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

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat is looking at her projects and then looks at blueprints for a giant mech. ( Heh, I remember showing this blueprint to Miras and asking her if I could turn this ship into a ship that transforms into a cool giant mech. She got mad and said no, so I canned that project,) Praxat thought.

Praxat then looks at a microchip on her desk. ( Now, this is a project I'm looking forward to completing. It's my Nanite Neural Cerebral Cortex Holo Interface Communicator or NNCCHIC. If I can get this working, This project of mine could become the de facto communicator for the GP,) Praxat thought.

[Yun Lao]

She nods and smiles.

“As you wish. But if you ever do need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask, Charco.”

"How's the current situation?" He chose to ask after some thought, "I've been out of the loop when it comes to these cosmic shenanigans for a while and most of my knowledge is Earth-centric."

[grampagen]

"Yeah, I guess it would," Sarada said in reply. "But not with the network. Six guardians were killed and had their power taken because the guy used it to track them down. Being fair, it was a specific set of circumstances that led to it, but still, it has Maiz understandably cagey."

Ochazuke fell ponderously silent for a moment. It seemed that despite the best of intentions, sequestering the business of Guardians to their spheres of influence and playing a secret hand had not borne out exactly to design. "More secret plots among allies. How ironic that it would be the sphere of the watchmen that would have been infiltrated first."

Moreover, Sarada's conflict with Tundra also showed that there remained other parties and outside interests outside of this arraigned order, waiting, seeking to find their moment to backstab the weakened victor and twist their knife.

Particularly, in one such case...Cheh.

"I have had the pleasure of meeting Maiz briefly. There must be nothing she would tolerate less than being made a fool or victim through some scheme outside of her control, and if this happening had made her party to such, she would be remiss to let such a thing occur again. To cut to the quick of it, however, I'd like to offer her further agency on this path she's chosen."

"Those with power feel it's their right to dominate those without it." The amount of effort it took the likes of Maiz, Mato, herself, and Tasure - among others - to buck that trend and lay the seeds for a turnaround years ago made the results that were starting to come into fruition presently worth it. People who had only combat to live for were starting to spread their horizons and pick up new things that had nothing to do with strength and fighting. The other worlds had long since undergone that metamorphosis, but Vocado and Callion were slowest on the uptake.

As for any other person who felt that way, she knew there was a chance they could change. If not, then they needed to be stopped. Every Super Saiyan except Pinach and Rutaba joined the amalgamation. I wonder if she'll try to tap our natural lust for combat to get us to join her side.

"It takes one level mind to start a counterwave against the tide of the Might Makes Right thinking. That can be us." Asha'rah tried to do it eons ago. Her intentions were noble, but her execution was so ass-backwards, it was staggering. They would have to go about it differently. But how?

"It can. Will it?"

And if it came down to a choice between the Universe or Ascension, there may perhaps be a very specific limitation the Saiyans would yet need to break from within. He'd sighted it for the first time, long ago when Totoma nearly lost his mind when Karine fell to injury and Sarada pulled from some deep emotional well on Turtle Island.

"One way or another, we'll soon see, for to know fear is to behold the death of pride."

The fight and the focus that was required to ensure they wound up on top at the end of it. With the stakes as high as they were, the means could have been anything at their disposal, including each other. Once they started seeing each other as pawns on a chessboard rather than the people fighting alongside them, that was where the rift happened. The time spent away from each and the distance between one another one widened that rift.

They had all changed so much, as people were wont to do over time. But, time and distance prevented them from seeing those differences as they came over time. Three years apart, they seemed like mostly completely different people.

"Our responsibilities take precedence over a lot, but not at the expense of our relationships with each other," she said. "We aren't going to defeat Sakin and Eldfen and whoever else we need to defeat if we're liable to jump at each other's throats the moment someone does something we don't like. The foundations are still solid, but that doesn't mean **** if the walls and the roof are crumbling apart. Trust needs to be repaired and our relationships need to be mended and reinforced if we're going to survive to the end. A team can't function effectively with no comradery and no chemistry. Those can erode with time and distance apart. That needs to change or we will fail."

Sarada's words, analogy and all, had for Ochazuke all the trappings of hopeful dedication...and a certain, perennial, naive optimism that carried with it an unshakable confidence.

"Talk is cheap."

More often than not, the extent of Saiyan comradery had been taking advantage of the Lookout's kitchen and Zaofan's better nature. They way they ran him ragged, Ochazuke had often wondered if they somehow thought they were doing his martial brother a favour, for very little had been reciprocated.

