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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Month 10

The time had finally come. Seven months of hard work, long days and nights, and endless headaches had come to fruition. The rest of the cities were planned out and ready to be built in succession. More importantly, New Vocado City was finally furnished and ready to be opened. Sarada decided to let people move in gradually as the cities were being built. They were getting restless, so it was probably a good idea to let them move into their new homes and explore the planet.

Oh, the planet’s name?

Sarada opted to put it up to a vote a few months ago. She wanted to name it Vocado II, just to keep things as close to the same as possible. The people disagreed, overwhelmingly so. Thus, by their decree, the throne-world was christened Sarada. It was only natural; after all, she did defeat the greatest threat to their safety since Glacier. Avoca was sure that if Vocado himself was still alive, he would agreed whole-heartedly that she deserved to have the throne-world bear her name.

Sarada may have vocally disagreed, but Avoca knew she was proud deep-down. She had worked her ass off to earn her people’s respect, and she finally had it.

The portals leading to each of the colonies were located five miles south of the capital. Millions of people - five, to be exact - poured in through the portals and rushed to find their new homes. As Avoca observed them as they entered, she saw nothing but excitement and relief. For months, those from Vocado had been displaced and homeless. The ones from Turrip had been homeless for years. While they had roofs over their heads, true, there was nothing like having a planet of their own to call home again. The hospitality that the colonies showed was overwhelming and timely, but it was time for them to finally have a place of their own.

“You really outdid yourself, Avoca,” Sarada said with a grateful smile. “I can’t thank you enough for taking this on. I can’t imagine how I would have fucked things up.”

Avoca waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. You got enough on your plate as is.” At the mention of plates, her stomach started growling. “Ugh, I’m starving. I think the kitchen at the palace is fully stocked by now.”

“You literally read my mind.”

As they flew toward their new home, she couldn’t help but notice the thing in Sarada’s hand. Unless she was mistaken, it was a book. That was impossible, so it must have been something else. “What’s that?”

“...oh. It’s one of the novels from Parsley’s library.”

?!?! “...I didn’t know she had picture books.”

“Shaddup.”

The royal palace had many of the same amenities and luxuries that the old palace on Vocado had, with one small exception: a safe room the basement. The attack on Langal months ago that saw Parsley’s children and Sarada’s in mortal danger from invaders led many to the conclusion that the building wasn’t safe enough to protect anyone if the initial defenses were breached. Sarada was mostly hands off on the construction of the throne world, and only had a personal hand in the construction of the palace. That was the most important reason why, other than it being her actual home.

The safe room had its own power supply and communications array separate from the rest of the palace, storage space for the bare essentials, enough food to last five people for a week, and a jet propulsion system with an underground tunnel should escape have been necessary. All in all, it was a point of emphasis that the hazardous situation on Langal not ever be repeated again.

Speaking of power, each city was equipped with its own power supply. In the center of the cities was a forty foot tall tower with a glowing white sphere at the top. That sphere was filled with photon V, a clean energy source discovered on Turrip twelve years ago. Before, the Saiyans had been using archaic electrical power sourced from water, wind, and solar power. Much like those, photon V was easily produced and was excellent for the environment. Unlike those, it never extinguished due to chemical reactions that were far too complex for normal minds to comprehend. It was basically a flame that never went out, no matter how hard the wind blew against it.

“Did Maiz finish her temple thing?” Avoca asked as she and Sarada walked out of the kitchen with two-foot long sandwiches.

“She told me she did yesterday,” she responded. “Let’s go check it out.”

Much like Sarada’s palace, which was actually a few miles north of the capital city, Maiz’s guardian temple was out of the way from civilization. The planet was adorned with several waterfalls, and Maiz chose to set up shop within the largest one.

Sarada and Avoca landed softly on a rocky outcropping overlooking said waterfall. In the distance, they could see the skyline of the capital city as the setting sun drifted slowly toward the horizon. The bubbling roar of countless millions of gallons of water dropping over the edge of the fall was deafening, but also oddly peaceful. It was easy to see why Maiz chose that location over all others to build her new temple.

“Wow, it’s beautiful here,” Avoca commented.

“Yeah.” Sarada leaped off the edge and followed the water down. The waterfall continued for another hundred or so feet before it was violently funneled into a series of rivers that snaked across the planet. The outcropping, however, ended some distance before that. They landed at the mouth of an underground cave. Water from the waterfall poured down over the rocks to form a small lake. The water was so clean, it sparkled from the small bits of light that filtered down from above. Lanterns hung from the wall to provide light when it became dark. A single sakura tree had been planted in the middle of a patch of luscious green grass. It looked so out of place, so unnatural, but added to the peaceful ambience of the temple.

