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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

She let out a soft chuckle.

That chuckle grew into a boisterous laugh that lasted for nearly a full minute.

That was Inanna's plan. It was more expansive and on a much higher scale, but it was her plan. She wanted to tear down the established order and replace it with what she deemed better. From that small bit, it sounded like Sakin intended on doing the same.

"Very interesting," she responded once she calmed down. "It seems you and a certain someone I know have similar aspirations. Centering your pantheon around Genesis is interesting, considering we'll be destroying her the next time we see her. Well, I'm sure someone of your lofty station has it all figured out."

The voice chuckles again, only this time it seems to alter into a familiar female voice.


The Doctor’s voice.

‘Of course. Have you yet?’

It slowly alters again, this time into Wilhelm Greylights’.

‘You assume much, yet know little. Can you understand......what......I.......am?’

Eldfen’s hissing voice greets their minds next.

‘Or what Genesis is? Her true purpose? Glorious purpose?’

It shifts to Maiz’s voice now.

‘I have been with you since the beginning, my daughter, and I’ll be there at the end too.’

[grampagen]

Sihn nods, his eyes faintly glowing.

“Trace.”

A bit of energy envelopes the sliver of Sakin.

“I have his scent.”

She let out a soft chuckle.

That chuckle grew into a boisterous laugh that lasted for nearly a full minute.

That was Inanna's plan. It was more expansive and on a much higher scale, but it was her plan. She wanted to tear down the established order and replace it with what she deemed better. From that small bit, it sounded like Sakin intended on doing the same.

"Very interesting," she responded once she calmed down. "It seems you and a certain someone I know have similar aspirations. Centering your pantheon around Genesis is interesting, considering we'll be destroying her the next time we see her. Well, I'm sure someone of your lofty station has it all figured out."

As the voice entered their minds, from where or whome they could say, it was disorientating, to say the least. To have discovered they were being watched, only for these strange, unknown voices to intrude so suddenly, it was quite evident that things were not the way they seemed.

Ochazuke glanced around the room. As Parsley mocked his efforts, he silently smirked and nodded, rolling his hand forward in a gesture. Keep him talking.

Not a single utterance nor a word as he crossed over to Sihn's desk and seized the Soul Splicer in his hand. Focusing upon it for a moment with his meditation skill, he slowly began to unravel the artifact's nature with Banjakuza, intending to find some resonance with that disembodied voice that echoed with so many.

And as he did, he returned to Sakin's apparent agent where she lay crumpled on the floor. If she had acted upon his accord, just as she had received his parasitic blessing, some remnant of that energy signature might remain.

If there was not, well...there was one way to escalate this...but it was of a means which was quite desperate. Hoping not to bridge that gulf, for the moment he silently concentrated and sought out this presence.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The voice chuckles again, only this time it seems to alter into a familiar female voice.


The Doctor’s voice.

‘Of course. Have you yet?’

It slowly alters again, this time into Wilhelm Greylights’.

‘You assume much, yet know little. Can you understand......what......I.......am?’

Eldfen’s hissing voice greets their minds next.

‘Or what Genesis is? Her true purpose? Glorious purpose?’

It shifts to Maiz’s voice now.

‘I have been with you since the beginning, my daughter, and I’ll be there at the end too.’

The chorus of foreign voices brought a confused frown to her face. She assumed it was Sakin based on what they spoke about earlier. Casting other voices into people's head to throw them off his trail? Was all of that an ability of Angels?

The Doctor, William, and even Eldfen were all to be expected in hindsight. But Maiz? How? Had Sakin been watching them the entire time? Was it even Sakin she was speaking with?

"Your riddles don't amuse," she said coolly. "And neither does your attempt at playing mindgames. You think mimicking my mother's voice will throw me for a loop? No, it changes nothing. Whatever you're planning will result in your death."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ochazuke jumping into action. Undoubtedly, he was using the splice of energy siphoned forcibly from Kevi to track the source of that mysterious voice. Whether he would have it or not was not in doubt; rather, whether he would have it in time for them to catch him before he disappeared from Hell very much was. Until then, she would do all she could to delay him.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As the voice entered their minds, from where or whome they could say, it was disorientating, to say the least. To have discovered they were being watched, only for these strange, unknown voices to intrude so suddenly, it was quite evident that things were not the way they seemed.

Ochazuke glanced around the room. As Parsley mocked his efforts, he silently smirked and nodded, rolling his hand forward in a gesture. Keep him talking.

