Dragonball M, Chapter 5: Clarion’s Call! The Signal! The Fate of the Universes!

[grampagen]

Zaofan, you grip the shadow dragonball but are now incased entirely. You can feel the shadow tar squeezing, attempting to crush and suck all your energy away.

You do manage to pull the dragonball away somewhat, however. Now instead of pinned against your hip your arm is extended outward, ball grasped, still covered in the tar but straining against it.

Meanwhile, Ocahzuke your bolstering of efforts works for a moment, and Zaofan can feel some strength returning. However, a kick at high speeds meets your face as shadow Ochazuke has morphed partially into a shadow Zaofan, black crimson energy masquerading as a mockery to Zaofan’s own prodigious kick from earlier sends you flying.

But you have given Zaofan a chance to try one last attempt at escape, and made Charco that much more prepared in his attempts to deal with Shadow Held.

Ochazuke's powers of concentration were not merely loaned to his comrades, for since finding this wretched planet, from the expanse of the Cosmic Leyline to the minutae of the primordial forces that animated each spiritual action, he'd become increasingly aware of both circumstance and phenomena as the span of his sense sublime had refined with each iteration.

Thus even before he was struck, he had seen the blow coming, and for spite's sake, he had found this shade had overextended its imitation.

At the same time the kick had landed, Ochazuke lift his hand for a second swing that set the Forger's Hammer smashing into his shadowy doppleganger's centre mass at the exact moment of impact in a dual-exchange cross-counter, though he would not linger long to behold the effect as he was sent hurtling off.

Elsewhere, Zaofan's hand extended from the shadow, his one hand clutching the Shadow Dragonball. For just a moment he felt a surge of power return, and it was like breaking through to the surface for only a moment.

No way...it ends...like this!

In that desperate moment, he opened his eyes to the suffocating shadow, and they glowed with a burning red, and he gradually surrounded himself with the ki of the Scarlet Shield and flooded it with the Dragon's Fire in an effort to cast it off.

[Yun Lao]

The Shadow unicorn and Shadow Held weaved and bobbed, getting closer to Charco, caring little apparently for the cage being made all around them.

More spears erupt from Shadow Held’s back and launch toward Charco, while every time the unicorn touches the earth, Charco can feel little charges of power being sent into it from the shadow unicorn.

The spears suddenly elongate and become lances, and Shadow Held attempts to skewer him from distance.

The orbs and the cage were merely obstacles to keep the duo busy, but he would have expected the Held's shadow to have seen that. Perhaps the phantasmal rider even saw what he was about to do, as evident by the sudden extension of the lances of darkness toward him. It would be interesting to see how they dealt with this.

Taking in a final breath, the world seemed to still itself as he focused within himself. As Charco, it would have been impossible for him to ever reach this state, but things were different as he was now. His left eye opened, the entirety of its socket filled with golden light, the very same light that now spilled out from between the scales of his sauran arm whose talons remained pressed against the earth. The power of the consumed star heralded the ascension of the yellow emperor, as a ring of light formed around Charco, the rider, and his mount. Depicted in the ring was dual-headed serpentine bearing the heads of a dragon and tyrannosaurus: the one called the Solar Tyrant.

The earth was upended by a massive set of draconical jaws that snapped over the shadowy Held and his steed, seeking to carry them upward to detonate.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat watches and observes as she stands beside Dash.

[KingofPie]

Zaofan, you grip the shadow dragonball but are now incased entirely. You can feel the shadow tar squeezing, attempting to crush and suck all your energy away.

You do manage to pull the dragonball away somewhat, however. Now instead of pinned against your hip your arm is extended outward, ball grasped, still covered in the tar but straining against it.

Meanwhile, Ocahzuke your bolstering of efforts works for a moment, and Zaofan can feel some strength returning. However, a kick at high speeds meets your face as shadow Ochazuke has morphed partially into a shadow Zaofan, black crimson energy masquerading as a mockery to Zaofan’s own prodigious kick from earlier sends you flying.

But you have given Zaofan a chance to try one last attempt at escape, and made Charco that much more prepared in his attempts to deal with Shadow Held.

"You know it might be Sasheem's lucky day!" Sasheem dashed around to the shadowy figure. "Always wanted to whoop the ass of both of Oafchazuke and Zaobland without getting an earful of backlash and you went and turned into both at once!" The bear claws extended from his knuckles as he coated them in venomous ki and launched both arms at the shadow like spiked projectiles.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ochazuke's powers of concentration were not merely loaned to his comrades, for since finding this wretched planet, from the expanse of the Cosmic Leyline to the minutae of the primordial forces that animated each spiritual action, he'd become increasingly aware of both circumstance and phenomena as the span of his sense sublime had refined with each iteration.

