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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It seemed the M-Fighters weren't the only group who didn't tell each other things. Knowing that their intentions were their own and not known throughout the group meant any further inquiry into their dealings was pointless.

As for Binder, that was all interesting, but she wasn't sure what to make of it. She knew for a fact, as an eye witness, what happened when one broke an agreement with Binder. Gallows Lord's terrified scream of agony still echoed through her head months later. Having options outside of destruction beyond death wasn't particularly encouraging. Either become a slave, a slave, or a slave. Better than dying, she supposed.

No.

No, it wasn't.

"These deals she makes... Gallows Lord broke his and suffered the ultimate price. Did the rest of you make deals of a like manner?"

“Hmm, a few. Lord Forger and the Wolf God each bore a blood oath with Lady Binder. I never did, my agreement was with Lord Forger. Same with The Beast God and Last Daughter. I am unsure if Ruination Ishtar ever made a deal, though it is a possibility.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Hmm, a few. Lord Forger and the Wolf God each bore a blood oath with Lady Binder. I never did, my agreement was with Lord Forger. Same with The Beast God and Last Daughter. I am unsure if Ruination Ishtar ever made a deal, though it is a possibility.”

So only Forger, Gallows Lord, and possibly Ishtar made deals with Binder. Gallows Lord paid for breaking his. If Forger was still alive, then he must have still been within the boundaries of whatever agreement they made.

The depths of desperation that lot must have been in to make blood oaths with anyone. For revenge for one and a misguided attempt to take the universes fate into his own hand for another, no less. The lengths one went to when desperation and selfish desires were the only driving forces were limitless, even if it meant sacrificing one's soul for the goal. Gallows Lord paid for his narrow-minded focus. Forger paid as well, but not by Binder's hand, but his own people's. Ishtar remained to be seen. If she was to answer to this "Great Calling", then she either was still within the bounds of her deal or hadn't made one to begin with.

The former gave Parsley and her allies a substantial advantage.

"Forger is immaterial," she responded. "He's been neutered by his own people. Ishtar, on the other hand, is our biggest obstacle." Especially since she was to join Inanna and She Who Stalks at the side of the Genesis/Sakin/Asha'rah amalgamation in the future. How that was still supposed to come to pass was anyone's guess. "Is there any information you can give me about her, Ishtar? Any clues as to her motivations for joining the Ulthan and eventually Alakazah, outside of killing Inanna?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

So only Forger, Gallows Lord, and possibly Ishtar made deals with Binder. Gallows Lord paid for breaking his. If Forger was still alive, then he must have still been within the boundaries of whatever agreement they made.

The depths of desperation that lot must have been in to make blood oaths with anyone. For revenge for one and a misguided attempt to take the universes fate into his own hand for another, no less. The lengths one went to when desperation and selfish desires were the only driving forces were limitless, even if it meant sacrificing one's soul for the goal. Gallows Lord paid for his narrow-minded focus. Forger paid as well, but not by Binder's hand, but his own people's. Ishtar remained to be seen. If she was to answer to this "Great Calling", then she either was still within the bounds of her deal or hadn't made one to begin with.

The former gave Parsley and her allies a substantial advantage.

"Forger is immaterial," she responded. "He's been neutered by his own people. Ishtar, on the other hand, is our biggest obstacle." Especially since she was to join Inanna and She Who Stalks at the side of the Genesis/Sakin/Asha'rah amalgamation in the future. How that was still supposed to come to pass was anyone's guess. "Is there any information you can give me about her, Ishtar? Any clues as to her motivations for joining the Ulthan and eventually Alakazah, outside of killing Inanna?"

“Conquest? Power? To be the strongest Ishtar? Her hatred for Inanna aside, we did not communicate much. I know she was…troubled….when she discovered Inanna had shed her former self.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Conquest? Power? To be the strongest Ishtar? Her hatred for Inanna aside, we did not communicate much. I know she was…troubled….when she discovered Inanna had shed her former self.”

"Conquest, power, or to be the strongest of her name? In other words, she's boring." Parsley sighed heavily. She supposed having simplistic goals was to be admired, rather than overly convoluted ones that required multi-tiered plans within plans that grew into needlessly complex and overarching schemes that inevitably came crashing down on themselves at the worst possible moment.

She sighed again. "Perhaps she realizes that she, too, is merely an altered personality created through years it abuse by Zurvan. That there is another Inanna lurking within her, and that scares her." Or she was pissy she wouldn't get to kill the last Ishtar. She shrugged. "Regardless, she'll be dealt with in due time."