Not a single utterance nor a word as he crossed over to Sihn's desk and seized the Soul Splicer in his hand. Focusing upon it for a moment with his meditation skill, he slowly began to unravel the artifact's nature with Banjakuza, intending to find some resonance with that disembodied voice that echoed with so many.

And as he did, he returned to Sakin's apparent agent where she lay crumpled on the floor. If she had acted upon his accord, just as she had received his parasitic blessing, some remnant of that energy signature might remain.

If there was not, well...there was one way to escalate this...but it was of a means which was quite desperate. Hoping not to bridge that gulf, for the moment he silently concentrated and sought out this presence.

There is something.

You also notice that, where she crumpled, Kevi’s back was to you all.

She’s scribbling something in the ground with her nails.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The chorus of foreign voices brought a confused frown to her face. She assumed it was Sakin based on what they spoke about earlier. Casting other voices into people's head to throw them off his trail? Was all of that an ability of Angels?

The Doctor, William, and even Eldfen were all to be expected in hindsight. But Maiz? How? Had Sakin been watching them the entire time? Was it even Sakin she was speaking with?

"Your riddles don't amuse," she said coolly. "And neither does your attempt at playing mindgames. You think mimicking my mother's voice will throw me for a loop? No, it changes nothing. Whatever you're planning will result in your death."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ochazuke jumping into action. Undoubtedly, he was using the splice of energy siphoned forcibly from Kevi to track the source of that mysterious voice. Whether he would have it or not was not in doubt; rather, whether he would have it in time for them to catch him before he disappeared from Hell very much was. Until then, she would do all she could to delay him.

‘Are you certain?’

The voice shifts to child Sarada’s.

‘But then you’ve always been good at ruining things, right big sister?’

Sihn meanwhile has been staring straight a head, mumbling something under his breathe as light gathers in one hand. Sheki’hinah, seeing your plan with Ochazuke, also motions for her to continue as she quietly slips out of the office.

[grampagen]

There is something.

You also notice that, where she crumpled, Kevi’s back was to you all.

She’s scribbling something in the ground with her nails.

Unamused, Ochazuke did little more that raise a finger and expended no more effort than was necessary.

The Kamehameha of the Turtle School was a technique based on the issue of overwhelming force. Certainly, it had its uses. As an expression of the soul, it screamed loudly.

Perhaps that was why it had enjoyed notoriety, it was simplistic and had little nuance; one could not help but to notice it. The Dodonpa, on the other hand, was an assassin's technique. Refined, precise, it required precise control for it was more overtly lethal.

With nothing more than an gesture, Ochazuke shot Kevi and hit her arm with just enough force to twist it around and shatter every single bone within it from metacarpal to shoulder.

Idiot. I told you not to test me.

Whatever scheme she'd attempted would soon be revealed, and if it was in tandem with the Soul Meister - wherever this fresh annoyance might have been - he would find it soon enough, as he had now expanded his meditation field with Muhen Sekai Keihatsu, tracing the signature of his instrument throughout the genius loci of the Afterlife itself.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

‘Are you certain?’

The voice shifts to child Sarada’s.

‘But then you’ve always been good at ruining things, right big sister?’

Sihn meanwhile has been staring straight a head, mumbling something under his breathe as light gathers in one hand. Sheki’hinah, seeing your plan with Ochazuke, also motions for her to continue as she quietly slips out of the office.

It was all mind games. A change in voice was not going to be enough to rattle her. No, it was the implication that this individual - whether they were Sakin or not - knew highly personal and private information about herself and Sarada. Information that had never been said to anyone except a judge and Sheki'hinah. The number of people who knew what actually happened those days were small, and those people weren't talking.

"How do you know about that?" she growled.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It was all mind games. A change in voice was not going to be enough to rattle her. No, it was the implication that this individual - whether they were Sakin or not - knew highly personal and private information about herself and Sarada. Information that had never been said to anyone except a judge and Sheki'hinah. The number of people who knew what actually happened those days were small, and those people weren't talking.

"How do you know about that?" she growled.

‘Because I am everywhere that is needed. I am legion, and I am many.’

The voice changes to that of the judge from the trial.

‘You still don’t understand. Kevi and Simon aren’t the only ones who have accepted my gift. The living and the dead all answer me, see with my eyes, hear with my ears.’

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Unamused, Ochazuke did little more that raise a finger and expended no more effort than was necessary.

The Kamehameha of the Turtle School was a technique based on the issue of overwhelming force. Certainly, it had its uses. As an expression of the soul, it screamed loudly.

Perhaps that was why it had enjoyed notoriety, it was simplistic and had little nuance; one could not help but to notice it. The Dodonpa, on the other hand, was an assassin's technique. Refined, precise, it required precise control for it was more overtly lethal.

