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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He grins, copper eyes flashing as he plays a tune and the two levitate to him.

‘See you again soon, Princess. Avoca. Until next time.’

Parsley sighed and nodded. "Until again." She bowed, the opened another capsule to release her First Race ship. She and Avoca boarded, started up the ship, and took off.

Night's planet gradually grew smaller as they trekked into the unknown space of Universe 18. Parsley let out a sigh. Things had gone quite well. It had been here overwhelming fear that she had been too late and that she was going to lose her eyes. Not being able to gaze upon Avoca's beauty again would have been a nightmare. It was just that, though, a nightmare and not reality. All had gone well, and she had something new to ruminate.

Something was coming in the near future and would involve possibly herself. She wasn't sure, but she did know that it also involved Sarada and Inanna. She intended on telling both of them as soon as she could. Inanna may not have wanted anything to do with her, but she would have to get over that. She was going to help them prepare for the coming conflict. Whatever that may have been.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Avoca said with a chuckle. "Don't know what you were so scared about."

"I was scared? I'm not the one who demanded to come along so the other wouldn't be alone. And you gave up our son's birthday present."

"Tch. I'll just buy a new one." She folded her arms over her chest and peered into the empty space of the dead universe. "I can't believe I'm actually I'm another universe. This is crazy!"

Parsley smiled at her enthusiasm. "It's an amazing phenomenon, isn't it? Unfortunately, there isn't much to look at. It's been dead for some time."

"Ah. Well, that's a shame."

Parsley yawned. Exhaustion from jumping universes and everything that came before it was finally catching up to her. She stood and walked to the back of the ship. She had her ship customized to her own needs, and that included having a bed added. She pulled it out of the wall and flopped on it face-down. "I'm going to get some sleep, then we'll go home."

"Okay. Rest easy, babe."

As her eyes fluttered closed, she fell sleep quickly. For the first time in days, Parsley could embrace sweet slumber.

[grampagen]

The blow stops his response to Tasure. He staggers but than rights himawld and turns.

“Hello brother.”

Simon grunts and electricity flicks around his body, aura exploding out as he goes Super Saiyan 2.

"I ain't your brother," Zaofan retorted. "I ain't even your buddy."

The explosion of power and crackling heat siren of one that ascended beyond even the power of a Super Saiyan. It seems Totoma and Parsley have set the new standard.

Long ago he was a solitary chef, drifting from stove to stove, but now having trained as a son of Zxu'ro, his fangs were honed to fierce points.

Undaunted, Zaofan drew his staff in close to his body, Kaiten gathered the power of his next strikes into it, as he sped forth and struck out at Battersea with the form of the Wolf Fang Fist.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"I ain't your brother," Zaofan retorted. "I ain't even your buddy."

The explosion of power and crackling heat siren of one that ascended beyond even the power of a Super Saiyan. It seems Totoma and Parsley have set the new standard.

Long ago he was a solitary chef, drifting from stove to stove, but now having trained as a son of Zxu'ro, his fangs were honed to fierce points.

Undaunted, Zaofan drew his staff in close to his body, Kaiten gathered the power of his next strikes into it, as he sped forth and struck out at Battersea with the form of the Wolf Fang Fist.

That mane of Ki whirled and blurred around him, blocking a Zaofan’s blows.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"I ain't your brother," Zaofan retorted. "I ain't even your buddy."

The explosion of power and crackling heat siren of one that ascended beyond even the power of a Super Saiyan. It seems Totoma and Parsley have set the new standard.

Long ago he was a solitary chef, drifting from stove to stove, but now having trained as a son of Zxu'ro, his fangs were honed to fierce points.

Undaunted, Zaofan drew his staff in close to his body, Kaiten gathered the power of his next strikes into it, as he sped forth and struck out at Battersea with the form of the Wolf Fang Fist.

That mane of Ki whirled and blurred around him, blocking a Zaofan’s blows.

