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

[MrSandman]

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.

The opening salvo of the various fighters was already well underway when Battersea launched his obnoxiously loud counteroffensive, effectively blowing everyone back and wreaking the nice scenery in the process. Erosa had been preparing to join the fray herself when the blast went off and found herself hurtling backwards amist a storm of ki and wind. Immediately the id ignited wings of flame, her Thanatos Drive, and pushed back....catching the ground with her feet and digging a trench backwards through the dirt before managing to halt her forced retreat and spring forward once again.

Piercing the expanding sphere and leaving a flaming trail behind her, Erosa ran with flaming wings flapping at her back, her arms and legs a blurr as she dropped into a animal sprint, bounding over ground and airborn debris alike as she closed the distance back to the source.

"GAAAOOO!!" Her venomous warcry sounded just moments before she flew past those close to battersea, carrying above even the dimming sound of his roar.

Simon could see her coming, screaming towards him....and yet just before reaching her, the id would just vanish in mid air. Shimmering away like a mirage...with only the blast of hot air from where she had been approaching flowing past.

....and she was behind him, striking at the back of his right arm with superheated claws, aimed to sever.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

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.

The remaining mane of Ki coils and blocks the bears claws, through the auto-defense now seems gone for the moment.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

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.

Battersea grimaces a bit as he feels the auras of his foes seeming increase.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The opening salvo of the various fighters was already well underway when Battersea launched his obnoxiously loud counteroffensive, effectively blowing everyone back and wreaking the nice scenery in the process. Erosa had been preparing to join the fray herself when the blast went off and found herself hurtling backwards amist a storm of ki and wind. Immediately the id ignited wings of flame, her Thanatos Drive, and pushed back....catching the ground with her feet and digging a trench backwards through the dirt before managing to halt her forced retreat and spring forward once again.

Piercing the expanding sphere and leaving a flaming trail behind her, Erosa ran with flaming wings flapping at her back, her arms and legs a blurr as she dropped into a animal sprint, bounding over ground and airborn debris alike as she closed the distance back to the source.

"GAAAOOO!!" Her venomous warcry sounded just moments before she flew past those close to battersea, carrying above even the dimming sound of his roar.

Simon could see her coming, screaming towards him....and yet just before reaching her, the id would just vanish in mid air. Shimmering away like a mirage...with only the blast of hot air from where she had been approaching flowing past.

....and she was behind him, striking at the back of his right arm with superheated claws, aimed to sever.

He spins, just catching her in time to throw her at Tasure, his SSJ2 reflexes coming in handy.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

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.

After tossing Erosa away, he settles down and looks at Ochazuke with anger and recognition.

“Balon’s Dragon. The old fool will be my first visit, him and my daughter.”

He drops into his classic pugilist stance, then smirks. He throws a punch forward, and suddenly Ochazuke feels the blow on his shoulder.

Another punch is thrown, and this one lands in his kidneys somehow despite the distance. And then Ochazuke sees a brief flare of a Void Lens as Simon punches, his hand entering and exiting at super speed by one right next to Ochazuke.

Battersea grins and goes on a long range punching frenzy, void lens by the dozens appearing all around Ochazuke as Battersea gains more mastery over Totoma’s techniques and starts utilizing them.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

After tossing Erosa away, he settles down and looks at Ochazuke with anger and recognition.

“Balon’s Dragon. The old fool will be my first visit, him and my daughter.”

He drops into his classic pugilist stance, then smirks. He throws a punch forward, and suddenly Ochazuke feels the blow on his shoulder.

Another punch is thrown, and this one lands in his kidneys somehow despite the distance. And then Ochazuke sees a brief flare of a Void Lens as Simon punches, his hand entering and exiting at super speed by one right next to Ochazuke.

Battersea grins and goes on a long range punching frenzy, void lens by the dozens appearing all around Ochazuke as Battersea gains more mastery over Totoma’s techniques and starts utilizing them.

Even though it had only been like... three days, Totoma's training with Vocado was going great. He seemed to get tired less quickly here, although he did eventually tire. Still, it allowed him to get in a lot of heavy training for much longer, and by the time he was revived, he was sure that he'd be ten, a hundred, no... a thousand times stronger! Rutaba was also making good progress, having improved by leaps and bounds. Wouldn't be long before she ascended.

...although sometimes he got the feeling she was staring at him from afar? Probably just his imagination, though.