There, kneeling at the base of the tree, was Maiz. “I was wondering when you’d find me,” she said. “Sarada looks wonderful, Avoca. You did an exemplary job.”

It took her an embarrassing amount of time to realize she was talking about the planet. That will take some getting used to. “I just did what I could with what I was given,” she answered with a lazy shrug. “Have you finished setting up?”

“I have.” She rose to her feet and starting walking further into the cavern. “I’ll show you around. I’ve changed a few things from the old one.”

Avoca noticed that at the base of the tree where she had been kneeling, a picture of Rutaba and and one of Mato had been placed. In times of peace and jubilation, it was easy to forget the people that fell along the way toward that peace. Even if they were due to be brought back... at some point, it was worth remembering that without Mato and Rutaba’s sacrifices, Sarada would have been killed on Ruco. If that happened, they all would have been dead.

She bowed her head respectfully, then followed Maiz inside.

“The old temple was so dank and drab,” Maiz said as they walked further inside. Gradually, dank cavern walls were replaced by gray bricks and brown wood beams. Every so many feet, a pillar stretched from the floor to the ceiling; at the foot of each pillar was a face that looked eerily similar to an Oozaru. If it was or not wasn’t clear; not that it mattered. “I decided to liven up this new one.”

In the center of what Maiz called the foyer was another sakura tree. Small candles were bundled at each pillar, in between those pillars, and at the four corners of the small staircase that led up to the tree. Images were carved into the stone walls.

Maiz led Avoca and Sarada through the temple, showing them where everything was. Bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, lounge areas, and so on, she showed them everything. Almost everything. The only thing she didn’t show them was the Guardian Chamber. “Sorry, that’s a holy place,” she said with a cheeky grin. “So, what do you think?”

“It’s way better than the old one,” Sarada said, giving her mother figure two thumbs up. “All that’s missing is a place for us to train.”

Maiz’s face visibly soured. “There’s plenty of other places for that.”

“Relax, I was joking. Training underground doesn’t sound too smart.”

“Not, it doesn’t. How long before everyone is moved into all the cities?” She was talking to Avoca that time.

“Uh...” She pulled up her notes on the construction schedules. “Conservatively, another eight months.”

“Okay. Listen, I’d rather keep the number of people who know where this place is to a minimum. The less people that know, the less chance of someone... unsavory finding me before I know they’re here.”

They knew what she was talking about and understood. “Right. The council will obviously know, but we’ll leave everyone else to a need to know basis.”

“Thank you.”

The two bid Maiz a farewell and returned top-side shortly after. The sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky. A half-moon was ascending on the opposite side of the sky to take its place. Avoca let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes. “I haven’t slept in the last six months, so I’m hitting the hay.”

“Yeah, get some sleep. You’ve earned it, buddy.”

As she flew back toward the city, she noticed that Sarada wasn’t following her. Instead, she watched her sit down on the outcropping. At first assumption, it seemed like she was meditating, but meditation wasn’t really Sarada’s style; at least, it wasn’t anymore. While she wanted to head back and ask her what was up, she decided it was best to leave her alone. If it was that important, she could come to her once she had it sorted out in her head.

While her mind was on Sarada, another thought came to mind. “When am I getting my check?”

[MrSandman]

He jerks his thumb at Etrina and his clones.

“She finishes up and we begin training proper, yeah?”

"Finish up what?!" Etrina shouts while continuing to jam a card into the clones face, taking a moment to turn around she eyes the two half drunkenly and then realizes the deck of cards is no longer in the little gremlins hands. "AHA~! Nice support...I knew ye had it in ya...*hic*..."

Glancing back at the clones, then back towards the two, the master mage hiccuped in drunken confusion for a moment. "....Your waiting on me to do what......." She looked around again. "....Oh I see how it is....master magi gettin trash cleanup on her first day.....typ*hic*al......."

With a grandiose swing of her arm and recited a spell, though the dramatic flare was more the drunken influence. The words were....quiet yet harsh to the ears, and of a language Parsley .