Battersea's answer interrupted by the intrusion of the Earthlings, Tasure sighed. Normally, she'd be annoyed, but these two... Totoma spoke well of them, and from what little she had seen of their skills--both martial and culinary, in the case of Zaofan--they were worthy of respect. Especially compared to Battersea.

Watching as Zaofan engaged, Tasure waited until Battersea began blocking the strikes with that odd ki-mane. That was her chance to intervene. Placing her fingers to her forehead and wielding one of her daggers with her free hand, Tasure's form disappeared, re-appearing next to Battersea. However, she did not try to attack him, but rather his ki-mane, as it withdrew from blocking one of Zaofan's strikes.

[grampagen]

That mane of Ki whirled and blurred around him, blocking a Zaofan’s blows.

Throwing staff thrusts forward in nineteen rapidfire blows, Zaofan suddenly became aware when his weapon struck into that the golden aura surrounding Totoma's body. Each impact was dampened the moment it fell into the ki field.

"Autonomous Defense, The Lion's Mane," he remarked as he continued to lance forward, "So you fancy yourself a specialist, do you, Butternuts?"

Of course, this was a technique he'd recognized; on Reshlan and Darkle, he'd been using a variant himself. Yet on the road to master the Ten, he'd only had the time to adapt the technique to suit his needs.

But if he's Leon's successor...and he was indeed the master...the what he did to Balon-Sensei~!

It wouldn't do for Zaofan to fail now, for his sake. Nor would it do for the one who taught him these techniques in the first place.

Battersea's answer interrupted by the intrusion of the Earthlings, Tasure sighed. Normally, she'd be annoyed, but these two... Totoma spoke well of them, and from what little she had seen of their skills--both martial and culinary, in the case of Zaofan--they were worthy of respect. Especially compared to Battersea.

Watching as Zaofan engaged, Tasure waited until Battersea began blocking the strikes with that odd ki-mane. That was her chance to intervene. Placing her fingers to her forehead and wielding one of her daggers with her free hand, Tasure's form disappeared, re-appearing next to Battersea. However, she did not try to attack him, but rather his ki-mane, as it withdrew from blocking one of Zaofan's strikes.

Moreover, each burst of power put behind Zaofan's staff thrusts was delivered with a deft hand. Shrouded in a projected aura, they twist into the Lion's Mane with the aim to thin its density and pluck it outwards.

Tasure seemed to have a similar idea, to sever the mane entirely. Now focused on this point, they'd see soon enough if the bubble burst.

His eyes lit up crimson, and Zaofan flew forward, slashing upon this spot with a Scarlet X.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The mane thins, Battersea lets it go and blurs forward. Dropping into a pugilist stance he goes in and punches Zaofan and Tasure. His blows are heavy, powerful, and he lands dozens of well placed ones as he dances between the two of you. Oddly, he seems to almost step on the air as he does so, less flying and more using the old walking on air trick the schools taught.

[grampagen]

The mane thins, Battersea lets it go a small blurs forward. Dropping into a pugilist stance he goes in and punches Zaofan and Tasure. His blows are heavy, powerful, and he lands dozens of well placed ones as he dances between the two of you. Oddly, he seems to almost step on the air as he does so, less flying and more using the old walking on air trick the schools taught.

Coordinating with Tasure had been a monumental success!

So successful, that Zaofan had forgotten the mane's advantage was a rather simple one; autonomous defense left your hands free to focus on other things!

As he caught hands in brutal body shots, Zaofan went on the defensive. Just as he remembered them, Batterseas strikes were heavy, precise, and...

...wait, he was landing, but he wasn't planting his punches? How could this be possible unless...

"...ha ha ha ha! I just remembered!"

Creating some distance between them, it was even more obvious, the way he was skipping on the air. It was like watching a kid tread water.

"You still don't know how to fly, do you, Butternuts?!"

In Tototma's body, Battersea was stronger, faster than he ever was before. Yet he was able to read his clumsy maneuvers and stay at a safe range now that Zaofan had noticed this.