On the other hand, the first wish upon Tiamat had affixed something in this whole meandering conflict that had been missing: Perspective.

"But...if you are as good as your word, and you have been listening to Zaofan, return here and we will complete your training."

[grampagen]

The dragon lowers her head to make her eyeline more on level with Ochazuke, eyeing him.

“You ask much of me, mortal. You seek a possible work around to my limitations………still, you and the current guardian have done me a service. The reek of Eldfen, of Alakazah, is gone from this world. For this, I shall try.”

She rears back and roars, the heavens shaking as power flashes through her body and lightning streams throughout the sky. Golden flashes undulate through her scales and after several seconds, she rears back down with a shaking this.

“It……it is done, mortal.”

Tiamat seems tired, even as Jack and Nunlil suddenly appears back on the Lookout with startled expressions on their faces and EvaÂ’s power seems to resurgence within her.

As Tiamat's gaze leveled with his own, Ochazuke stared her down, and though the light cast before them all below the darkened sky hadn't changed, his eyes narrowed as he observed the luminous nature of this eternal creature.

Destruction. Creation. Focused upon the guided will of the Dragon, in an instant reality was unmade and restarted, and when the heavens quaked and thunder shattered the sky, reflexively he took a step back.

With the revelation that Grinthorn yet lived and Sakin's sinister schemes, the moment they had been illuminated a long shadow had fallen in his mind as he reflected upon the enormity of the task ahead.

Both look a bit shocked, but Jack gives her a quick hug back.

“Nice to see ya again, space girl.”

Nunlil nods the same and gives her a pat on the back in return.

Tiamat, meanwhile, looks down on them again and speaks.

“The one known as Held has not come back. His spirit is beyond my power, currently residing in the palace of Lord Zeno. He shall return shortly to his body under his own power.”

“Now, your wish to save your third wish?”

"Zeno? The Lord of All Things, himself..."

A title that carried with it a great significance, this enigmatic creator of the Creator had been, every time he was mentioned, had his name spoken like a slur. At the time, he'd taken Asha'rah's words as another one of her layered, aloof riddles she used to stand apart upon a lofty perch to talk down with. With time and experience of these matters she kept hidden, the friend he had lost to this madness, and the Oni who now wandered upon this long forgotten path, as her battles became their inheritance, he had, in a matter of speaking, begun to understand the Goddess of Creation.

Perhaps she who valued the struggle, toil, marvel, and subtle genius all, had found anathema when she faced a force that represented the inevitable.

What could he want with Held...?

"So long as the time stolen from our friend has been returned to him in some fashion, it is some comfort that it will not be in vain."

Moreover, faced with that vision of a future far too near, there was one other avenue he had sought to undo it.

"The deed is done," he said to Tiamat and her Kami, "Depart for now. The time for wishes may come soon, and for that we will need as much of Tiamat's strength as she can spare."

From another death, Jack and Nunlil had been restored; doubtless, so had the Namekian Elder returned and with it the hope for his people in this universe. Right now he looked over to Arthur's Heir, this young man who had died far too many times for a man seeking to play the odds.

"There is no time to waste. Five months remain in the year, and there is much yet to be done still."

Any celebration would be short-lived.

"Sakin has infiltrated the Afterlife using a cabal of Soul Meisters to manipulate the damned and dissuade the Oni guard. Perhaps even those honour-bound been pulled to his side by his words, full of fine promises...but regardless, we've seen firsthand what happens if a wicked soul is allowed to reclaim a body. If anybody can stem this tide, it would be Hell's Hunter herself, wouldn't it?"

The collective vision, however, would remain stark in his mind, and the fatigue of the day's training replaced only with a cold burning in his heart.

"So we move to met the End of All Things, that which approaches as it had once before in the Beginning. The ancient orders had been broken, divided, and pushed toward an inevitable course. If I didn't know better, but for the garb of its ancient players, this is shaping up to be the War in Heaven all over again."

Ochazuke folded his arms before him, casting his view about taking stock of those before him, and stretching his sense sublime to the world below him, the billions of lives on the world below; and further out to the multitudes that he knew lingered in far off stars.

"Perhaps in a fashion, those who struggle hardest against providence are the ones who fly swiftest towards it, the knowledge of what will be the last figment which fixes its shape as we rush us to meet it. Yet I've never been much for prophecies, and if this is the divine plan, I have found it wanting."

Letting his hands fall to his side, he then looked over to Sarada and Totoma.