"Ph'nglui ah'lw'nafhagl n'ghft, maw ph'nglui n'ghftnahh. Ymg' lllln'gha ahph'nglui" Despite the flush in her face, all color seemed to drain for a moment as her eyes flashed in a miasma of dark and purple energy. "Shadow Shoal"

There was no burst of power, no sudden flare of magic nor epic spectacle that followed. If not for the Saiyan Magician(Magiyan?) perceptive senses she might have assumed it a drunken dud of a spell.....but something had happened. It moved faster then the normal eye could perceive, but etrinas shadow had disintegrated into patches of black....wizzing along the ground before merging with the shadows of the Caliban clones. Upon contact, the blackness filled out their shadow...creating a much more pronounced shadow that seemed to be a shade darker then the ground around it, even in dim light.

Like a fish emerging from dark water, the shadows rippled and then broke as a mass of black writhing mouths and ooze, clamping fang and claw and mandible and beak upon the shadows owner. Each bit sapping ki and magic as they attempted to drag each clone into their own shadow...where they would vanish from sight before the shadow itself dissolved away into nothing.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The clones all vanish into the shadows, and eventually Etrina feels the intoxication fade from her system.

“Nicely done.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Finish up what?!" Etrina shouts while continuing to jam a card into the clones face, taking a moment to turn around she eyes the two half drunkenly and then realizes the deck of cards is no longer in the little gremlins hands. "AHA~! Nice support...I knew ye had it in ya...*hic*..."

Glancing back at the clones, then back towards the two, the master mage hiccuped in drunken confusion for a moment. "....Your waiting on me to do what......." She looked around again. "....Oh I see how it is....master magi gettin trash cleanup on her first day.....typ*hic*al......."

With a grandiose swing of her arm and recited a spell, though the dramatic flare was more the drunken influence. The words were....quiet yet harsh to the ears, and of a language Parsley .

"Ph'nglui ah'lw'nafhagl n'ghft, maw ph'nglui n'ghftnahh. Ymg' lllln'gha ahph'nglui" Despite the flush in her face, all color seemed to drain for a moment as her eyes flashed in a miasma of dark and purple energy. "Shadow Shoal"

There was no burst of power, no sudden flare of magic nor epic spectacle that followed. If not for the Saiyan Magician(Magiyan?) perceptive senses she might have assumed it a drunken dud of a spell.....but something had happened. It moved faster then the normal eye could perceive, but etrinas shadow had disintegrated into patches of black....wizzing along the ground before merging with the shadows of the Caliban clones. Upon contact, the blackness filled out their shadow...creating a much more pronounced shadow that seemed to be a shade darker then the ground around it, even in dim light.

Like a fish emerging from dark water, the shadows rippled and then broke as a mass of black writhing mouths and ooze, clamping fang and claw and mandible and beak upon the shadows owner. Each bit sapping ki and magic as they attempted to drag each clone into their own shadow...where they would vanish from sight before the shadow itself dissolved away into nothing.

To the normal eye, what Etrina just did would have seemed to be nothing more than a drunken flub. To Parsley's hyper perception, though, she saw it for what it really was: shadow magic. A spell that weaponized Etrina's own shadow and used it to absorb the creature's, and then the creature itself. Quite impressive, made even more so by the fact that Etrina was intoxicated to the point of slurring her words. It only gave credence and justification for the praise Parsley gave to her when they first arrived.

The clones all vanish into the shadows, and eventually Etrina feels the intoxication fade from her system.

“Nicely done.”

"Yes, very well done." She stepped forward until she was between Caliban and Etrina. "Now that you're done, we can move on to the real training."

[grampagen]

The Nevadian Navigator vessel pressed forth from the star system, and the light of the sun that shone on the Earth soon faded as they moved into warp.

"Coordinates were matched with the transponder data. We should be there in a few moments."

"Very good." Ulysses Prizzm fell back into his seat, taking a sip from the hot brew in his mug that sharpened his mind and stained his lips.

"The Admiral left a lot of work for us after the wake, didn't he, boys? Let it not be said that he never delivered or made a flimsy promise," the Captain said as he rose his cup to the bridge in a half-hearted salute. "To Held!"

The Nevadians under his command had a close brush with death when they had ferried the Earthmen to Baradur and Reshlan, but not even a day after they'd arrived on that volatile homeworld, a disruptive pulse seemed to flash over the entire world. His mind was on the job of setting the foundation of an outpost this deep in the frontier, but the moment he looked up, everybody but the crew of the Penelope had disappeared leaving them knee-deep with the Threshlings in their restoration effort.

To make matters worse, the Admiral's wife - when the bloody hell had he gotten married? - had sealed off his corpse and scuttled off with it when the band of fighters charged off through some magical wormhole hours. Ever since then, Ulysses had become aware that the Admiral left a strange clause in his paperwork that deferred a great deal of work to be done to his subsidiaries, and the recordkeepers made sure he knew that he was designated by name.