Thus even before he was struck, he had seen the blow coming, and for spite's sake, he had found this shade had overextended its imitation.

At the same time the kick had landed, Ochazuke lift his hand for a second swing that set the Forger's Hammer smashing into his shadowy doppleganger's centre mass at the exact moment of impact in a dual-exchange cross-counter, though he would not linger long to behold the effect as he was sent hurtling off.

Elsewhere, Zaofan's hand extended from the shadow, his one hand clutching the Shadow Dragonball. For just a moment he felt a surge of power return, and it was like breaking through to the surface for only a moment.

No way...it ends...like this!

In that desperate moment, he opened his eyes to the suffocating shadow, and they glowed with a burning red, and he gradually surrounded himself with the ki of the Scarlet Shield and flooded it with the Dragon's Fire in an effort to cast it off.

The hammer blow sends the shadow hybrid of Ochazuke and Zaofan flying, and Ocahzuke (the real one) has the satisfaction of knowing the hammer struck a devastating blow that caved part of the shadow in and left a permanent injury.

The hybrid slams into a piece of the ruined Coldlight near Praxat and Dash, clearly wounded heavily as Ochazuke himself skids for several hundred feet on the ground before comjng go rest looking up at the sky, seeing Jack high above the battlefield m. He also sees the strange entity near Efrideet and Genesis that has just appeared.

Meanwhile, with desperation, the combined effort from Zaofan frees himself as the shadow suffocating him is burned away and dissolved. Holding in his hand is it’s only remnant, a mysterious shadow dragonball.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"You know it might be Sasheem's lucky day!" Sasheem dashed around to the shadowy figure. "Always wanted to whoop the ass of both of Oafchazuke and Zaobland without getting an earful of backlash and you went and turned into both at once!" The bear claws extended from his knuckles as he coated them in venomous ki and launched both arms at the shadow like spiked projectiles.

Just as you lash out, the second hammer that the shadow Ochazuke had thrown (the one targeting Sahseem from the beginning) boomerangs and strikes Sasheem from behind before he could attack (though in the next moment the shadow Ocahzuke/Zaofan hybrid gets hammered by the real Ochazuke).

The hammer slams Sasheem into the side of a rock and immediately starts melting across his body, attempting to smother and absorb him as it tried to do to Zaofan.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The orbs and the cage were merely obstacles to keep the duo busy, but he would have expected the Held's shadow to have seen that. Perhaps the phantasmal rider even saw what he was about to do, as evident by the sudden extension of the lances of darkness toward him. It would be interesting to see how they dealt with this.

Taking in a final breath, the world seemed to still itself as he focused within himself. As Charco, it would have been impossible for him to ever reach this state, but things were different as he was now. His left eye opened, the entirety of its socket filled with golden light, the very same light that now spilled out from between the scales of his sauran arm whose talons remained pressed against the earth. The power of the consumed star heralded the ascension of the yellow emperor, as a ring of light formed around Charco, the rider, and his mount. Depicted in the ring was dual-headed serpentine bearing the heads of a dragon and tyrannosaurus: the one called the Solar Tyrant.

The earth was upended by a massive set of draconical jaws that snapped over the shadowy Held and his steed, seeking to carry them upward to detonate.

They do so in fantastic fashion, the light burning and trapped within the cage, it remains contained as the shadows are burned and rendered unto nothing.

When the light dies down, however, a single shadow spear falls from the high heavens and sticks into the ground in front of Charco.

[Yun Lao]

They do so in fantastic fashion, the light burning and trapped within the cage, it remains contained as the shadows are burned and rendered unto nothing.

When the light dies down, however, a single shadow spear falls from the high heavens and sticks into the ground in front of Charco.

The light within faded and with it, his senses dulled to their normal range. Surprisingly, he wasn't even winded from that, whereas he had initially fought to stay conscious way back then; then again, he wasn't really who he was back in those days.

Turning his attention to the spear in front of him, he felt a mild wave of apathy toward the weapon. While parts of him had understood the value of the weapon and had even brandished it as an extension of themselves, "Charco" had little use for a dedicated weapon. Still, it most likely wouldn't hurt to take a parting gift, if only to see Held's reaction to it. With the crystallized monk's spade still in his human hand, his saurian hand gripped the spear, ripping it from the ground.

"Now that your guardians have been vanquished, what will you do, Sakin?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The light within faded and with it, his senses dulled to their normal range. Surprisingly, he wasn't even winded from that, whereas he had initially fought to stay conscious way back then; then again, he wasn't really who he was back in those days.