Nor did this escape his man on the ground, as Ochazuke made the barest gesture and struck Battersea upon the Woven Path and cut off any semblance of flight entirely.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

The mane thins, Battersea lets it go and blurs forward. Dropping into a pugilist stance he goes in and punches Zaofan and Tasure. His blows are heavy, powerful, and he lands dozens of well placed ones as he dances between the two of you. Oddly, he seems to almost step on the air as he does so, less flying and more using the old walking on air trick the schools taught.

Coordinating with Tasure had been a monumental success!

So successful, that Zaofan had forgotten the mane's advantage was a rather simple one; autonomous defense left your hands free to focus on other things!

As he caught hands in brutal body shots, Zaofan went on the defensive. Just as he remembered them, Batterseas strikes were heavy, precise, and...

...wait, he was landing, but he wasn't planting his punches? How could this be possible unless...

"...ha ha ha ha! I just remembered!"

Creating some distance between them, it was even more obvious, the way he was skipping on the air. It was like watching a kid tread water.

"You still don't know how to fly, do you, Butternuts?!"

In Tototma's body, Battersea was stronger, faster than he ever was before. Yet he was able to read his clumsy maneuvers and stay at a safe range now that Zaofan had noticed this.

Nor did this escape his man on the ground, as Ochazuke made the barest gesture and struck Battersea upon the Woven Path and cut off any semblance of flight entirely.

Tasure wasn't able to mount any reasonable defense against Battersea's strike, and to his credit, they were heavy and hurt. She was sent careening back, through a rock formation, skidding to a stop amongst the debris. Thankfully, Vaikuntha's blessing began working on that damage, and she was able to get back on her feet quickly.

She had noticed something unusual, however. Battersea's flight technique seemed... off? Clumsy, haphazard, almost like he was...

Her train of thought was confirmed when Zaofan stated his own observations. Battersea couldn't actually fly. He seemed to be using some sort of... air-stepping technique? She'd encountered such techniques before, among species that had, for whatever reason, not figured out how to fly. Oddly, even though Earth had developed that technique, it was not particularly widespread, despite their ingenuity with ki techniques.

Only the Zhu made common use of it, and supposedly that's where the Earthling phrase "when pigs fly" originated from.

Still, that gave them a slight advantage... one that she'd gladly take advantage of. Taking to the air, she extended her Diamond Blade, and took aim downwards. Waving it in some sort of Kata towards Battersea, sharp shards separated from it, pinning themselves in the ground around him.. and him, assuming any hit, though she wasn't trying to actually aim at him. As she flowed into a final stance... the final part of her Diamond Dance revealed itself, as the shards exploded.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Battersea grunts as he lands, skidding a bit but he manages to keep his feet.

He narrows his eyes at Ochazuke.

“The pair. How fortunate. The Schools are almost all here. Heh, time to see who’s King! Lion’s Roar!”

His Ki suddenly seems to cycle inwards, he breaths in, and a massive wave of sonic enhanced ki roars from Battersea. The surrounding area is shredded, the ground cratering and everyone and everything in a 100 meter circle being blasted back or obliterated.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Tasure wasn't able to mount any reasonable defense against Battersea's strike, and to his credit, they were heavy and hurt. She was sent careening back, through a rock formation, skidding to a stop amongst the debris. Thankfully, Vaikuntha's blessing began working on that damage, and she was able to get back on her feet quickly.

She had noticed something unusual, however. Battersea's flight technique seemed... off? Clumsy, haphazard, almost like he was...

Her train of thought was confirmed when Zaofan stated his own observations. Battersea couldn't actually fly. He seemed to be using some sort of... air-stepping technique? She'd encountered such techniques before, among species that had, for whatever reason, not figured out how to fly. Oddly, even though Earth had developed that technique, it was not particularly widespread, despite their ingenuity with ki techniques.

Only the Zhu made common use of it, and supposedly that's where the Earthling phrase "when pigs fly" originated from.