"If these are marked to be the end of our days, then we shall rewrite our destiny."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

At the Gukraimano, Althena watches Praxat's sisters and Killrog spar." ( Hmm, ever since I got that memo from Maiz. Killrog has been extra hard on Praxat's sisters. I know he's committed to making sure I'm safe.) Althena said.

( Not being able to use the network because it would make me a target is going to make it difficult to talk to Eva. Mostly likely impossible. I'm very busy lately. I just don't have the time to leave Qaceria and go to other planets like Earth,) Althena thought.

( If Eva and I want to have a talk, she's going to have to come here,) Althena thought.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"How's the current situation?" He chose to ask after some thought, "I've been out of the loop when it comes to these cosmic shenanigans for a while and most of my knowledge is Earth-centric."

She explains that just a week ago the dragonballs had been used and knowledge of their next threat, Sakin, had been revealed. She shares her memory of Ochazuke summoning the dragon and what Tiamat revealed. Jack and Nunlil’s resurrection, Held’s current location, etc…..Charco sees it all unveil from her memory.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Ochazuke fell ponderously silent for a moment. It seemed that despite the best of intentions, sequestering the business of Guardians to their spheres of influence and playing a secret hand had not borne out exactly to design. "More secret plots among allies. How ironic that it would be the sphere of the watchmen that would have been infiltrated first."

Moreover, Sarada's conflict with Tundra also showed that there remained other parties and outside interests outside of this arraigned order, waiting, seeking to find their moment to backstab the weakened victor and twist their knife.

Particularly, in one such case...Cheh.

"I have had the pleasure of meeting Maiz briefly. There must be nothing she would tolerate less than being made a fool or victim through some scheme outside of her control, and if this happening had made her party to such, she would be remiss to let such a thing occur again. To cut to the quick of it, however, I'd like to offer her further agency on this path she's chosen."

"What do you mean 'secret plot'?" Sarada asked with a raised eyebrow. "Maiz told me she investigated it with Meagan before they determined what the guy had done and how he did it. After that, they told every guardian they could get a hold of. It's not like they kept this to themselves." She shook her head.

He was right about one thing: Maiz had been very irritated about the entire thing. That irritation would have been unspoken fear had Letchee not been killed on Ruco by Avoca. With him gone, the threat of such a feat being replicated were slim. But then, slim chances were still chances all the same. With Sakin lurking out there... from the vision, it looked like he was going to go in a completely different direction than hunting down Guardians. Sarada could only hope; if Maiz was safe from that dilapidated monster, she could safely focus on helping secure the universe's safety.

"Fine. Whatever it is, I'm sure she'll be happy to consider it. Just let me know when you're ready to talk to her and I'll send an escort for you."

"It can. Will it?"

And if it came down to a choice between the Universe or Ascension, there may perhaps be a very specific limitation the Saiyans would yet need to break from within. He'd sighted it for the first time, long ago when Totoma nearly lost his mind when Karine fell to injury and Sarada pulled from some deep emotional well on Turtle Island.

"One way or another, we'll soon see, for to know fear is to behold the death of pride."

"Don't know," she said with a shrug. "Won't know until we at least give it a try." It would take some effort, but it was worth it. They all lived in the galaxy; it was up to them to make it right. The gods weren't worth anything. If they didn't do something, no one would. "If we don't try, no one will. Be the change you want to see in the world."

Sarada's words, analogy and all, had for Ochazuke all the trappings of hopeful dedication...and a certain, perennial, naive optimism that carried with it an unshakable confidence.

"Talk is cheap."

More often than not, the extent of Saiyan comradery had been taking advantage of the Lookout's kitchen and Zaofan's better nature. They way they ran him ragged, Ochazuke had often wondered if they somehow thought they were doing his martial brother a favour, for very little had been reciprocated.

On the other hand, the first wish upon Tiamat had affixed something in this whole meandering conflict that had been missing: Perspective.

"But...if you are as good as your word, and you have been listening to Zaofan, return here and we will complete your training."

"Tch."

He should have known by now that Sarada was more than capable of backing up her words with action. "You know better than that. Or maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do."

The best way to build relationships was through relaxation. With that in mind, she knew exactly what to do. "One of the planets in my empire has several beaches. It's a popular vacation spot. I'm serious about what I said, which is why I'm inviting all of you there to spend a few weeks in paradise, on me. Maybe a few weeks of relaxation will helps us reconnect and shed some stress before things get intense."