Turning his attention to the spear in front of him, he felt a mild wave of apathy toward the weapon. While parts of him had understood the value of the weapon and had even brandished it as an extension of themselves, "Charco" had little use for a dedicated weapon. Still, it most likely wouldn't hurt to take a parting gift, if only to see Held's reaction to it. With the crystallized monk's spade still in his human hand, his saurian hand gripped the spear, ripping it from the ground.

"Now that your guardians have been vanquished, what will you do, Sakin?"

The spear convulses in his grip, almost like it was alive, before the shape forms up under his hand, more solid and real. Unlike the hammers the other shadow threw, which each contain a shadow dragonball and seemed more independent, the spears were extensions of Shadow Held and now this one is all that remains.

The cocoon Sakin resides in makes no reply back save to pulse with energy, the cracks Efrideet caused slowly healing.

[MrSandman]

The spear convulses in his grip, almost like it was alive, before the shape forms up under his hand, more solid and real. Unlike the hammers the other shadow threw, which each contain a shadow dragonball and seemed more independent, the spears were extensions of Shadow Held and now this one is all that remains.

The cocoon Sakin resides in makes no reply back save to pulse with energy, the cracks Efrideet caused slowly healing.

As the protective shell around Sakin attempted to knit itself back together, a thunderous boom erupted from the skies high above. A comet of brilliant brown and white energy had crested the horizon, cutting the sky in half as it flew at almost unimaginable (yet totally imaginable given those involved) speed. At its head, pale blood hair spread out in an arc almost as long and thick as the cape that trailed behind it....upon which a smaller, albino humanoid clung with nearly bone crushing grip that went only slightly unnoticed by its ride.

There were much more important things at stake then a pair of potentially broken hips....Though the faster they moved, the less potential it had to be.

There would never be another more opportune moment to strike, and even if it took her longer then normal to line it up....it would all be worth the wait. A time mage is never late or early, she acts exactly when and where it works best.

And if anyone asks why it took her so long to stabilize the mess she caused and get all the way out to where they were fighting.....that would totally be her excuse.

"Remember the plan." Etrina mentally asked the Id clinging to her back.

"Gao....Scambled, Hard Boiled, Soft Boiled, Fried with Sause...."
The drool trailing behind their flight path and the jumble of barely coherent egg recipes did not fill the time mage with optimism, but it was all she had.

"I'll....take that as a yes...We're almost there, grab my hand and get ready!"

Time dilated around the comet, accelerating even faster as it approached. A large clawed hand gripped the mages as she reached back, and with an almost chirographed spin, the mage wound up her pitch as she closed in.....spinning the id around her before launching her as a lighting bolt, descending from the heavens with a Thunderous Battle Call.

"BACON!!!!!!!!"

Like a spear, Erosa cut the air slammed into Sakins egg. The weight and speed adding to her penetrating digits as she stabbed her hands into the closing crack in the shell, gripped hard even as the momentum nearly tore both arms from her body, and yanked the gap apart as hard as she could.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

As the protective shell around Sakin attempted to knit itself back together, a thunderous boom erupted from the skies high above. A comet of brilliant brown and white energy had crested the horizon, cutting the sky in half as it flew at almost unimaginable (yet totally imaginable given those involved) speed. At its head, pale blood hair spread out in an arc almost as long and thick as the cape that trailed behind it....upon which a smaller, albino humanoid clung with nearly bone crushing grip that went only slightly unnoticed by its ride.

There were much more important things at stake then a pair of potentially broken hips....Though the faster they moved, the less potential it had to be.

There would never be another more opportune moment to strike, and even if it took her longer then normal to line it up....it would all be worth the wait. A time mage is never late or early, she acts exactly when and where it works best.

And if anyone asks why it took her so long to stabilize the mess she caused and get all the way out to where they were fighting.....that would totally be her excuse.

"Remember the plan." Etrina mentally asked the Id clinging to her back.

"Gao....Scambled, Hard Boiled, Soft Boiled, Fried with Sause...."
The drool trailing behind their flight path and the jumble of barely coherent egg recipes did not fill the time mage with optimism, but it was all she had.

"I'll....take that as a yes...We're almost there, grab my hand and get ready!"

Time dilated around the comet, accelerating even faster as it approached. A large clawed hand gripped the mages as she reached back, and with an almost chirographed spin, the mage wound up her pitch as she closed in.....spinning the id around her before launching her as a lighting bolt, descending from the heavens with a Thunderous Battle Call.



Like a spear, Erosa cut the air slammed into Sakins egg. The weight and speed adding to her penetrating digits as she stabbed her hands into the closing crack in the shell, gripped hard even as the momentum nearly tore both arms from her body, and yanked the gap apart as hard as she could.