If Held Debon hadn't been a name to carry so much weight after what he'd done on Nevada-Prime to stem the Bicorn threat, he'd have tendered his resignation and taken his business elsewhere. Still, orders were orders, and he specifically requested that the Guild follow up with this planet he'd grown rather fond of. Once they'd helped Reshlan get on their feet - and got their merchants to sign a few choice agreements pertaining to portage and particular resources, the Navigator's Guild of Nevada moved out. If there was no honour in words, it would be in their deeds. Salient and saleable words to live by, they kept the confidence of their clients' interests sequestered as they worked.

After all, the mapmaker's contribution is invisible despite his work. The right of discovery is both a blessing and a curse.

The other part of good business is to not take on any job that had a scope you can't fulfill. A week had passed since that day, and one of the Humans that had hired him had contacted him. Finally they had been free to pursue this job.

The Admiral had said relations had been good with this sphere - if not exactly this quadrant - and he was given very specific coordinates. The target as it were was also not exactly far out from this system. This Pantaloon wasn't on the planet, so Ulysses supposed a ferrying job was as good as any, but as if it couldn't be worse, the Earthman that contacted him wasn't the chef. It was the one they called the Crane.

"The weird customs of this planet must've rubbed off the wrong way on the Admiral," Ulysses thought to himself. "Unicorn Tribe or otherwise...but despite not knowing a servo from a screw, this guy had delivered."

The stars streaked as they flew through the warp of folded space, and when they exited, they were greeted by...very little. Space was a big place, however, and they were going to find it. They had a reputation to keep up.

"Live up to your end of our compact, Captain Prizzm," Ochazuke said, "And you'll secure your portage rights with a partnership with the Earth."

"...Pardon me? I was under he impression that the Admiral had already secured as much?"

"A leftover assumption, perhaps, from his fugitive and single days, but Held just lived here in asylum. All the same, if it's business you're after, we have a mutual friend that will help your Federation on that front. First thing's first, follow the starmap."

It had recently left Capsule Corp's confidentiality, the file containing Dr. Char Banner Gero's confiscated notes of a planetary body drifting away some distance from their solar system. Yet besides Jinzi's personal vessels, the Earth hadn't had access to a space-ready vessel that could get there in a timely manner, and it was coming down to the wire with only months remaining until this prophecy came about. If this were their last days, then Ochazuke would see that they move forward to the task without any further regrets. And so, chartering Ulysses' vessel for another mission.

"Bloody well these coordinates will serve us," Ulysses grumbled, massaging his temple past his good eye. "Who the hell decided on 'click' as a unit of measurement?"

They weren't bad for a planet-bound people, considering. These Earthers, so he'd heard, were on the cusp of escaping the rockbound life, but it was clear this Pantaloon fellow that was the one really pulling them out of orbit. Yet these starmaps, so called, were no more a facsimile written on paper - paper! Moreover, everything was at a relative scale the Nevadians had to convert the numbers in the computer. Even inches to Standard Measure were off by the finest degrees, and across parsecs, the discrepancies magnified the further the distance out.

"Whatever the hell's out here, we'll find it soon."

Standing there on the bridge, gripping a halo rendered with circuity, without any other instrument Ochazuke peered out into the black sea of stars. The last time they took the Crane to flight, they'd managed to find the unfindable. For all that, they'd had to oversee the total destruction and societal upheaval of Reshlan, and in the windfall his crew served as negotiatiors with her colonies. It'd still be years until they'd be up and ready to join a profitable venture with the Federation...on the other hand, they had established first contact with these Threshlings and would never let them forget it - or their debts.

"We've got something," an ensign sounded out. Ulysses leaned forward in his chair and viewed the monitors.

"An isolated planetoid," he mused, "about the size of a small moon. Strange, it doesn't correspond to any stars in the local systems. No orbits, and its rotation...it's static."

"Composition readout shows it's got a breathable atmosphere, but its surface composition hasn't got anything that would sustain life. You can see it from here, it's made of metal."

"That must be it then," Ochazuke said, "Dr. Char Banner Gero's prize, the Big Ghetti Star."

"Helmsman, stay close," Ulysses said as he rose, "We'll send down a survey team at once."

[grampagen]

One month in...........


He’d been back for a week, a week! And already he had been elected President. Somewhere, his wife and kids were laughing.