Sitting down cross-legged with his eyes closed, Totoma wanted to get to the bottom of the... weird feeling he'd had since shortly after he'd died. He'd sort of had a feeling that he was still connected to his body, and that it had been healed. Vaguely, he remembered hearing Zaofan's voice around that time, so... he was going to try to check up on his body.

Soon, he felt some weird sensations. Like... energy being used and movement? It was 'distant' and vague, even while concentrating, but undeniably real. It kind of felt like he was fighting in something really... syrupy, but he wasn't fighting or covered in syrup. Though he wouldn't mind either.

...well, okay, being covered in syrup would be kind of gross, but he wouldn't mind some syrup. Genuine Canuckian maple syr--no, concentrate!

An idea occurred to him... could he kizuna with his body? Only one way to find out.

Kizuna

It was sluggish, but gradually, a connection with his body did form, and he found himself mentally watching... his body not lying in repose. Actually, he saw Ochazuke, Zaofan, his mom, the tiddy elf princess, Erosa, and... Sasheem. And they were all fighting him.

Okay, as exciting as that sounded, something was up.

Oh god, what if he'd somehow split his soul in two and now there was a Totoma Black running around being evil? That... that...

...was stupid. Maybe his empty body had been possessed? Yeah, that made more sense. Kind of? He didn't know how things like that worked, but the point was... he had to help!

Concentrating, he amped up the Kizuna, to try to do something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Vaikuntha, as Battersea fought the others, his right fist suddenly clenched and slammed itself into his own chin.


A certain sluggishness would come over him, as a sense of something or someone fighting his control of the body washed over his senses. An image of a certain half-saiyan appeared in his mind's eye, smiling smugly.

'Don't know or care who you are, but leave my friends and sasheem alone!'

...and then the true horror started. Music began to play in his mind... but not just any music.

Meat Market Rap Mixes.



Unrelenting, unblockable... insanity-inducing. It screamed through the corners of his mind, slowly amping up in volume.

[grampagen]

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.

In that instant, the subtle life-force of the land flowing into him to augment his condition carried with it another presence. Where Nevanlinna was in this plane was a paradox nigh immaterial; she could feel her view and her control over this place, and attuned it with his efforts.

Perhaps, somehow, that might make the difference to preserve their condition.

After tossing Erosa away, he settles down and looks at Ochazuke with anger and recognition.

“Balon’s Dragon. The old fool will be my first visit, him and my daughter.”

He drops into his classic pugilist stance, then smirks. He throws a punch forward, and suddenly Ochazuke feels the blow on his shoulder.

Another punch is thrown, and this one lands in his kidneys somehow despite the distance. And then Ochazuke sees a brief flare of a Void Lens as Simon punches, his hand entering and exiting at super speed by one right next to Ochazuke.

Battersea grins and goes on a long range punching frenzy, void lens by the dozens appearing all around Ochazuke as Battersea gains more mastery over Totoma’s techniques and starts utilizing them.

The impact was so sudden, all Ochazuke could do was brace for it, maintaining his footing as the grass split into trenches under his feet.

That's not one of Battersea's techniques... the realization dawned on him as the next crashing blow fell upon him. Portals. Void tunnels. How many days had it been since Battersea had taken possession of Totoma, and yet already--!

In that gaps between Nevanlinna's Aura of Fire suddenly Ochazuke became aware of Battersea's method.

Reaching out with his sense, it was somewhat obvious, rendered by the telltale ki marker of the Void Tunnels.

Shoshin Hiei

Reacting to the next emergent fist, Ochazuke threw up a winding guard and seized on one, and locked Battersea's arm at full extension through the portal.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Between Totoma interfering and making him punch himself with one blow, and Ochazuke catching the other, Battersea was getting pissed.

Shaking his head clear and focusing through that terrible music, he jerks forward and the void lens opens wider, allowing him to pass fully through to where Ochazuke had his arm trapped.

Which let him use Totoma’s more flexible body to do a wheel kick square on the side of Ochazuke’s head, sending him flying and freeing his bound arm.

—————

Totoma, in your meditative like stance, an image of Simon Battersea suddenly forms and starts choking you, having followed your Kizuna link back to where you were.

‘Damn brat. Know your place!’

How he was able to posses and project like that was odd, but impressive.