Erosa strikes true, brutally and accurately thanks to Etrina. Her hands pierce and rip the wound open, revealing a transforming Sakin within. No longer fighting Grinthorn for control, the dual entity apparently is transforming, incubating, into another form.

A form not paying attention to the wound Erosa has torn open into the cocoon.

[grampagen]

The hammer blow sends the shadow hybrid of Ochazuke and Zaofan flying, and Ocahzuke (the real one) has the satisfaction of knowing the hammer struck a devastating blow that caved part of the shadow in and left a permanent injury.

The hybrid slams into a piece of the ruined Coldlight near Praxat and Dash, clearly wounded heavily as Ochazuke himself skids for several hundred feet on the ground before comjng go rest looking up at the sky, seeing Jack high above the battlefield m. He also sees the strange entity near Efrideet and Genesis that has just appeared.

Ochazuke felt the momentum carry through his arm in the practiced manner it had over the course of thousands of battles. Twisting the head of the hammer into it, by the weight he knew it had fallen true, even as he was sent away from the immediate fray of the battle in the aftermath.

Regretably, he felt the friction drag for a long, agonizing moment across the terra firma of the Forsworn World, and the sharpness of the blow he'd received had stirred some sharpness to his faculty that had been absent from his upon the Gotengo.

When his path had at last stilled, he turned his view to the sky, and vessel in the distance carrying the aura of creation, and with it the last manifestation of the Creator herself.

Koorimaru, your Godslayer punches through the first black hole, but the second suddenly expands and starts eating the Godslayer beam. It continues advancing up the beam, growing in size as you can start to feel its pulling effect.

You realize a hidden, invisible, Shard of Reality must have been tailing the second black hole and merged with it to make it strong enough to eat your Godslayer.

————

Jack, Eva reaches out and instead of awakening Asha’rah outright, touches Jack and suddenly he feels himself….elsewhere.

Beside him, floating, is Asha’rah and Arthur. The three are in their spiritual forms, gazing down upon the fight below. Asha’rah nods to Jack.

“One big swing, Jack. Show them what Excalibur can really do.”

Her ethereal hands reach out, as do Arthur’s, and Excalibur manifests in the air above the fight. Then it seems to grow and grow and grow, reaching titanic proportions, charged with a massive amount of Creational energy from Eva and all the Guardians present.

Than Asha’rah looks back to Jack.

“The Blade was made by me for Arthur, but it is yours body and soul. When the time is right, you will have the strength to swing it.”

Jack starts to feel his ethereal self grow larger and larger, like Asha’rah had done many times before to herself, and he knows that though a spirit, he will be able to swing the sword and it will do damage to the creature below.

At this level of enormity, and the apparent emergence of a triad of creatures manifesting from Sakin's last will, the gambler had never felt more tilted in his life. Furthermore, he had only one shot.

Closer to where Efrideet had pulled the creature from the portal, Koorimaru loomed, watching, waiting.

Meanwhile, with desperation, the combined effort from Zaofan frees himself as the shadow suffocating him is burned away and dissolved. Holding in his hand is it’s only remnant, a mysterious shadow dragonball.

Groaning, Zaofan dragged himself to his feet. Success! And not a moment too soon, things were beginning to heat up.

"Phew, got it," he murmured to himself. "...whatever the heck this thing really is."

Certainly it looked familiar, and the stars seemed to still themselves in number whatever angle he inspected it from. But whatever this thing was sourcing, whatever it was calling, if they were going to get anything out of it, he'd need help.

And so sprawling after Ochazuke's path through the dirt, he sped after his martial brother, and in moments, far afield from where Held, Charco, Sasheem and Erosa were, he found him.

"Come on, get up," the Chef said, "If this guy's not giving up, then neither can we...only I'm not sure what we're dealing with here."

Muttering to himself, Ochazuke assessed the emergent phenomena from orbit, the sky, and the twisting nether, when his attention snapped to the Shadow Dragonball in Zaofan's hand. Analyzing it, he sought to find the source of its resonant energy. Amidst the myriad cryptic energies arraigned throughout this entire conflict, perhaps this could be the final piece.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

The hammer blow sends the shadow hybrid of Ochazuke and Zaofan flying, and Ocahzuke (the real one) has the satisfaction of knowing the hammer struck a devastating blow that caved part of the shadow in and left a permanent injury.

The hybrid slams into a piece of the ruined Coldlight near Praxat and Dash, clearly wounded heavily as Ochazuke himself skids for several hundred feet on the ground before comjng go rest looking up at the sky, seeing Jack high above the battlefield m. He also sees the strange entity near Efrideet and Genesis that has just appeared.