Beyond that, there wasn't much else she wanted to know. Them not discussing their own desires with each other meant there was very little chance that the Judge knew any more than he already knew. There was one thing she knew he did know. "What about any possible alternative base of operations? It seems Darkle was their main base, and I believe it was Binder who mentioned an alternate base? Where was it?"

If she could investigate there, perhaps it would offer even more insight. Surely they left notes and journals around. It seemed every one did.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

It takes another half hour to get the pattern right. Suddenly, the wall opens up with a series of clicks and whirls, revealing a loud burst of sound as, down a series of steps, a thriving market is revealed to you.



Intoadians of all shades and sizes haggle in their native language, paying you little attention currently.

( Wow I thought they all be plantium in color like Araxat and Althena. Looks like I was wrong. Maybe I can speak to them using Althena native language. ) Paraxt thought.

Praxat then approaches a intoadian. " Do you by any chance know a person with the last name Mcfrog?" Praxat said in anicent Togeria.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

What happened?

Where am I?

Inanna?

Maiz?

Hello?

Sarada’s eyes cracked open. Even that small, minuscule margin invited a searing, blinding light that made her hiss in pain and raise a hand to cover her face. Or, it should have. When she did, burning pain shot through her arm and down her spine. She grimaced and winced and resigned herself to her unknown fate. Wherever she was, whatever condition she was in, there was nothing she could do about either.

Beyond the pain, she remembered three words from... however long ago it was.

“...Inanna is slain...”

Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. Her wife was dead. It shouldn’t have been possible. The dragon, Houlong, had to have been mistaken. He had just graduated from Wish Dragon University, for fuck’s sake! He was a rookie, a beginner, still wet behind the ears. He was bound to make a mistake.

Right?

Deep down, Sarada knew that wasn’t the case. He was a magical being designed only to grant wishes, any kind. Information from him could be trusted as truthful and accurate.

She licked her lips. They were dry and cracked, almost blistered.

“Wh...what happened?”

If she was expecting an answer, she was disappointed when she didn’t get one. Instead, there was nothing but silence. Well, silence and soft howl of a gentle breeze. It swept her hair up, pushing some of it into her face. She tried to blow it away, but it returned to its place, continuing to torment her nose by tickling it relentlessly.

She sighed heavily and grunted again. Is my back broken? Why can’t I get up?

She was wondering a lot of things. Why couldn’t she protect the woman she loved more than anything? How could she protect her? Why did she have to leave so suddenly? Maybe if she stayed for a little while, at least until after Tundra and all his shit was dealt with, Sarada could have helped her get her mind right before she departed for training.

That had to have been what went wrong. She was already in a dour mood and probably crossed the wrong person. A person who didn’t know she had a wife and child waiting for her back home.

She let out a choked sob, a thing that made a new wave of burning pain shoot through her entire body. The pain seemed to be radiating around her torso...

Sarada couldn’t let herself get down. There were the dragonballs. Tiamat still had one wish left to give, and it was going to be to wish Inanna back to life. If anyone didn’t like it, they could go fuck themselves.

What was it?

Was it pain, sadness, or anger that was burning in her chest? All three seemed to intermingle together, creating a toxic mish-mash of negative emotions that staved off the otherwise overwhelming need to cry uncontrollably. If anger could do that, then she could stand up on her own two feet.

Her knees bent. They felt stiff, like they hadn’t been bent in ages. She grunted again, willing herself up. The searing, white hot pain that exploded through her torso was nearly unbearable. It also felt familiar.

It wasn’t so much that she was willing to even think about giving up. With a short shriek, she stood on her own two feet, slightly hunched and breathing heavily. Her eyes cast downward and caught sight of smeared blood on her thigh. “What the hell?” She touched her torso and winced.

Her hand was covered in blood.

“What?!”

She looked behind herself and found what had been keeping her held to the ground: a large jagged piece of metal that was sticking up out of the ground. It was also covered in blood. Her blood. She must have crash-landed on that world and landed right on it before losing consciousness.

Whatever. It wasn’t a big deal.

Saiyan Grit

The large gash in her midsection closed. It didn’t heal all the way, but the bleeding stopped and the cut closed so it couldn’t start up again. She frowned and took stock of her surroundings. It looked like some kind of ship graveyard. Dozens, if not hundreds, of hollowed out husks that formerly were primitive water-based battleships littered the horizon. As far as the eye could see, in fact. Which meant the land she was standing on was actually an sea bed. If she looked hard enough, she would almost certainly find the remains of whatever sea life inhabited that world.