That was one of things she learned from Tasure. Not only did relaxing every few days after intense training help the body heal, it helped the mind heal, making for a much more relaxed and stress-free person.

She turned her attention to everyone. "What do you say guys? This sound like a good idea?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As Tiamat's gaze leveled with his own, Ochazuke stared her down, and though the light cast before them all below the darkened sky hadn't changed, his eyes narrowed as he observed the luminous nature of this eternal creature.

Destruction. Creation. Focused upon the guided will of the Dragon, in an instant reality was unmade and restarted, and when the heavens quaked and thunder shattered the sky, reflexively he took a step back.

With the revelation that Grinthorn yet lived and Sakin's sinister schemes, the moment they had been illuminated a long shadow had fallen in his mind as he reflected upon the enormity of the task ahead.



"Zeno? The Lord of All Things, himself..."

A title that carried with it a great significance, this enigmatic creator of the Creator had been, every time he was mentioned, had his name spoken like a slur. At the time, he'd taken Asha'rah's words as another one of her layered, aloof riddles she used to stand apart upon a lofty perch to talk down with. With time and experience of these matters she kept hidden, the friend he had lost to this madness, and the Oni who now wandered upon this long forgotten path, as her battles became their inheritance, he had, in a matter of speaking, begun to understand the Goddess of Creation.

Perhaps she who valued the struggle, toil, marvel, and subtle genius all, had found anathema when she faced a force that represented the inevitable.

What could he want with Held...?

"So long as the time stolen from our friend has been returned to him in some fashion, it is some comfort that it will not be in vain."

Moreover, faced with that vision of a future far too near, there was one other avenue he had sought to undo it.

"The deed is done," he said to Tiamat and her Kami, "Depart for now. The time for wishes may come soon, and for that we will need as much of Tiamat's strength as she can spare."

From another death, Jack and Nunlil had been restored; doubtless, so had the Namekian Elder returned and with it the hope for his people in this universe. Right now he looked over to Arthur's Heir, this young man who had died far too many times for a man seeking to play the odds.

"There is no time to waste. Five months remain in the year, and there is much yet to be done still."

Any celebration would be short-lived.

"Sakin has infiltrated the Afterlife using a cabal of Soul Meisters to manipulate the damned and dissuade the Oni guard. Perhaps even those honour-bound been pulled to his side by his words, full of fine promises...but regardless, we've seen firsthand what happens if a wicked soul is allowed to reclaim a body. If anybody can stem this tide, it would be Hell's Hunter herself, wouldn't it?"

The collective vision, however, would remain stark in his mind, and the fatigue of the day's training replaced only with a cold burning in his heart.

"So we move to met the End of All Things, that which approaches as it had once before in the Beginning. The ancient orders had been broken, divided, and pushed toward an inevitable course. If I didn't know better, but for the garb of its ancient players, this is shaping up to be the War in Heaven all over again."

Ochazuke folded his arms before him, casting his view about taking stock of those before him, and stretching his sense sublime to the world below him, the billions of lives on the world below; and further out to the multitudes that he knew lingered in far off stars.

"Perhaps in a fashion, those who struggle hardest against providence are the ones who fly swiftest towards it, the knowledge of what will be the last figment which fixes its shape as we rush us to meet it. Yet I've never been much for prophecies, and if this is the divine plan, I have found it wanting."

Letting his hands fall to his side, he then looked over to Sarada and Totoma.

"If these are marked to be the end of our days, then we shall rewrite our destiny."

Tiamat nods.

“He trains with two of Lord Zeno’s Angels. His time is not wasted.”

She bows, than light fills the sky and she disappears as the dragonballs glow a bit more, than fade and rest down by Eva.

“She’ll gather her strength for the third wish when we need it.”

Meanwhile, Jack and Nunlil catch up on what’s happened with Kai quickly and than both nod to Ochazuke.

“We’re a bit ahead of you there. Nunlil and I have already started rooting out Sakin’s influence in Otherworld and HFIL, and we’ve been training up more Hunters. In fact, after we gather ourselves Nunlil will probably head back there and keep that up until we’re needed for this last round of cards. Myself, I’ve got some things to talk to Arthur about. Mainly how to better master my sword, because I think we’ll need it.”

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Seven months and a week in

Praxat is walking down a corridor on Miras Thane's ship. ( After dragon balls were recovered. I have been working on projects for a week now, wait for the next assignment. Besides the projects, there's my GP Cadet training,) Praxat thought.