Still, that gave them a slight advantage... one that she'd gladly take advantage of. Taking to the air, she extended her Diamond Blade, and took aim downwards. Waving it in some sort of Kata towards Battersea, sharp shards separated from it, pinning themselves in the ground around him.. and him, assuming any hit, though she wasn't trying to actually aim at him. As she flowed into a final stance... the final part of her Diamond Dance revealed itself, as the shards exploded.

Presume they got destroyed by his roar before they went off.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Battersea grunts as he lands, skidding a bit but he manages to keep his feet.

He narrows his eyes at Ochazuke.

“The pair. How fortunate. The Schools are almost all here. Heh, time to see who’s King! Lion’s Roar!”

His Ki suddenly seems to cycle inwards, he breaths in, and a massive wave of sonic enhanced ki roars from Battersea. The surrounding area is shredded, the ground cratering and everyone and everything in a 100 meter circle being blasted back or obliterated.

Presume they got destroyed by his roar before they went off.

OOC: K.

IC: ****, he pulled a Daroga and used some omnidirectional roar attack! Tasure was blow into the sky, righting herself a fair distance up. As she expected... simple, but effective technique, backed by the might of an ascended super saiyan, were... quite dangerous. Hm, what to do...



Nevanlinna sat, about 150 meters away, watching the destruction of her realm, her sanctuary, and could feel the annoyance mounting within her. She was content, before, to let the others have their fun and work out their... differences It would restore itself, given time, but...

Why not help? This place is technically your body, meaning you are sovereign over it.

One of the voices of her predecessors--it wasn't Zhu Bajie--echoed within her subconscious. It was a.. rather disconcerting feeling, but she knew what that previous self said was true. This was her world, and she was sovereign over it.

Aura of Fire

With but the slightest effort, a portion of Vaikuntha simply ignited. Those under the aegis of its blessing would feel nothing but a pleasant warmth, but those exempt from its protection--Battersea--would feel the full effects of the inferno. The flames almost seemed to be attracted to him, seeking to consume both his body and energy as fuel for its unbridled fury.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OOC: K.

IC: ****, he pulled a Daroga and used some omnidirectional roar attack! Tasure was blow into the sky, righting herself a fair distance up. As she expected... simple, but effective technique, backed by the might of an ascended super saiyan, were... quite dangerous. Hm, what to do...



Nevanlinna sat, about 150 meters away, watching the destruction of her realm, her sanctuary, and could feel the annoyance mounting within her. She was content, before, to let the others have their fun and work out their... differences It would restore itself, given time, but...

Why not help? This place is technically your body, meaning you are sovereign over it.

One of the voices of her predecessors--it wasn't Zhu Bajie--echoed within her subconscious. It was a.. rather disconcerting feeling, but she knew what that previous self said was true. This was her world, and she was sovereign over it.

Aura of Fire

With but the slightest effort, a portion of Vaikuntha simply ignited. Those under the aegis of its blessing would feel nothing but a pleasant warmth, but those exempt from its protection--Battersea--would feel the full effects of the inferno. The flames almost seemed to be attracted to him, seeking to consume both his body and energy as fuel for its unbridled fury.

A ripple of energy seems to float around Battersea, a harmonic thrum in the air that repels the fire. Some sort of residual sonic effect from his roar.

[grampagen]

Battersea grunts as he lands, skidding a bit but he manages to keep his feet.

He narrows his eyes at Ochazuke.

“The pair. How fortunate. The Schools are almost all here. Heh, time to see who’s King! Lion’s Roar!”

His Ki suddenly seems to cycle inwards, he breaths in, and a massive wave of sonic enhanced ki roars from Battersea. The surrounding area is shredded, the ground cratering and everyone and everything in a 100 meter circle being blasted back or obliterated.

Ochazuke made no reply at Battersea's barb. Neither, it seems, did he make a single movement, even as the ki around Totoma gathered inwards and expelled in a shockwave carried by a massive bellow. And when the dust died down as the landscape shattered, he all but disappeared from sight.