[MrSandman]

While events played out in Vaikuntha, back on the lookout Eve would find a hesitant Etrina approaching her carrying a foci in her hands.

"Hey.....How are you doing Eve?" The time mage glanced around. "The others are already off to another fight it seems..." Taking a moment to look down at the foci in her arms, she let it float over to eve. She'd notice a sealed letter pinned to its chest.

"When Zaofan returns, could you deliver this to him....I'd deliver it myself but" She paused. "...I have my own battle to fight." Another pause, then quietly sighed. "....right.....keep safe....no more dying on us...." She mustered what smile she could, then formed a portal nearby and quietly vanished within.

[grampagen]

Between Totoma interfering and making him punch himself with one blow, and Ochazuke catching the other, Battersea was getting pissed.

Shaking his head clear and focusing through that terrible music, he jerks forward and the void lens opens wider, allowing him to pass fully through to where Ochazuke had his arm trapped.

Which let him use Totoma’s more flexible body to do a wheel kick square on the side of Ochazuke’s head, sending him flying and freeing his bound arm.

—————

Totoma, in your meditative like stance, an image of Simon Battersea suddenly forms and starts choking you, having followed your Kizuna link back to where you were.

‘Damn brat. Know your place!’

How he was able to posses and project like that was odd, but impressive.

As he struck Ochazuke and seemed to argue with...some invisible voice in his mind, Zaofan saw his opening and pounced on it.

Quite literally, as with the Pressure Kicker rocketing him down from the sky, he took Simon's back, folding one arm behind him like a chicken wing and applying a Crossface.

Compliments of Brutus Bedlam, the Martial Chef sunk in the Bear Lock!

Recovering some distance away, Ochazuke reeled before going back at it into the fray.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Between Totoma interfering and making him punch himself with one blow, and Ochazuke catching the other, Battersea was getting pissed.

Shaking his head clear and focusing through that terrible music, he jerks forward and the void lens opens wider, allowing him to pass fully through to where Ochazuke had his arm trapped.

Which let him use Totoma’s more flexible body to do a wheel kick square on the side of Ochazuke’s head, sending him flying and freeing his bound arm.

—————

Totoma, in your meditative like stance, an image of Simon Battersea suddenly forms and starts choking you, having followed your Kizuna link back to where you were.

‘Damn brat. Know your place!’

How he was able to posses and project like that was odd, but impressive.

Wait, the guy possessing him was Battersea!? What in the ****!?

...and he was choking him.

Well, that wasn't good.

His arms shot up between Battersea's, as he burst into Super Saiyan 2... and then he pushed outwards, working Battersea's arms far enough apart that he had enough space to slip down and...



...bite into his projection as hard as he saiyan-ly could.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tasure cocked her head as Battersea... punched himself? What in the blazes was going...

...

Somehow, deep down, she knew that her boy was somehow responsible for this. Only that idiot would think to try--and succeed--at pulling off something as absurd as trying to control his possessed body from the afterlife. Probably using Kizuna or... something. He had a knack for coming up with weird techniques, so she wouldn't put anything past him.

As Ochazuke was flung away and Zaofan got Battersea in a lock, Tasure once again put her fingers to her forehead, disappearing and reappearing just in front of Battersea, immediately thrusting her fist at the temporarily (?) restrained body-thief.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Wait, the guy possessing him was Battersea!? What in the ****!?

...and he was choking him.

Well, that wasn't good.

His arms shot up between Battersea's, as he burst into Super Saiyan 2... and then he pushed outwards, working Battersea's arms far enough apart that he had enough space to slip down and...



...bite into his projection as hard as he saiyan-ly could.

"..."

"..."

Vocado frowned and rubbed his beard as the two of them watched Totoma fight... nothing. He seemed to be in the middle of some kind of mental breakdown. "Is he... usually like this?" Vocado asked.

"Of course not! But, he's obviously doing some kind of super secret hero training!" Rutaba sighed dreamily. "Look at that form. That tenacity. His technique is just so refine and so perfect!"

"..."

[KingofPie]

Between Totoma interfering and making him punch himself with one blow, and Ochazuke catching the other, Battersea was getting pissed.

Shaking his head clear and focusing through that terrible music, he jerks forward and the void lens opens wider, allowing him to pass fully through to where Ochazuke had his arm trapped.