( A day go, I got to try a demo of my sister's Craxat upcoming action RPG based on my ancestor Disdemona's life. The demo was pretty good, but maybe a little too hard. Craxat should maybe ease up on the difficulty,) Praxat thought.

( The demo just seemed to be bogged down with way too many systems. I mean, how many systems does one possibly need in an action RPG?) Praxat thought.

( I also caught an episode of that animated series based on my ancestor Disdemona's life called Adventures of Disdemona: Legends Never Die. That my sisters kept raving to me about. I decided to watch an episode. ) Praxat thought.

( the episode was pretty good, and I might watch more episodes. However, I don't think the animation production values are as great as my sisters make them out to be. The animation is good, but to say it's the best Qaceria animation ever is kind of an exaggeration. There are Qacera animated shows and movies there are better animated,) Praxat thought.


( I know Craxat has been translated travelogues of my ancestor Disdemona. She has been sending the translations to me. I do wonder if my sister Craxat's translations are literal or creative. ) Praxat thought.

( I bet their creative translations,) Praxat thought.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"What do you mean 'secret plot'?" Sarada asked with a raised eyebrow. "Maiz told me she investigated it with Meagan before they determined what the guy had done and how he did it. After that, they told every guardian they could get a hold of. It's not like they kept this to themselves." She shook her head.

He was right about one thing: Maiz had been very irritated about the entire thing. That irritation would have been unspoken fear had Letchee not been killed on Ruco by Avoca. With him gone, the threat of such a feat being replicated were slim. But then, slim chances were still chances all the same. With Sakin lurking out there... from the vision, it looked like he was going to go in a completely different direction than hunting down Guardians. Sarada could only hope; if Maiz was safe from that dilapidated monster, she could safely focus on helping secure the universe's safety.

"Fine. Whatever it is, I'm sure she'll be happy to consider it. Just let me know when you're ready to talk to her and I'll send an escort for you."



"Don't know," she said with a shrug. "Won't know until we at least give it a try." It would take some effort, but it was worth it. They all lived in the galaxy; it was up to them to make it right. The gods weren't worth anything. If they didn't do something, no one would. "If we don't try, no one will. Be the change you want to see in the world."



"Tch."

He should have known by now that Sarada was more than capable of backing up her words with action. "You know better than that. Or maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do."

The best way to build relationships was through relaxation. With that in mind, she knew exactly what to do. "One of the planets in my empire has several beaches. It's a popular vacation spot. I'm serious about what I said, which is why I'm inviting all of you there to spend a few weeks in paradise, on me. Maybe a few weeks of relaxation will helps us reconnect and shed some stress before things get intense."

That was one of things she learned from Tasure. Not only did relaxing every few days after intense training help the body heal, it helped the mind heal, making for a much more relaxed and stress-free person.

She turned her attention to everyone. "What do you say guys? This sound like a good idea?"

“A…decompression would not be a bad idea before this all kicks off.” Kai says softly, idly watching the group. Eva nearby nods her agreement.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Seven months and a week in.

At the Gukraimano in Wetalia on Qacriea. Althena is in a room looking at a collection of books. ( These 120 books are Disdemona Luue's travelogues, and this room was my mentor Doxal, the former Guardian of Qaceria's room. ) Althena thought.

( I remember when Praxat's sister Craxat stumble upon these books in this room. When I was Doxal's apprentice, I never knew he had such books in his possession. I was in this room many times and never seen these books,) Althena thought.

( Doxal must have hidden them pretty well, well enough for them not to be discovered until this era. I did some fact-checking on the first book against what's in Gukrainmano's library's archives. The stuff in the book on the former Kingdom of Swampa during that time matches up with what's in the archives,) Althena thought.


( Praxat's mother, Uraxat, did some digging on the former Kingdom of Swampa. She found that there were no records of Disdemona, as she if didn't exist. I compare the former kingdom of Swampa's records with what's in Gukrainmano's library's archives,) Althena thought.

( The results were most of the former kingdom of swampa's records didn't match up with what's in Gukrainmano's library's archives. Uraxat figures that the former Kingdom of Swampa twisted and fabricated records to make itself look good. Gukrainmano's library's archives contain many atrocities of the former Kingdom of Swampa,) Althena thought.

( None of which are in the former of Kingdom of Swampa's records. Craxat figures since Disdemona was against the former Kingdom of Swampa during her time. They erase her from their records. She figures that Disdemona must have given her travelogues to my mentor Doxal when she was alive, so they wouldn't be found and destroyed,) Althena thought.