OOC: K.

IC: ****, he pulled a Daroga and used some omnidirectional roar attack! Tasure was blow into the sky, righting herself a fair distance up. As she expected... simple, but effective technique, backed by the might of an ascended super saiyan, were... quite dangerous. Hm, what to do...



Nevanlinna sat, about 150 meters away, watching the destruction of her realm, her sanctuary, and could feel the annoyance mounting within her. She was content, before, to let the others have their fun and work out their... differences It would restore itself, given time, but...

Why not help? This place is technically your body, meaning you are sovereign over it.

One of the voices of her predecessors--it wasn't Zhu Bajie--echoed within her subconscious. It was a.. rather disconcerting feeling, but she knew what that previous self said was true. This was her world, and she was sovereign over it.

Aura of Fire

With but the slightest effort, a portion of Vaikuntha simply ignited. Those under the aegis of its blessing would feel nothing but a pleasant warmth, but those exempt from its protection--Battersea--would feel the full effects of the inferno. The flames almost seemed to be attracted to him, seeking to consume both his body and energy as fuel for its unbridled fury.

Courtesy of their benefactor the flames rose about Battersea, veiling the actions of his violent soul within Totoma's silhouette.

"How fitting it would be fire. A King without people nor succession is worth less than the paper with which he declares himself."

Had Ochazuke escaped unscathed? By the loss of his traveling cloak and the surface wounds, no, not entirely. But using Tai Sabaki at that range had allowed him to dodge and reposition him within striking distance of Battersea, and he had not been idle nor unprepared.

Drawing into the world about him, reaching into the genius loci of an environment was a technique for a practitioner to reach a state of oneness with the environment. A true martial artist should be aware of all things; from where he stands, to where the rivers flow or where the leaves fall.

As the power gathered toward him to augment the Bear's Strength and the Wolf's Prowl, it became apparent that furthermore, they were surrounded by Hozon. Vaikuntha, in a way, was like reaching into the very spiritual memory of their host where she allowed him a portion of its power.

It'll have to be decided quickly. Not just for Totoma, but for our sakes.

Using his perception skill of Kyokushin Keihatsu, Ochazuke examined the extent of Battersea's possession. If he were to do something about it, he'd likely have to get closer.

"I don't know why you've come back, Battersea. Frankly, I don't care," he said. Ochazuke drew his hands up into a stance that mirrored Battersea's own for just a moment, before tilting his head to the side.

"Cheh."

Seamlessly, he transitioned to something else far more familiar to the man. He shift sideways, the pugilist's stance loosened, fists unfolded to open palms.

Samson Balon's Dragon Stance.

[KingofPie]

Battersea grunts as he lands, skidding a bit but he manages to keep his feet.

He narrows his eyes at Ochazuke.

“The pair. How fortunate. The Schools are almost all here. Heh, time to see who’s King! Lion’s Roar!”

His Ki suddenly seems to cycle inwards, he breaths in, and a massive wave of sonic enhanced ki roars from Battersea. The surrounding area is shredded, the ground cratering and everyone and everything in a 100 meter circle being blasted back or obliterated.

A ripple of energy seems to float around Battersea, a harmonic thrum in the air that repels the fire. Some sort of residual sonic effect from his roar.

Deep, deep beneath the ground....something stirs. A Hand. Just a hand. And then a sound. A snikt as the Bear's Claws extended from it's Knuckles to pierce Battersea in the Foot and attempt to inject him with Venom Mist. A certain Majin had sensed a certain power level flaring and perhaps wanted to sneak around to observe in case a battle broke loose. He wasn't disappointed with the results, planning to jump in when least expected...until a certain jabroni eradicated a chunk of the playing field, splattering him a apart as he hid beneath the ground.

Luckily, Sasheem was able to regenerate, albeit slowly and enough to try and deliver his first strike in this menagerie of martial arts.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

A ripple of energy seems to float around Battersea, a harmonic thrum in the air that repels the fire. Some sort of residual sonic effect from his roar.