Death seemed to follow her, no matter what.

She let out a shaky sigh and took to the air to try and find shelter. She could have easily returned home, but she didn’t feel like dealing with people. She wanted to be alone, at least for a little while so she could straighten everything out in her head. The shock of hearing her wife was dead, said so bluntly and matter-of-factly, still startled her. Knowing that she would soon be wished back to life lessened that sting significantly, but it still hurt.

She had been without Inanna for, technically, the better part of a year. In reality, they had only been with each other for a few months at most over the last two years when the training on Ilargi was taken into consideration. In that time, they barely had any quality time. Her thoughts, rightfully, her almost completely absorbed by her pending battle with Tundra.

“I should have married you sooner,” she said regretfully. She said she wanted to wait until she was fully settled in, but in hindsight, that wasn’t at all necessary. They could have, and should have, been married years ago, at least since before the mission to save Zurvan. She should have married her when she was still Ishtar. Sarada knew that Inanna wasn’t Ishtar in that it was who she really was. She knew that Ishtar wasn’t real, but didn’t like thinking about it. She loved Ishtar dearly, just like she loved Inanna.

“Goddamn it,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “How the fuck did she even get killed? Who did it?!” She should have fucking asked while she was there. She was so caught up in her fucking grief that she wasn’t thinking right. Her only hope was that Maiz asked. Not like it mattered. She was killed in Otherworld; if she hadn’t been, then Sarada would have felt it the very moment it happened. And probably would have destroyed whatever planet she was standing on at the time. She had no way of getting into Otherworld.

There was Parsley, but she was the last person she wanted to look at. It was her fault Inanna ran off and left the M-Fighters. Her and Ochazuke. They both thought they were better than everyone else. They looked down their noses at everyone else from atop their high horses, waving their moral superiority and their righteousness and wielding both like sledgehammers whenever someone made a misstep. As if either of them were so perfect and not prone to making mistakes.

Inanna fucked up badly, but that didn’t warrant them jumping on her from both sides and tearing into her like a pair of wolves. “They didn’t try to understand. They didn’t want to.” If they weren’t so self-righteous, Inanna may have stayed around for a little while longer. She would still be alive. Instead, they were, and she left immediately.

They didn't want to understand it to learn what exactly had her so afraid. They wanted a scapegoat, someone else to dump their anger and frustration on. It just so happened that Inanna made herself a very easy target for those jackals to pounce on. By the time Sarada said something to get them to stop, it was already too late. She couldn't feel any indication back then other than tiredness, but in hindsight, it was obvious.

Also in hindsight, her suggestion to just stop talking and fight it out would have only made things worse. The innocent Darklings didn't deserve to have their planet wrecked because a bunch of overpowered, mentally unstable psychopaths were having a barely civil spat. It was coming on the horizon. There was no way Inanna was going to be in a good mood when they wished her back to life. She would fight by her side, against anyone, if need be. Her love could handle herself perfectly fine, but she wasn’t going to let her get jumped on again, by anyone.

Her heart felt like it was going to rip itself in two. Warm tears continued to fall down face. She fell to her knees just before reaching one of the hollowed out husks that used to be a ship.

Sarada let out a cry of pain and anguish and guilt and sadness. Her fingers curled into fists and she wept. She wept bitterly, an uncontrollable explosion of all the resentment she had been holding in since Darkle, compounded by utter helplessness.

Her Queen... her Queen was dead.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Conquest, power, or to be the strongest of her name? In other words, she's boring." Parsley sighed heavily. She supposed having simplistic goals was to be admired, rather than overly convoluted ones that required multi-tiered plans within plans that grew into needlessly complex and overarching schemes that inevitably came crashing down on themselves at the worst possible moment.

She sighed again. "Perhaps she realizes that she, too, is merely an altered personality created through years it abuse by Zurvan. That there is another Inanna lurking within her, and that scares her." Or she was pissy she wouldn't get to kill the last Ishtar. She shrugged. "Regardless, she'll be dealt with in due time."

Beyond that, there wasn't much else she wanted to know. Them not discussing their own desires with each other meant there was very little chance that the Judge knew any more than he already knew. There was one thing she knew he did know. "What about any possible alternative base of operations? It seems Darkle was their main base, and I believe it was Binder who mentioned an alternate base? Where was it?"

If she could investigate there, perhaps it would offer even more insight. Surely they left notes and journals around. It seemed every one did.