( Praxat's mother, Uraxat, is a good and honest person. I got to know her, and from what I know about her. She doesn't like fabrications. She's the type of person who wants and tells the honest truth,) Althena thought.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Sarada figured it wouldn't have. Rutaba and Pinach had learned better, more modern training techniques; that, combined with their natural talent, surely made for giant leaps in power very quickly. It helped she had the best teacher a Saiyan could possibly have. That being Vocado, though she supposed Totoma was okay, too.

"Good to find your own path," she said when Totoma started talking about Hitozaru. "Did Vocado teach you anything about it?" Tasure told her that she managed to get some training in with Vocado and that she showed him the form. That it was the form that the Sadalans lived in showed that it was more than just a power-up technique. She had a feeling that it was the closest thing to the Saiyans' natural form that they could get.

"You know the Saiyans on Sadala live in that form. As far as I know, they seem healthy, but we won't know until we start observing them up close." Sellerie was supposed to present her plan and budget proposal to her within the next month. She was excited to finally unlock the secrets of their past. It was such a mystery; whatever wasn't lost to time had been twisted and obscured by propaganda. To learn the truth of who they were as a people would be a relief.

"Eh, friend?" She looked down at the baby and chuckle. "No, that's my daughter. Her name is Kumara, and her Oni name is Shala."

The child watched Totoma cautiously as he pulled out his Muffin Button and created a chocolate muffin out of nothing. She giggled and quickly devoured the confection within seconds. "She's a black hole," Sarada said dryly.

"Cake!" the baby squealed. "Die! Die!"

How the heck had Sarada had a kid that had grown up this much in just seven months?

...did oni just grow up really fast or something? Ah, whatever, didn't matter much to him. Kid was cute, liked muffins. What more could anyone ask for?

"A little bit, yeah," said Totoma as he watched Kumara/Shala wolf down the muffin, while telling it (?) to die.. "He told me a story about someone close to him--one of his children with his Nevadian mate--that had mastered the form 2,000 years ago. Funny coincidence, that guy's name was also Totoma. He traveled the stars, fighting injustice where he found it... trying to make a good impression of the saiyans as they emerged into the wider galactic stage, as well as live up to his father's legendary legacy. But one day, during one of his journeys, he just... disappeared without much of a trace."

Pushing the Muffin Button a bunch more times to satiate the 'black hole' that was this oni-saiyan hybrid, Totoma stood up.

"I was actually planning on using that one... room that we used early on--the one that allowed us to train in the past--to see if I could maybe figure out what happened to him," he said. "You're welcome to join, if you're inter--"

Perhaps it was the dwindling vision of cosmic schemers, the future written where he would not only have to fight his friends, but his mistress who had succumbed to the forces of old magic, but as the Dragon lingered above them and the moment reasserted himself, the chef found himself twitching indignantly.

s-Sorry?! I pulled you out of the grave and for seven months and all you can say is--?!?!

Well, that better have been worth it, because in no time at all he pounced at Totoma.

"PRESSURE KIIIIIICK!"

At that point, Zaofan launched his attack. Totoma had his back turned, focused as he was on Kumara and Sarada.

...okay, mostly Kumara--she was so darned cute! He'd definitely have to introduce her to his kids and little bro.

Before his training with Vocado, he would've been taken completely by surprise and probably unceremoniously pressure kicked right off the hideout. He was still caught a little by surprise--mostly by the fact that his friend had attacked in the first place--but thanks to his training, his battle senses had grown far sharper. Though he actually had Rutaba to thank for that. Eager to test out and improve her super saiyan powers (he presumed,) she had often just launched into impromptu spars with him. Or against him?

...whatever. Point was, he was totally capable of being on-guard while also being relaxed these days. Especially against jump-kicks!

Totoma spun, his aura flaring and flowing into his hand. Catching Zaofan's Pressure Kick, he tightened his grip enough for the gathered ki in his palm to disperse the ki around Zao-san's foot... but not enough to do more than that. He didn't want to hurt his friend, of course.



"Whoa, whoa... I know you're mad, Zao-san, but don't worry. I owe you a big one--several big ones, actually, and I plan to make it up to you," he said, releasing Zaofan's foot. "How does... access to my clan's culinary archives sound? That's like two-thousand years of recipes and other cooking knowledge!"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat, still walking down the corridor on Miras Thane's ship, ponders to herself. ( Really, when is the next assignment going to come? Maybe I should have talk with Miras?) Praxat thought.