Ochazuke made no reply at Battersea's barb. Neither, it seems, did he make a single movement, even as the ki around Totoma gathered inwards and expelled in a shockwave carried by a massive bellow. And when the dust died down as the landscape shattered, he all but disappeared from sight.



Courtesy of their benefactor the flames rose about Battersea, veiling the actions of his violent soul within Totoma's silhouette.

"How fitting it would be fire. A King without people nor succession is worth less than the paper with which he declares himself."

Had Ochazuke escaped unscathed? By the loss of his traveling cloak and the surface wounds, no, not entirely. But using Tai Sabaki at that range had allowed him to dodge and reposition him within striking distance of Battersea, and he had not been idle nor unprepared.

Drawing into the world about him, reaching into the genius loci of an environment was a technique for a practitioner to reach a state of oneness with the environment. A true martial artist should be aware of all things; from where he stands, to where the rivers flow or where the leaves fall.

As the power gathered toward him to augment the Bear's Strength and the Wolf's Prowl, it became apparent that furthermore, they were surrounded by Hozon. Vaikuntha, in a way, was like reaching into the very spiritual memory of their host where she allowed him a portion of its power.

It'll have to be decided quickly. Not just for Totoma, but for our sakes.

Using his perception skill of Kyokushin Keihatsu, Ochazuke examined the extent of Battersea's possession. If he were to do something about it, he'd likely have to get closer.

"I don't know why you've come back, Battersea. Frankly, I don't care," he said. Ochazuke drew his hands up into a stance that mirrored Battersea's own for just a moment, before tilting his head to the side.

"Cheh."

Seamlessly, he transitioned to something else far more familiar to the man. He shift sideways, the pugilist's stance loosened, fists unfolded to open palms.

Samson Balon's Dragon Stance.

Deep, deep beneath the ground....something stirs. A Hand. Just a hand. And then a sound. A snikt as the Bear's Claws extended from it's Knuckles to pierce Battersea in the Foot and attempt to inject him with Venom Mist. A certain Majin had sensed a certain power level flaring and perhaps wanted to sneak around to observe in case a battle broke loose. He wasn't disappointed with the results, planning to jump in when least expected...until a certain jabroni eradicated a chunk of the playing field, splattering him a apart as he hid beneath the ground.

Luckily, Sasheem was able to regenerate, albeit slowly and enough to try and deliver his first strike in this menagerie of martial arts.

Her Aura of Fire, for now, had little effect, being kept at bay by an aftereffect of Battersea's roar attack. No matter... here, it could be maintained indefinitely, and eventually, his stamina and energy would give out. Though how to do so without killing Totoma... hm, well, she would leave that to the others. Spiritual matters were not her forte, by any means.

Her eyes flicked to Ochazuke as she felt a... tug, of sorts, on the energy of Vaikuntha. He seemed to be tapping into the ambient energy of the environment, which was... not surprising, given his varied, esoteric capabilities and the fact that he was one of the few she allowed within this sacred place. There was ample supply, and it was for a good cause, so she allowed it.

Beyond that, she caught sight of the Majin... Sasheem. How surprising. Probably snuck in while everyone was distracted on Earth. She extended Vaikuntha's blessing to him, to shore up his self-restorative abilities in all respects. Now, what else could she do, without actually joining the fray...?

After a bit of thought, she closed her eyes and, gradually, the energies Ochazuke was drawing began to flow more willingly... and quickly, integrating themselves, temporarily, into his body. He would notice an increase in his overall capability. She did the same for Zaofan, Sasheem, and Tasure, though the increase for them was a bit less, since it was only her efforts, rather than those of herself and another, blessing them.

Govind, Protector of the Land was initially something she'd used to increase her own strength, but on Darkle, she had experimented and figured out she could increase the ability of others... on a very temporary basis. Here, in her seat of power, she could likely offer a more sustained increase than the short burst she could offer outside.