“Somewhere only she could access. OT was a magical pocket dimension as far as I know.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

( Wow I thought they all be plantium in color like Araxat and Althena. Looks like I was wrong. Maybe I can speak to them using Althena native language. ) Paraxt thought.

Praxat then approaches a intoadian. " Do you by any chance know a person with the last name Mcfrog?" Praxat said in anicent Togeria.

The large creature turns on her and in a really thick accent, replies.

“Whatcha this then? You maching the green ehh? Hehe, ain’t no McFroggy’s. Get lost, bait.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Somewhere only she could access. OT was a magical pocket dimension as far as I know.”

"Tch." Of course it wouldn't have been that easy. With how easily Ochazuke found them the first time, it would have been prudent to find a place that even his senses couldn't detect. Though, it being magical... she wondered if her senses could find it. Though, finding it and getting inside were two different beasts.

"It isn't much, but thank you for the information. Is there anything else I should know before I leave?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Tch." Of course it wouldn't have been that easy. With how easily Ochazuke found them the first time, it would have been prudent to find a place that even his senses couldn't detect. Though, it being magical... she wondered if her senses could find it. Though, finding it and getting inside were two different beasts.

"It isn't much, but thank you for the information. Is there anything else I should know before I leave?"

“My analysis and all pertinent information regarding Saiyans indicates that you are an arrogant race, underestimating your foes at best or giving them opportunities to test yourself against at worst. Do not. Strike, and strike hard. You are facing foes older, more experienced, and often more skilled than you. It would be the height of foolishness to come at this like a normal fight.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“My analysis and all pertinent information regarding Saiyans indicates that you are an arrogant race, underestimating your foes at best or giving them opportunities to test yourself against at worst. Do not. Strike, and strike hard. You are facing foes older, more experienced, and often more skilled than you. It would be the height of foolishness to come at this like a normal fight.”

When she asked if there was anything else she needed to know, she meant information, not a critique of her entire race's fighting principles. Still... he was right. There were times when they - that being she and Sarada - fought seriously and tried to end the fight as soon as possible. There were other times when they allowed them a chance just to give themselves a good fight. Even when the stakes were high, that flaw persisted.

The stakes had never been higher. The series of battles they had in their very near future were going to be more difficult than any of the battles any of them had ever engaged in in their lives. Striking hard and fast would not work against Sakin, but against the likes of Ishtar, Alakazah, and whoever else they went up against, it would very likely be the difference between surviving to the next battle and dying on the battlefield.

"Against Sakin, at least initially, he'll be too powerful to risk going full throttle right away. We'll need to prolong that battle until his stolen power fades." She handed him a copy of the manuscript of what Caliban told her about Sakin and Alakazah. "Against everyone else, you very well may be right. Alakazah, for instance, is one of the most powerful beings in all of creation. We'll have to fight smart if we want to survive." Just survive; that wasn't even considering what they would have to do to win. They still needed to get stronger, and needed to figure out the scope of his powers. There were only a few people left who fought him initially, and she only knew where one of them was.

A conversation with Banespell was necessary.

However, it would have been prudent to gather some help before leaving for Darkle.

"It's not much, but speaking with Eva and learning the scope of her abilities should give you some idea of what Sakin can do, only a much grander scale."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

She had been walking for what felt like hours, but there wasn’t a single person in sight. In fact, there were no signs of life anywhere. Other than the primitive metal ships, there was nothing. Even if she crash-landed and impacted the planet’s surface like an asteroid, there should have been something. No buildings, no skeletal remains, nothing.

Maybe it was just a ship graveyard, where some alien race dumped their trash. Dick move to just sully a perfectly good planet, but that was none of her concern.

She desperately needed to find a place to rest, somewhere with a bed or some kind of flat surface that just wasn’t a sandy desert.

“I wish I knew how I got here,” she muttered. She hugged an arm around her midsection, keeping her hand pressed against the injury. She wasn’t hurt anymore. The pain had long subsided once she healed herself. It was just... she had no one else. There was no one else on the planet except for her. Maybe keeping her arm around herself like that could help her pretend she wasn’t so lonely.

She let out a shaky breath. She had cried her tears hours ago. She was a Saiyan; death was something they, and everyone else who wasn’t immortal, just had to deal with. They mourned in private, cried whatever tears came out, then held their head up and kept it moving. She had a people to lead. The only problem was that she wasn’t anywhere close to being in the headspace necessary to be an effective leader. She couldn’t stand sleeping in an empty bed again knowing that it was going to remain empty for who knew how much longer.