With nothing more than an gesture, Ochazuke shot Kevi and hit her arm with just enough force to twist it around and shatter every single bone within it from metacarpal to shoulder.

Idiot. I told you not to test me.

Whatever scheme she'd attempted would soon be revealed, and if it was in tandem with the Soul Meister - wherever this fresh annoyance might have been - he would find it soon enough, as he had now expanded his meditation field with Muhen Sekai Keihatsu, tracing the signature of his instrument throughout the genius loci of the Afterlife itself.

A thrumming, and you can see a thin line of energy connects Kevi’s hand and snakes away out of the office and away, with another also snaking away from the Soul Splicer and heading the same direction. Presumably, towards wherever the Soul Meister resides.

Kevi whimpers and slumps, her other arm continuing the writing in an almost fanatical way.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

‘Because I am everywhere that is needed. I am legion, and I am many.’

The voice changes to that of the judge from the trial.

‘You still don’t understand. Kevi and Simon aren’t the only ones who have accepted my gift. The living and the dead all answer me, see with my eyes, hear with my ears.’

"You learned it from the monster himself. I'm unsure what could have possibly been gained from any sort of conversation with a sub-Saiyan piece of scum with less worth than the pile of excrement right here," she said while gesturing toward Kevi.

Anyone they encountered informed him of them. She didn't know what his intentions were, but she could only assume it was as he said. The Gods and Angels would be replaced by those that would enjoy freedom.

"Tell me. In what way will speaking with the decreased help you? They're deceased for a reason. They weren't good enough, not strong enough, and were cast to the wayside when we were weaker than we are now. And by the time we meet face to face, we'll be even stronger."

Observational Focus

She measured the energy emitted by the Soul Splice and spread her senses to find the source. The moment she did, she and this person were going to continue their chat face to face.

[grampagen]

A thrumming, and you can see a thin line of energy connects Kevi’s hand and snakes away out of the office and away, with another also snaking away from the Soul Splicer and heading the same direction. Presumably, towards wherever the Soul Meister resides.

Kevi whimpers and slumps, her other arm continuing the writing in an almost fanatical way.

"Cheh."

Snatching the Stalker up by her wrist, Ochazuke pulled her up off of the floor, revealing to just what she had carved into it with her possessed writ.

"You learned it from the monster himself. I'm unsure what could have possibly been gained from any sort of conversation with a sub-Saiyan piece of scum with less worth than the pile of excrement right here," she said while gesturing toward Kevi.

Anyone they encountered informed him of them. She didn't know what his intentions were, but she could only assume it was as he said. The Gods and Angels would be replaced by those that would enjoy freedom.

"Tell me. In what way will speaking with the decreased help you? They're deceased for a reason. They weren't good enough, not strong enough, and were cast to the wayside when we were weaker than we are now. And by the time we meet face to face, we'll be even stronger."

Observational Focus

She measured the energy emitted by the Soul Splice and spread her senses to find the source. The moment she did, she and this person were going to continue their chat face to face.

With the Meister's instrument in one hand and his deposed agent in the other, Ochazuke traced the energy through the spiritual font of the Afterlife. Weaving through lines of departed souls, the lost, the wandering, the tormented and the damned, what strange absence there was in the lack of life in the environs was swallowed by the sheer mass of presences. There was a vestige of ki there, certainly, but the echo of the spiritual substance which sustained living was, in this realm, separated entirely from the cloister of the body.

Deluge of memory and feeling...the soul bared entirely.

Widow's Strife had made it her sustenance, that much had been harrowingly familiar half a year ago. That this one could supercede her lethal talents spoke to his subtle power, if not his wit.

The tether that linked Kevi to this creature where he spoke was apparent. Where he erred, however, was in his attempt to antagonize Parsley. If she could find him, she would move to his position in an instant.

Karura no Kaen.

And so with a gout of flame that lit up his spiritual tether, Ochazuke marked him for her to find. The Dragon's Fire he'd adapted to consume the spiritual matter and immolate deceit, drawn from energy fortification, illusion, and possession alike.

Doing this in the afterlife to a presence of this magnitude, it would be like throwing a spark onto a patch of oil.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Cheh."

Snatching the Stalker up by her wrist, Ochazuke pulled her up off of the floor, revealing to just what she had carved into it with her possessed writ.



With the Meister's instrument in one hand and his deposed agent in the other, Ochazuke traced the energy through the spiritual font of the Afterlife. Weaving through lines of departed souls, the lost, the wandering, the tormented and the damned, what strange absence there was in the lack of life in the environs was swallowed by the sheer mass of presences. There was a vestige of ki there, certainly, but the echo of the spiritual substance which sustained living was, in this realm, separated entirely from the cloister of the body.