Jinzi sighs and sits down, running his eyes over the paperwork before him. He’d taken the job, mostly to help calm Earth down and keep the peace while he tried to figure a way out of it, but over the last few days he had slowly started going through paperwork and backlogs, old agreements and other such paper trails Grinthorn had left and Jinzi quickly realized he may be stuck in this role a bit longer than he had thought. Especially if the burgeoning plan in his mind to restore several city states back to independence was to work.

It was around this time that Zaofan had taken a brief sabbatical from training to head down to Capsule Corp. He'd meant to go there once it'd been refurbished, but he'd been rather occupied with a number of things following the mad chase to Darkle.

Hanging his jaw to alleviate the stiffness, he rubbed the shiner on his brow. Training had been ramping up intensely lately, and he'd been so wrapped up in salving his deficiencies he gave as good as he got. But reminiscing to that day, when their friends died and those responsible had escaped...he suddenly remembered that when the Ulthan asked if they wanted a piece of them?

Well, he actually had quite a few pieces of one of them. He just hadn't the foggiest of what to do with them.

Which led him back here to the refurbished dome of Capsule Corporation where this quest began ages ago.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It was around this time that Zaofan had taken a brief sabbatical from training to head down to Capsule Corp. He'd meant to go there once it'd been refurbished, but he'd been rather occupied with a number of things following the mad chase to Darkle.

Hanging his jaw to alleviate the stiffness, he rubbed the shiner on his brow. Training had been ramping up intensely lately, and he'd been so wrapped up in salving his deficiencies he gave as good as he got. But reminiscing to that day, when their friends died and those responsible had escaped...he suddenly remembered that when the Ulthan asked if they wanted a piece of them?

Well, he actually had quite a few pieces of one of them. He just hadn't the foggiest of what to do with them.

Which led him back here to the refurbished dome of Capsule Corporation where this quest began ages ago.

Zaofan is given access easily enough, and he finds Jinzi amidst a small mountain of paperwork in his business office.

[grampagen]

Zaofan is given access easily enough, and he finds Jinzi amidst a small mountain of paperwork in his business office.

Zaofan opened the door slowly and peeped around the corner of the office door to find the newly minted President of the World in the midst of a pile of documents. How long had it been since he last saw him? Must've been a bit over a year, and here Jinzi was, just as he remembered him. The stacks of paper seemed to shrink and stack right before his eyes as they were processed, for the man seemed to be absorbed in his work entirely.

"Now wait a second, who the heck is this guy? I didn't vote for him!"

Spreading his arms wide, he brought it in for a hug.

"Well look at you. President Pantaloon!" Zaofan grinned then looked around the office. There seemed to be piles and piles of documents even behind the desk and stacked over the cabinets. "Geez, this is quite a load, isn't it? Then again the last guy wasn't exactly up to snuff on this sort of thing, kinda just made them disappear, didn't he?"

He looked around the place and shook his head.

"...now uh, I don't want to intrude too much, but how about we take a break for something a little more up your alley? Are the labs in the Geofront back up to snuff?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Zaofan opened the door slowly and peeped around the corner of the office door to find the newly minted President of the World in the midst of a pile of documents. How long had it been since he last saw him? Must've been a bit over a year, and here Jinzi was, just as he remembered him. The stacks of paper seemed to shrink and stack right before his eyes as they were processed, for the man seemed to be absorbed in his work entirely.

"Now wait a second, who the heck is this guy? I didn't vote for him!"

Spreading his arms wide, he brought it in for a hug.

"Well look at you. President Pantaloon!" Zaofan grinned then looked around the office. There seemed to be piles and piles of documents even behind the desk and stacked over the cabinets. "Geez, this is quite a load, isn't it? Then again the last guy wasn't exactly up to snuff on this sort of thing, kinda just made them disappear, didn't he?"

He looked around the place and shook his head.

"...now uh, I don't want to intrude too much, but how about we take a break for something a little more up your alley? Are the labs in the Geofront back up to snuff?"

For a man without any super speed, Jinzi’s sudden lurch from his desk to beside Zaofan was impressive.

“Please! If I stare at these documents for another minute I’m going to burn the place down, Zaofan!”

His left eye twitches slightly.

“Adam! Protocol 3!”

A familiar silver android detaches from the wall and effortlessly assumes Jinzi’s shape and form behind the desk, waving a trailing tentacle at Zaofan and Jinzi.

“Now, Zaofan, can you get me there without my secretaries seeing me? Because they haven’t been letting me tinker for the last week! A week without my lab! Can you believe that?”

[grampagen]

Asha'rah losing the plot during her war reminded Sarada of what Zaofan said a few minutes earlier.