(Being a GP Cadet is tough. It's pure torture. All the stuff I have to go through is just insane,) Praxat thought.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Month Two

It was two months after Tundra was defeated. His empire had been dismantled and the people who had been living under his thumb their entire lives had been freed. Not only were the Saiyans safe from his dark shadow, but the entire galaxy. There was no telling what havoc he could have wrought if Sarada died on Sadala. In truth, it nearly happened four times. By some miracle, Sarada resisted death all four times. The girl had always been stubborn; never before had it been a good thing until that battle.

Maiz personally was relieved that her daughter was safe and sound. She would have preferred that Parsley had gone with her, but she understood why Sarada went alone. It was a battle that she as the Queen needed to fight and win. After years of tribulation beset on them as a race and her personally by Tundra, Sarada herself needed to respond. And she did.

The defeat of Tundra and his army brought with it a very worrying report. Avoca and Tasure battled his two lieutenants on Ruco. One of them displayed a strange energy source that was completely unlike ki or the magic that Parsley had been gaining a mastery of. That piqued Maiz’s interests, so she traveled to Ruco to investigate herself. One of the abilities being a Guardian afforded her was Past Sight. It allowed her to literally witness events from the past as if they were happening right then and there.

What she saw was disturbing and impossible. One of the henchmen, once his partner was killed, conjured forth Creation energy. Not just a small amount, but six globules. He ultimately did nothing with them, other than completely repair literally all of the damage done to Ruco, but the fact that he had it to begin with was disconcerting. As far as she knew, there was only one way to strip a Guardian of their Creation power, and that was by killing them. Meaning that somewhere across the stars, there were six dead Guardians.

That alone disturbed her. Further, the question of how he found them lingered in her head as she returned to Langal. Regrettably, she knew very few Guardians personally. In fact, she only knew two, and she barely knew them at that. She wasn’t sure if there was some kind of protocol as far as introducing herself and acquainting herself with the other Guardians. She could only imagine there wasn’t; otherwise, someone other than Meagan would have made contact with her. If anything, they were all isolated in their own little pockets of the galaxy. If something were to happen to one, the others wouldn’t know unless someone that connected the two told them.

With that in mind, she was beginning to understand how this individual was able to get away with six murders of such high profile individuals. What she didn’t understand was why no one said anything. A thing to figure out, for sure.

“I need to investigate this,” she told Sarada. The two were tending to Sarada’s garden that she started a few weeks ago. To say it was shocking that she had taken a liking to gardening of all things was shocking. While Saiyans were branching out into interests that had nothing to do with combat, it was so unlike her. Maiz supposed that was the point. Even though she had known them their entire life, she was still learning knew things about her children. “I’ll be leaving for Chroma tomorrow.”

“You can’t delegate this to someone else?”

“Yes, but I won’t. This is something I should handle myself. If I do it myself, I know it’ll actually get done.”

Sarada sighed, but didn’t argue. “Just be careful. I’ll need your help with these refugees.” She set the watering can she was using to water her flowers down on a cart, then turned to face her. “You know, Letchee isn’t a threat anymore. Avoca assured me she killed him.”

“I realize that. Still, his actions could be indicative of a larger issue that would need to be addressed.”

“Fair enough.” They started to head inside. Overhead, dark storm clouds began rolling in. The forecast called for a heavy thunderstorm, which forced people to cut their activities short. It also made Sarada watering her garden redundant. Then again, it was probably a way to pass the time and subtly show off her handiwork so far. “Why Chroma, though? Nothing’s happened to Meagan, right?”

“She’s the only person I know who knows where every Guardian is,” Maiz answered. “Or, at least where most of them are.” She sighed tersely as they walked inside the palace. “If the girl had given me the list when we last spoke, I wouldn’t have to speak with her at all.” At least not until her investigation was complete and she had some solid answers.

Sarada raised an eyebrow.

“She thinks herself wiser than she actually is,” Maiz elaborated. “She means well, but her confidence in her own ability leads her to make some stupid mistakes.” Given what Sarada and Parsley had told her over the years, that was an ingrained character trait. “It’s been years since I last spoke to her. Hopefully she’s grown out of that.”

“Between withholding her pregnancy.... and withholding the fact that she knew an enemy until after the fact... yeah, you’re probably right.” Sarada shrugged. “Well, hopefully she’ll do what she needs to to help you. Good luck.”

“Thanks. This, hopefully, won’t take long.”

