, legs tensed to launch herself into an offensive at any moment.

Tundra scoffed, then let out a hearty laugh. “You? Above me? Even for a monkey, you’re especially dull. I am Lord Tundra, most powerful being in the universe. None surpass me; no one even comes close. Though, if I must prove myself to you, then so be it.”

He had no idea how laughable that statement was. If she wasn’t being so serious, she would have laughed in his face. He was nowhere close to the most powerful person. Even limited to people she had personally laid eyes on, he wasn’t even on the list. Instead of outright telling him that, she decided to simply show him. “Then come on.”

He growled. “Insolent little...” He dashed forward, fist cocked back with the obvious intent on slamming it across her face.

She disappeared, using a burst of speed to move out of the way and into a more advantageous position. She watched him look around in confusion until he happened to look up and found her floating above him. “Wha-? How did she get up there so fast?!” He quickly dashed upward to engage her.

His limbs moved at speeds the onlookers were completely incapable of seeing, yet Sarada dodged his offensive with ease. She bobbed and weaved around him, but didn’t take advantage of the openings were evasions produced. Oh, there would be plenty of time for that in a little bit. For right then, she was making a point. She continued dodging, making a point to even fold her arms over her chest to show she had zero intention of even blocking or parrying.

“HOLD STILL!”

Very well. Sarada didn’t move an inch when Tundra threw his next punch. It struck her square in the face, and did absolutely nothing. It didn’t even tickle. She casually swept his hand aside and launched what appeared to be an overwhelming offensive. In reality, it was about as half-hearted as she could manage. Her swings were precise as usual, but missed just barely. Tundra was “able” to dodge, but by the time he reset, she was launching another attack. Doing this kept him from getting comfortable and from measuring the flow of her offensive.

Suddenly, he cut off his offensive and dashed away to put distance between the two of them. He was breathing heavily while she wasn’t winded in the slightest. She thought he was trying to catch his breath and and regroup, but he quickly disavowed that notion. A stream of death beams erupted from his finger, cutting through the air in hopes of piercing through her.

Sarada never moved. The beams struck her dead on, and did nothing. Her damage barrier was such that nothing from someone so much weaker than her could hurt her.

Tundra growled and formed a pair of Death Saucers in his hands. “Die, die, die!” he screamed as he hurled them both at her.

Sarada actually wasn’t sure if an energy disc could hurt her. The thing with those was that they could punch well above their paygrade. She wasn’t willing to take any chances and quickly took evasive actions.

As she feared, Tundra could remotely control the discs and directed them to chase after her.

Sarada figured he was too smart for her to try and lure the discs to him and quickly flash out of the way so they could cut through him instead. Well, she could have tried, but didn’t want to bank on it working even if he was in the same frame of mind that Parsley was in during their fight in the Tournament of Destiny.

Where she went, they followed, slicing through any obstacle that got in their way. It didn’t escape her notice that, a moment later, one of the discs veered off at an angle and disappeared in the clouds. Fantastic, she thought with a mental sigh. One more thing she had to worry about. Even as annoying as it was, it wasn’t a thing she felt the need to be overly worried about.

She changed directions constantly, eventually diving straight down toward the ground. Casually landing, she raised her arm and allowed the death saucer to collide with her katchin bracer. The disc shattered like a plate smashed on the floor. She felt the second one coming toward her from behind. With a casual shift, she raised her opposite arm and shattered with her bracer.

For a moment that felt longer than it probably was, there was nothing but silence. It was a tense silence tinged with disbelief. Disbelief that she had not only overcome death for the third time but had come out the other side with more power than she ever had previously. Tundra hadn’t powered up any more than he did when he declared he was going to start fighting at 50%. If that was half his power, then him fighting at full power would draw him about even with her. A thing she wanted to avoid.

Although, her killing him when he was at his best would have left no doubt in anyone’s mind who was the better warrior.

She looked up and found him enshrouded by a sickly black aura. He raised his arms. The aura shifted, moving up his body to the space above him. It then expanded, growing in size and density until it formed a ball of pitch black energy far larger and more expansive than the death ball he used to try and destroy Sadala earlier.

It kept growing as he poured more of his power into it. By the time it stopped expanding, it was the size of the moon. “TRY AND STOP THIS! I DARE YOU, APE!!” he bellowed, cackling maniacally. “SAVE YOURSELF OR DIE WITH THIS WRETCHED PLANET!!” He swung his arms downward, sending the Worldbreaker down toward the planet.

Sarada could hear the panic from the soldiers and natives alike behind him. It was naturally easy to understand why they were so afraid. No one there except Tundra could breathe in space. If the planet went, they were all going to die. She could survive the planet exploding around her, but they couldn’t. Even still, she wasn’t going to last long in space. At least not long enough to get to a planet that actually had breathable air.

Well, that wasn’t something she had to worry about. She launched herself into the air, directly into the path of the Worldbreaker.