Were they in danger of falling down the same path Asha'rah did all those thousands of years ago? Being so caught up in the fight that they forgot why they were fighting in the first place? Asha'rah originally fought her war because those with strength were running roughshod over those without it. The war was the send a message to Zen'o because he apparently refused to listen to her when she used her words. In the end, she murdered her best friend and was fighting to win, not to improve the station and circumstances of her creation.

Sarada reminded herself when Zaofan first mentioned it of why she, and they, were fighting. It was easy to slip into that mindset that what option set them closer to total victory was on the table, especially with that victory in view against an overwhelming enemy. Asha'rah fell to the mindset and it cost Indar'en his life. With the Remnants of her greatest mistake lurking somewhere in the universe, it was a living reminder of how deadly a "win at all costs" mentality was. They were fighting for a reason, but that reason didn't mean they needed to lose themselves and who they were.

If they won, but lost themselves, then what was the point?

"I'm not losing any more friends. Held, Jack, and Nunlil were enough. All collateral because of some jackass' hair-brained scheme." One that he gave up on when he realized he hadn't accounted for Inanna having friends who cared about her well-being. At least, before everything fell to ****.

She wanted to ask him if his declaration included Inanna, but she didn't want to put him on the spot. Besides, she supposed his answer didn't matter. If he did include her, then great; if not, then that was all the more reason to believe that her wife wasn't coming back. How did it all go wrong? she wondered with a stifled sigh. I'd better stop thinking about it. It always makes me angry when I do.

"You're welcome, Zaofan."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," he smiled, "Frankly, what affects one of us affects all of us, as far as the powers that be are concerned it seems."

Of course, even though he'd been hands-on in the kitchen, and had made sure their visitors had been comfortable, he was not deaf or blind.

"I'm...not one to pry about the last row, but if you ask me, we should do what we can to keep the friends we still have."

It was already seven months into the year. We're in the end times now.

"Best not to take anything for granted, either. What we've got right now...well. I hate to say it, but it could be just as fleeting. In the blink of an eye they might not be around anymore."

"Longing makes it better...." The Foci mumbled sleepily. ".....like coffee......"

The Foci made a sleepy but totally obvious gesture to Zaofan.

"I wanna coffee..."

With a swiftness as sure as a...swift, Zaofan set a saucer down with a clatter, carrying upon it a mug of coffee about the size of the Green Foci herself.

Oh, Etrina, where are you... The little effigy spoke with her voice, and her sleepy face drifted off the way she did in the wee hours in the study. He folded a napkin into a pouch and set it there next to the cup in case she had second thoughts.

For the last part of this year, Etrina's insurance policy for her spells had been his lifeline. As long as Little Green is with me, I know she's still out there, and she'll come back.

"As you wish."

*sniff* *sniff*

Sarada's gaze drifted over to the sleeping toddler and saw her nose twitching. ...great.

At hearing Zaofan talk about Ochazuke and their training, her eyes narrowed a touch. Perfectionist? Yes, perfectly suited for running people off. Her teeth starting grinding as she recounted the accusatory words being thrown her wife's way, but both him and her sister. Neither bothered to try and understand why Inanna did...

Damn it. There I go again.

She sighed and let it drop without a word said.

"Parsley and I haven't had much time to do any serious training other than three year-long stints on Ilargi this past year," she answered. "There are few people I trust more than her. Sounds like you feel the same way about your brother. Well-founded; there's no one more reliable." That she was able to saw that without gritting her teeth during was a testament to how true the statement was. She wasn't so salty about the past that she couldn't give credit where it was due.

"Same here. Though trips to the Room of Spirit and Time have been used...mostly for theory-crafting lately, rather than the old marathon sessions," Zaofan replied, "Gotta make the most of the time we've got, that's getting scarcer by the moment, and there's so much to do."

Outside, the rattle and clash of the metal rings continued in the wake of Ochazuke's training.

"It's mostly for things going on down below. It was his idea to write the Treatise on Ki because it's one thing to feel it out, but to articulate the craft for someone else to follow, well, let's just say it's a bit easier for recipes, say since food doesn't fight back. Even so, it's really kickstarted the training curriculum in the Martial Academy there at Samson Balon's Dragon Temple. You should've seen the Master's face light up, I don't think he ever thought he'd ever teach a full class again, much less light the way for the next generation of this tradition. I can't think of many other people who deserved another chance to rebuild things better than they were before.*"

Zaofan wrinkled his nose and shrugged his shoulders, allowing himself a small moment of contentment.