Deluge of memory and feeling...the soul bared entirely.

Widow's Strife had made it her sustenance, that much had been harrowingly familiar half a year ago. That this one could supercede her lethal talents spoke to his subtle power, if not his wit.

The tether that linked Kevi to this creature where he spoke was apparent. Where he erred, however, was in his attempt to antagonize Parsley. If she could find him, she would move to his position in an instant.

Karura no Kaen.

And so with a gout of flame that lit up his spiritual tether, Ochazuke marked him for her to find. The Dragon's Fire he'd adapted to consume the spiritual matter and immolate deceit, drawn from energy fortification, illusion, and possession alike.

Doing this in the afterlife to a presence of this magnitude, it would be like throwing a spark onto a patch of oil.

You pull Kevi up, revealing a series of glyphs carved into the wood. Even as you do this, your signal lites up and the voice in your head suddenly goes quiet even as the path to him seems very evident now, your signal like a bonfire in the dark.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"You learned it from the monster himself. I'm unsure what could have possibly been gained from any sort of conversation with a sub-Saiyan piece of scum with less worth than the pile of excrement right here," she said while gesturing toward Kevi.

Anyone they encountered informed him of them. She didn't know what his intentions were, but she could only assume it was as he said. The Gods and Angels would be replaced by those that would enjoy freedom.

"Tell me. In what way will speaking with the decreased help you? They're deceased for a reason. They weren't good enough, not strong enough, and were cast to the wayside when we were weaker than we are now. And by the time we meet face to face, we'll be even stronger."

Observational Focus

She measured the energy emitted by the Soul Splice and spread her senses to find the source. The moment she did, she and this person were going to continue their chat face to face.

With Ochazuke lighting the way, the Soul Meister’s location was easily found.

Sihn nods and places a hand on your shoulder.

“Lead the way.”

[grampagen]

You pull Kevi up, revealing a series of glyphs carved into the wood. Even as you do this, your signal lites up and the voice in your head suddenly goes quiet even as the path to him seems very evident now, your signal like a bonfire in the dark.

Ochazuke glanced at the glyphs below, it was clear whatever spellcraft this thing was attempting had been halted for a time. It being magical in nature, it was not anything he recognized, but these strange characters written by the phantom were not of Vermillion, nor Persephone's Avalon, nor the words of Auroc's script where it had corrupted his ruinous Threshling spells.

Muttering something under his breath, he plopped Kevi onto one of the office chairs and hit her in the back of the head with the Dragon's Kiss.

Whether Sakin or this creature, you've done quite enough today.

With Ochazuke lighting the way, the Soul Meister’s location was easily found.

Sihn nods and places a hand on your shoulder.

“Lead the way.”

"Would that it have been the other way around," Ochazuke said, unamused. "Best that we contain this before the enemies we've put down get ambitious enough to attack beyond the grave as well."

Standing near Parsley, the threads of Ochazuke's meditation field wove through the firmament of the Afterlife's strange terra firma, a layered web that spread for miles.

"The spell the Soul Meister put on Kevi has marked him. Do you sense the fire there, far off part the horizon? His agglutinated compact of souls bound to him is fodder for it."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ochazuke glanced at the glyphs below, it was clear whatever spellcraft this thing was attempting had been halted for a time. It being magical in nature, it was not anything he recognized, but these strange characters written by the phantom were not of Vermillion, nor Persephone's Avalon, nor the words of Auroc's script where it had corrupted his ruinous Threshling spells.

Muttering something under his breath, he plopped Kevi onto one of the office chairs and hit her in the back of the head with the Dragon's Kiss.

Whether Sakin or this creature, you've done quite enough today.



"Would that it have been the other way around," Ochazuke said, unamused. "Best that we contain this before the enemies we've put down get ambitious enough to attack beyond the grave as well."

Standing near Parsley, the threads of Ochazuke's meditation field wove through the firmament of the Afterlife's strange terra firma, a layered web that spread for miles.

"The spell the Soul Meister put on Kevi has marked him. Do you sense the fire there, far off part the horizon? His agglutinated compact of souls bound to him is fodder for it."

Kevi slumps, unconscious.

Sihn nods, the glowing light in his hand shifting as it reaches out and touches the three of you, sending a chilled sensation of winter’s first clean and pure breeze through your bodies. It’s oddly refreshing.

“Protection against soul manipulation. Just in case. Sheki will see to Kevi.”