[grampagen]

Oh to consider the endless range of the possibilities. Raising the Forger's hammer, held aloft with the spark of creation, Ochazuke struck it into the surface of the Big Ghetti Star.

"For now, we will lead you back to Earth, for we have much work to do."

The Threads of Fate. An unbroken chain of causality oscillates in its path, its zither strings sing a continuous harmony of cause and effect. Eon after eon, when one eventuality invariable ends, it leads to another, casting ripples throughout a never-ending span that courses throughout the universe. Yet the melody of destiny may not as evident, even for those who can interpret its subtle notes. For whether the crescendo shall reach to the greatest heights of awe and glory, it may just as swiftly descend into a deafening discordant sound of strife and ruin.

In this respect, perhaps a Guardian's instincts to act on behalf of her planet perceives that which is most urgent. Disasters come and go, and so innumerable are the possibilities of threats upon a planet and beyond, they are faced with a most unenviable choice; who must die that others should live? Yet every so often, upon the path of the inherited struggle, the Universe seems to have a way of figuring things out for itself.

Perhaps, in some small way, that is the subtle power of the Creation, to make a possibility where one had never existed before.

A trail of vaporized cosmic dust and methane ice came streaking across the sea of stars, ice-blue trail burning through space. Who could say where it came from, this comet? Serendipitously the gravitational pull that threw it from one solar revolutionary orbit to the next system had fixed its path and increasingly alarming speeds. The odds of such a cataclysmic eventuality were incalculable, yet not unfathomable. A misaligned solar body flung it forth from its idle revolution, gravity's mischevous hand sending the icy body thrown across space, such that when the path of the comet pivoted and the scattering of its icy trail was detected from a distance, it was already too late for already it had begun its descent upon the Earth.

And there it came, a day unlike any other...at least for a certain sort of man, for atop the lookout Zaofan had gotten word and was preparing for the occasion of his martial brother's return.

"Fifteen in the oven and the tub! Both reverse-seared and sous-vide, I figure twice the meat and we'll finally settle the difference betwee---H-OOOOH MY GOD."

Up here above the clouds in the ephemeral blue, it was just past noon and the comet had sailed past the moon. Minute by minute the icy death sphere swelled in size as it neared, reflected brightly in Zaofan's eyes wide as saucers. Seeing the trailing orb bearing down on this planet peeled his eyes to the whites, yet no red played within them.

If I could hit it with a full stream optic blast, maybe back it with a scarlet shield, but the splash damage from the impact--! Thats assuming its not radioactive or filled with some sort space-plague...what do I do?!

Gritting his teeth, Zaofan's eyes darted across the night sky. This high up it was clear as could be...which made it all the more apparent that this was like searching for a rock in the middle of the ocean.

I have to try...maybe if I bounce it, a bank shot, ruby richochet it off the moon to change the angle, then...no then it would just bounce off and hit the other...moon?

Now just when did they get two of those? The question had barely registered in his mind as he seems to see space fold around the dark planetoid, a metallic glint the only hint something was off...and a certain ki presence that lit up its axes from pole to pole. The metallic moon, its silhouette ringed with a silver crown, suddenly quaked in its visage and the crystal blue sky above rippled.

The reverb from folded space...wait, that's a Nevadian Folded Space Warp-

Yet shrouded upon a a celestial body of this mass and density, this close to an atmosphere the displacement in matter bloomed, the void reasserting itself with a deafening impact that shook the sky about him as Zaofan came to a terrible realization. The metallic sphere materialized direct before the comet on an interception course, taking the hit meant for the Earth. Violent strobing flashes flooded the sky, the corona flare in brief rivalling a total eclipse in its abrupt, uncanny intensity.

If she were not two doors down in her homestead, as the orb fought and struggled against the roaring blaze, Zaofan might have though to liken such a thing as God taking a breath as the aftershock fell like a wrathful word over the planet. A mundane day was now wreathed with shadows at noontide causing storms to erupt below. Something had aligned with the Earth's orbit, and the plumes of ice and chill burned in the atmosphere painting the horizon a vibrant, green split by a twisted aurora. Snows fell for the first time in ages over the equatorial regions, volcanoes hushed and earthquakes were stilled.

The Big Ghetti Star had consumed the comet entirely.

The people of Earth looked above and beheld it with their own eyes. It could not be denied. A miracle.

The methane-ice and cosmic dust that showered and burned up in reentry would be hard for anybody to miss, and the eyes pointed skyward would soon be wanting for answers...