"Of course, they have no part in our fight, yet as much as I'd like to keep it that way, should the worse happen to us, it'll fall to them," he said, "Aaaaand I've gotten a little off track, sorry."

"We'll have to wait for Parsley to return to get the other half of the picture, but I don't doubt you've learned quite a bit about one another each session," he said, "Now I've been on the receiving end of one of her sparring sessions, but I'd like a second opinion."

*To be written soon!

[Yun Lao]

It had been a while since he was last allowed to wander on his own... to be precise, this was his first time. Rex had been the one to last leave Earth.

This left him at a loss, unsure of how to proceed. His initial thoughts were of rest and relaxation, but he wanted more. Earth was his home, even if he no longer held the connections he had as Charco or Rex. There surely must be something for him beyond fighting?

Rising into the air, he took off into the sky. If he was to find meaning, to begin his own chapter in life, he would first need to establish himself; or at least re-establish himself as some of the others had witnessed his "birth". His thoughts first went to Jinzi and Capsule Corps, driven by memories of Charco when first taken in for proper training, but he ultimately knew the only place he should go was the Lookout.

[grampagen]

For a man without any super speed, Jinzi’s sudden lurch from his desk to beside Zaofan was impressive.

“Please! If I stare at these documents for another minute I’m going to burn the place down, Zaofan!”

His left eye twitches slightly.

“Adam! Protocol 3!”

A familiar silver android detaches from the wall and effortlessly assumes Jinzi’s shape and form behind the desk, waving a trailing tentacle at Zaofan and Jinzi.

“Now, Zaofan, can you get me there without my secretaries seeing me? Because they haven’t been letting me tinker for the last week! A week without my lab! Can you believe that?”

"Whoa geez~!" Zaofan found himself short of words, offering Jinzi a pat on the back as he looked around.

Seeing Adam slither out of the wall and get back to the task at hand was something he wasn't fully prepared for, but it was nice to see a familiar face - in a manner of speaking.

"Hmm...well, the shortest path there, other than straight down, might take a bit if I'm remembering correctly," he replied, "but hey, I'm reasonably sure I can get you to the lift down. As far as anyone else'd be concerned, there'd be an unusually stiff breeze in the halls."

Certainly, it'd be easy enough to get himself down there alright, but Jinzi had never been one for training. Well this is a pickle...

"I hope old Wilhelm's still on staff," he mused as he gathered some ki into his hand, "And Adam, whenever you're done, why don't you join us? Ah, it's so nice to see everyone again...next time uh, I'll call ahead, but this is something that's waited long enough. First thing's first..."

Applying a shroud of Kaiten to himself, Zaofan tested the recoil of his ki as he set a foot down to the floor, and by altering the flow of kinetic energy back into itself at the point of contact, he'd rendered his footsteps silent. Next, he applied a Scarlet Shield over Jinzi's person, effectively granting him a protective aura that moved at the same frequency as his own.

"Okay, we're going to book it to the elevator. It's probably going to be a bit of a trip, so hold absolutely still."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Whoa geez~!" Zaofan found himself short of words, offering Jinzi a pat on the back as he looked around.

Seeing Adam slither out of the wall and get back to the task at hand was something he wasn't fully prepared for, but it was nice to see a familiar face - in a manner of speaking.

"Hmm...well, the shortest path there, other than straight down, might take a bit if I'm remembering correctly," he replied, "but hey, I'm reasonably sure I can get you to the lift down. As far as anyone else'd be concerned, there'd be an unusually stiff breeze in the halls."

Certainly, it'd be easy enough to get himself down there alright, but Jinzi had never been one for training. Well this is a pickle...

"I hope old Wilhelm's still on staff," he mused as he gathered some ki into his hand, "And Adam, whenever you're done, why don't you join us? Ah, it's so nice to see everyone again...next time uh, I'll call ahead, but this is something that's waited long enough. First thing's first..."

Applying a shroud of Kaiten to himself, Zaofan tested the recoil of his ki as he set a foot down to the floor, and by altering the flow of kinetic energy back into itself at the point of contact, he'd rendered his footsteps silent. Next, he applied a Scarlet Shield over Jinzi's person, effectively granting him a protective aura that moved at the same frequency as his own.

"Okay, we're going to book it to the elevator. It's probably going to be a bit of a trip, so hold absolutely still."

He nods and tenses a bit.

“Do it.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It had been a while since he was last allowed to wander on his own... to be precise, this was his first time. Rex had been the one to last leave Earth.