Lasair’s Gift - All-Consuming Flame x3

Sarada’s forward momentum carried her into and through the Worldbreaker. As was the case the previous two times, the attack was practically disintegrated. Harmless black particles rained down behind her. She dashed past Tundra before he could react and grabbed his tail. She spun once to gather momentum, then hurled him down into the ground far below.

He landed with a mighty crash and bounced twice before finally coming to rest at the feet of a quickly retreating native.

Sarada landed nearby and watched him struggle to his feet.

“Why you....!” he gritted. He fired a death beam, which was dodged with ease. He knew it would be and was ready to make his move the moment he fired it. He blitzed over to her and finally landed a blow, a right hook that landed solidly with her cheek.

Her head barely moved.

Tundra blinked, his mouth falling open slightly with disbelief. He then quickly withdrew his fist and fired off a roundhouse kick.

She batted it aside with ease and retaliated with a swift, but powerful kick to his chest. She quickly followed that with another kick to his chin that sent him flying.

Tundra landed hard on his back and slid nearly a hundred feet to a stop. He spat up a gob of blood and reached up to wipe it away. It was only when he glanced down to see it smeared on his hand that he realized what had happened. “My... blood...,” he said, completely in a daze of utter shock. “You dare make me bleed my own blood?”

Sarada felt it just before it happened.

"HOW DARE YOU?!!!!!!" Tundra’s power exploded. His aura expanded like a wildfire. The force of his rapidly growing power being exerted tore through the ground under him. It whipped up hurricane force winds that uprooted any trees that were with a half-mile radius. The entire planet shook, as if gripped by a massive earthquake.

Tundra’s power had skyrocketed. Sarada had previously enjoyed a very healthy advantage over him. That was gone. From what she could tell, they were dead even.

Good.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Do you doubt that we would, were the means afforded to us? Cheh." Ochazuke said, casting his view sharply to the door. "Who was it that decided they should be beyond mortal ken?"

Zaofan, still reeling from the expenditure of the Phoenix resurrection, nod along slowly, even though by this point the both of them had been sweating bullets from pulling Earth's Guardian from the furthest brink. They had seen firsthand the power of Destroyers. On Terra, on Darkle, and the remains here on Earth.

In the far Northlands in the remnants of the Kingdom of the Magi, the Ghost of Hakai reared its horrid jaws against the powers of the Void, and the source of the deep magic that now split, sundered below the ancient ice shelf. Waiting. Dreaming. It was there that he first saw Islay, and the subtle power brimming within her, the aloof watcher and chaperone of the Legacy of Ogatan, astray from the old celestial office she'd once held. She had been content to watch from a distance, and could afford to wait thousands of years.

They, however, could not. Yet at the retort about Sakin, Ochazuke smirked faintly.

"'Impossibility,' from a Saiyan. What a strange conceit. Tell me, Parsley, who decided that this was so?"

Moreover, those that determined that power should be the only currency to govern the universe had determined their limitation. As ever it was far simpler to tear down than rebuild.

"I suppose we shall see soon enough, won't we?"

BGM - Days of Battle

"A year..." Zaofan sighed, brushing his fingers through his shaggy crown, and dragging them down his face. "We just got back..."

With that, he reached upward in a long stretch and a yawn. The emotional rollercoasters that kept happening around this place really took it out of him. What he needed right now was to settle in and...

"...if they touched the kitchen so help me~!" He grimaced, but his eyes bolted open to the whites. "No sense working on an empty stomach! The fridge, the tea--!"

Reaching over, he gave Evangeline a soft hug, then reached a fist over to Ochazuke, who stuffed it into an open palm.

"Don't let me catch you slippin' now."



"A month's time, then," Ochazuke replied. "It seems others besides the First Ones have decided to cross over to our realm."

Holding aloft the Forger's hammer, for a moment he began to ponder what he the fallen Palatine knew of the plot that filled Auroc's mad thoughts.Whether borne of conspiracy, prophecy, or savagery, a great number of things spanning eternity were beginning to gather in to their universe. A Guardian, even one who reached beyond her station. could not have forseen the subtle symphony that rippled from touching Fate. Is there a connection?

"So it is, but this time it'll be different. We'll take the fight to them, and take back our hope for ourselves."

When the Saiyans had left, Ochazuke moved back to the main plaza, shattered as it was, and stretched out his sensory awareness. Kyokushin Keihatsu immediately resonated with the remainder of the energy cast from the Judge's weapon, the lingering essence of the shell held in Zaofan's capsule. Right now, his meditation field brought the extent of damage to his attention. The Room of Spirit and Time, evidently, was still functional, but there was another chamber that stood unused until very recently.

Searching for Arthur's Soul, he sought the Hall of the Guardians.

It still stands, his soul there to speak to.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Dash and Praxat have also landed on the remnants of the lookout, Dash happy to see Eva alive and well.