There was a fear, a small one, taking root in her heart that she wouldn’t be wished back. Sarada was afraid that something was going to happen to Inanna while she was in Hell - and Sarada wasn’t so biased and blind that she couldn’t accept that she was going to go anywhere but Hell. If that happened, if she heard that Tiamat or whoever was unable to bring her back, she didn’t know how she would react. It was always a hard thing to pinpoint, those pesky emotions. So many scenarios ran through her head about it, tormenting her already broken heart with more anguish and more what-ifs than she knew how to cope with.

Sarada’s stomach started growling, a bad sign. There was no food to be found anywhere and Saiyan appetites were horrendous to deal with. She could have gone home at any time, but she didn’t want to, not yet. She just needed to be alone for a little while longer, then she could go. If I can find some food, that’d be great.

A squawk over heard attracted her attention. Her eyes immediately darted in that direction and saw what looked like some kind of weird looking bird. A beam from her finger shot it out of the air, a cloud of feathers the only thing remaining of its presence in the air. She quickly made her way to where it landed and sunk her teeth into its still squirming body. “Oh, sweet meat,” she said as she quickly devoured it.

“If that bird was around, then there has to be more around her,” she reasoned. “I wonder why I couldn’t sense it.” Shrugging, she took to the air and flew in the direction it came from.

Having something on her stomach, even if it was one measly bird, had her feeling reenergized. As she flew, the could see the end of the ship graveyard approaching quickly. She was wrong about the world; it did have life. A flock of birds emerged from what looked like a forest canopy. “Perfect.” She could make due with a tree branch. All she needed was a steady source of food and some water and she was golden for at least a month.

Am I really about to stay in the wilderness on a completely unknown planet for a month, maybe more? More importantly, why? She needed to get back to her people and pick up her duties. Just because her wife was dead didn’t mean she could just shirk her responsibilities. She also had a child to raise. Not to mention, the universe was about to be in serious danger and it needed her, and the others, to protect it.

She let out a tired, ragged sigh. She had no idea how long she had been gone. Had it been hours? A day? It couldn’t have been much longer than that. “Alright. Time to head home, I guess.” She sighed again and tapped the teleportation device on her wrist. A second later, she vanished in a burst of yellow light.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

The large creature turns on her and in a really thick accent, replies.




“Whatcha this then? You maching the green ehh? Hehe, ain’t no McFroggy’s. Get lost, bait.”

" My name is Praxat Luue. I'm the granddaughter of Araxat Mcfrog. I'm a Toadian from Qaceria. I came to this planet to see My grandmother's family and her people," Praxat said.


Praxat then beings out a universal translator and walks among the crowd of Intoadians.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

When she asked if there was anything else she needed to know, she meant information, not a critique of her entire race's fighting principles. Still... he was right. There were times when they - that being she and Sarada - fought seriously and tried to end the fight as soon as possible. There were other times when they allowed them a chance just to give themselves a good fight. Even when the stakes were high, that flaw persisted.

The stakes had never been higher. The series of battles they had in their very near future were going to be more difficult than any of the battles any of them had ever engaged in in their lives. Striking hard and fast would not work against Sakin, but against the likes of Ishtar, Alakazah, and whoever else they went up against, it would very likely be the difference between surviving to the next battle and dying on the battlefield.

"Against Sakin, at least initially, he'll be too powerful to risk going full throttle right away. We'll need to prolong that battle until his stolen power fades." She handed him a copy of the manuscript of what Caliban told her about Sakin and Alakazah. "Against everyone else, you very well may be right. Alakazah, for instance, is one of the most powerful beings in all of creation. We'll have to fight smart if we want to survive." Just survive; that wasn't even considering what they would have to do to win. They still needed to get stronger, and needed to figure out the scope of his powers. There were only a few people left who fought him initially, and she only knew where one of them was.

A conversation with Banespell was necessary.

However, it would have been prudent to gather some help before leaving for Darkle.

"It's not much, but speaking with Eva and learning the scope of her abilities should give you some idea of what Sakin can do, only a much grander scale."

The Jusge nods.

“I will read and prepare myself accordingly.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

" My name is Praxat Luue. I'm the granddaughter of Araxat Mcfrog. I'm a Toadian from Qaceria. I came to this planet to see My grandmother's family and her people," Praxat said.


Praxat then beings out a universal translator and walks among the crowd of Intoadians.

Mostly they seem to be traders, merchants, barkers, peddlers, and various buyers and purveyors of wares. The market is massive, and it takes Praxat hours before she finds a clue. She is directed to a small tent near a large foundry and blacksmith area.