Which let him use Totoma’s more flexible body to do a wheel kick square on the side of Ochazuke’s head, sending him flying and freeing his bound arm.

—————

Totoma, in your meditative like stance, an image of Simon Battersea suddenly forms and starts choking you, having followed your Kizuna link back to where you were.

‘Damn brat. Know your place!’

How he was able to posses and project like that was odd, but impressive.

"Hey, Bladdersea!" Sasheem taunted, having now reformed fully. "We never got properly introduced, Sahseem doesn't think. Name's Sasheem, heir to the Snake School. ...Also known as your better," the Majin smiled, he himself now taking a stance of the Lion School. "Your roar ain't nothin' but a whistle compared to mine..." he grinne,d hias arms multiplying with Naga Palm, each hand now curled into a Katchin fist.

Tasure cocked her head as Battersea... punched himself? What in the blazes was going...

...

Somehow, deep down, she knew that her boy was somehow responsible for this. Only that idiot would think to try--and succeed--at pulling off something as absurd as trying to control his possessed body from the afterlife. Probably using Kizuna or... something. He had a knack for coming up with weird techniques, so she wouldn't put anything past him.

As Ochazuke was flung away and Zaofan got Battersea in a lock, Tasure once again put her fingers to her forehead, disappearing and reappearing just in front of Battersea, immediately thrusting her fist at the temporarily (?) restrained body-thief.

"Resounding Roar- The King's Call!" he shouted, his voice directed and echoing at around Sasheem himself, raising his ki and distorting the air with it's vibrations. He was keeping it more controlled then he normally would've. The others would have to owe him after all, if he decided to spare them from getting caught in the crossfire. Either way, the sound wasn't the goal after all. It was the roar's ability to spatially distort itself, allowing Sasheem's punches to rain in from multiple locations. All intent on landing a punches on Battersea in every direction aside from the one Tasure had hit.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

While events played out in Vaikuntha, back on the lookout Eve would find a hesitant Etrina approaching her carrying a foci in her hands.

"Hey.....How are you doing Eve?" The time mage glanced around. "The others are already off to another fight it seems..." Taking a moment to look down at the foci in her arms, she let it float over to eve. She'd notice a sealed letter pinned to its chest.

"When Zaofan returns, could you deliver this to him....I'd deliver it myself but" She paused. "...I have my own battle to fight." Another pause, then quietly sighed. "....right.....keep safe....no more dying on us...." She mustered what smile she could, then formed a portal nearby and quietly vanished within.

Before she leaves she takes the latter and then hugs Etrina.

“Be safe, my friend. And don’t do anything foolish.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As he struck Ochazuke and seemed to argue with...some invisible voice in his mind, Zaofan saw his opening and pounced on it.

Quite literally, as with the Pressure Kicker rocketing him down from the sky, he took Simon's back, folding one arm behind him like a chicken wing and applying a Crossface.

Compliments of Brutus Bedlam, the Martial Chef sunk in the Bear Lock!

Recovering some distance away, Ochazuke reeled before going back at it into the fray.

He is currently caught in the lock.

“Bedlam’s technique!? You really are slumming aren’t you, Zaofan?”

Wait, the guy possessing him was Battersea!? What in the ****!?

...and he was choking him.

Well, that wasn't good.

His arms shot up between Battersea's, as he burst into Super Saiyan 2... and then he pushed outwards, working Battersea's arms far enough apart that he had enough space to slip down and...



...bite into his projection as hard as he saiyan-ly could.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tasure cocked her head as Battersea... punched himself? What in the blazes was going...

...

Somehow, deep down, she knew that her boy was somehow responsible for this. Only that idiot would think to try--and succeed--at pulling off something as absurd as trying to control his possessed body from the afterlife. Probably using Kizuna or... something. He had a knack for coming up with weird techniques, so she wouldn't put anything past him.

As Ochazuke was flung away and Zaofan got Battersea in a lock, Tasure once again put her fingers to her forehead, disappearing and reappearing just in front of Battersea, immediately thrusting her fist at the temporarily (?) restrained body-thief.

He grunts as Tasure lands a blow, doubling over as much as he can while in the Bear Lock.

His power swells and he grunts as he starts powering up even more.

————

Meanwhile, projection Battersea grunts and powers up to match Totoma, using his greater reach to push back and head but the half-bred away from him.

Followed by a powerful field goal like kick between projection Totoma’s legs.