Meanwhile, with desperation, the combined effort from Zaofan frees himself as the shadow suffocating him is burned away and dissolved. Holding in his hand is it’s only remnant, a mysterious shadow dragonball.

Praxat motions for Dash to walk up to the Coldlight with her as she walks up to it and spots Shadow Ocahzuke." Poor thing from the looks of things I can tell you in bad shape. Dash, should we put this thing out of its misery? Nod once for yes, and twice for no," Praxat said.

[Miburo]

In the periphery of his awareness, the Shadows of both Held himself and Ochazuke did not go unnoticed.

As Charco and the others did battle with those beings born of darkness before dispatching them, Held took the impudent luxury of catching his breath.

Heat and steam radiated from the smoldering body of the Nevadian. His Purification Exclamation had been mighty indeed, managing to dispel the overwhelming darkness in concert with Ochazuke's aid. However, such a vigorous emission of energy was not without cost.

The Nevadian gasped deeply for air, sitting a bit more limp than usual upon Crazy Horn.

The Lord of The Sunlit Plains showed no effect from being in the epicenter of the attack, save for a tiny imperfection--Singed fur upon his almost flawless mane.

Well that could have gone worse...Still, big attacks like that aren't exactly my forte. I'll have to keep that one in the pocket as much as I can help it. Atleast I didn't cripple myself, though.

Crazy Horn snorted, signaling his impatience.

"Haste makes.....waste." Held explained between breaths, his eyes closed as he gathered his energy, "We all have our part to play. If we don't pace ourselves properly, we'll get ourselves killed...I would prefer not to beat Sakin by stuffing our broken bodies down his throat until we have to."

As he Spoke, The Nevadian attempted to peer into the cocoon which Efrideet had cracked open, examining both the hatchling inside, as well as the structure of the shell itself.

Besides, I need to figure out what the nature of his transformations are....Something odd is going on here. He's transforming constantly. Endlessly. He simply adapting...evolving to survive? Is he hoping to tire us out? is there some sort of method to this? Or Is this a desperate attempt to stall us for.....something? I can't believe that a guy like this would simply run down the clock...

After a moments contemplation, the Nevadian scanned the sky around them, attempting to see if there was anything unusual of note that he had missed.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Ochazuke felt the momentum carry through his arm in the practiced manner it had over the course of thousands of battles. Twisting the head of the hammer into it, by the weight he knew it had fallen true, even as he was sent away from the immediate fray of the battle in the aftermath.

Regretably, he felt the friction drag for a long, agonizing moment across the terra firma of the Forsworn World, and the sharpness of the blow he'd received had stirred some sharpness to his faculty that had been absent from his upon the Gotengo.

When his path had at last stilled, he turned his view to the sky, and vessel in the distance carrying the aura of creation, and with it the last manifestation of the Creator herself.



At this level of enormity, and the apparent emergence of a triad of creatures manifesting from Sakin's last will, the gambler had never felt more tilted in his life. Furthermore, he had only one shot.

Closer to where Efrideet had pulled the creature from the portal, Koorimaru loomed, watching, waiting.



Groaning, Zaofan dragged himself to his feet. Success! And not a moment too soon, things were beginning to heat up.

"Phew, got it," he murmured to himself. "...whatever the heck this thing really is."

Certainly it looked familiar, and the stars seemed to still themselves in number whatever angle he inspected it from. But whatever this thing was sourcing, whatever it was calling, if they were going to get anything out of it, he'd need help.

And so sprawling after Ochazuke's path through the dirt, he sped after his martial brother, and in moments, far afield from where Held, Charco, Sasheem and Erosa were, he found him.

"Come on, get up," the Chef said, "If this guy's not giving up, then neither can we...only I'm not sure what we're dealing with here."

Muttering to himself, Ochazuke assessed the emergent phenomena from orbit, the sky, and the twisting nether, when his attention snapped to the Shadow Dragonball in Zaofan's hand. Analyzing it, he sought to find the source of its resonant energy. Amidst the myriad cryptic energies arraigned throughout this entire conflict, perhaps this could be the final piece.

It resonates faintly with Grinthorn’s aura, mixed with Sakin’s. You believe that this must be one of the hybrids dragon balls, created upon their fusion. When the Shadow Ocahzuke was created, because the real one had a dragonball in his hammer the fake also did, absconding with one of the hybrids probably on accident of birth.

A stroke of luck, because that means the final ace on the hole is removed from the God of Reality. He cannot use his own new dragonballs against them if Ocahzuke and Zaofan maintain this one.