This left him at a loss, unsure of how to proceed. His initial thoughts were of rest and relaxation, but he wanted more. Earth was his home, even if he no longer held the connections he had as Charco or Rex. There surely must be something for him beyond fighting?

Rising into the air, he took off into the sky. If he was to find meaning, to begin his own chapter in life, he would first need to establish himself; or at least re-establish himself as some of the others had witnessed his "birth". His thoughts first went to Jinzi and Capsule Corps, driven by memories of Charco when first taken in for proper training, but he ultimately knew the only place he should go was the Lookout.

Eva stands on the she, looking up into the heavens as he approaches.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," he smiled, "Frankly, what affects one of us affects all of us, as far as the powers that be are concerned it seems."

Of course, even though he'd been hands-on in the kitchen, and had made sure their visitors had been comfortable, he was not deaf or blind.

"I'm...not one to pry about the last row, but if you ask me, we should do what we can to keep the friends we still have."

It was already seven months into the year. We're in the end times now.

"Best not to take anything for granted, either. What we've got right now...well. I hate to say it, but it could be just as fleeting. In the blink of an eye they might not be around anymore."

Sarada took a deep sigh. "I wish everyone shared that sentiment." She tried, but she couldn't hold it back anymore. "I don't think Inanna's coming back." She hadn't spoken to her much on that day before she disappeared, but she could see it in her body language. She could feel it. She was hurt, deeply. "We're supposed to be her friends and hardly no one tried to understand why she did what she did." Sarada was the only one that she could remember. She was angry at first, but knew that Inanna usually didn't do things for no reason. Even if they were reasons conjured from her own knotted mind. Sarada knew that if her wife kept something from her, it was for a reason. She didn't like it and wanted it to stop, but it was what it was.

"And Parsley was in the same boat she was in and she threw her under the fucking bus! She just stood there and let her take the blame for everything!"

Her fingers sunk into the table.

"People not being around anymore goes beyond them dying or disappearing. We pushed away one of the people who's been here since the beginning, been reliable and always had our backs. For what? A mistake? A lapse in judgment? Being too proud to apologize?"

Hearing her say that made her realize that they may have done the same to Asha'rah. She kept that to herself until she could think about it more, but it did make her question her feelings on the fallen goddess.

She sighed again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like you had done those things. I don't think you were even there when it all went down." He may have been helping "Totoma" at the time. "I guess I'm biased," she muttered, her eyes drifting to the floor. "I don't know."

"Same here. Though trips to the Room of Spirit and Time have been used...mostly for theory-crafting lately, rather than the old marathon sessions," Zaofan replied, "Gotta make the most of the time we've got, that's getting scarcer by the moment, and there's so much to do."

Outside, the rattle and clash of the metal rings continued in the wake of Ochazuke's training.

"It's mostly for things going on down below. It was his idea to write the Treatise on Ki because it's one thing to feel it out, but to articulate the craft for someone else to follow, well, let's just say it's a bit easier for recipes, say since food doesn't fight back. Even so, it's really kickstarted the training curriculum in the Martial Academy there at Samson Balon's Dragon Temple. You should've seen the Master's face light up, I don't think he ever thought he'd ever teach a full class again, much less light the way for the next generation of this tradition. I can't think of many other people who deserved another chance to rebuild things better than they were before.*"

Zaofan wrinkled his nose and shrugged his shoulders, allowing himself a small moment of contentment.

"Of course, they have no part in our fight, yet as much as I'd like to keep it that way, should the worse happen to us, it'll fall to them," he said, "Aaaaand I've gotten a little off track, sorry."

"We'll have to wait for Parsley to return to get the other half of the picture, but I don't doubt you've learned quite a bit about one another each session," he said, "Now I've been on the receiving end of one of her sparring sessions, but I'd like a second opinion."

*To be written soon!

When Zaofan started to reminisce about Master Balon and his new Dragon School students, Sarada felt a smile tug on her lips. She had only met him once - twice if she decided to include his alt-timeline self during the tournament - but he was a good man. What Battersea did to him years ago was vile and only provided another piece of evidence on an already insurmountable mountain of evidence on what an unrepentant piece of literal **** Battersea was. He was gone and Balon was able to rebuild, it seemed.

"No worries. I'm glad things are progressing nicely with those ten schools of yours." She had heard encountered them briefly when she took Mais to see the Bedlam brothers months ago. Whatever she knew, she heard from Zaofan and Ochazuke. It sounded interesting, but she already had her own fighting style and really had no time to learn another one.

"I'll have to take some time off when she gets back," she said. "There's no telling how long she'll be at nerd boot camp with that creation god."