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

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" F@$king asshole looking down at me like that. Really can't wait to see that smug look wiped off, his face. I guess that's the nature of people with god complexes Looking down on people from a high horse," Praxat said.

Praxat then approaches Eva. " Eva, is Althena alright? Is she on Earth?" Praxat said.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

As predictable as the death of stars, the Saiyan 'Princess' couldn't help but bark, now that a perceived high ground was to be had. As She awaited Eldfen's acknowledgement of the information offered, she focused her attention- briefly- on Parsley.

"Inanna saw potential in you, as serving as a successor should she fall. Imagine her surprise- not mine- when it was revealed you were nothing more than a leech. Latching onto those more important, and relevant, in attempt to claim their victories as your own."

There was a pause, as the Goddess smiled.

"So... I will say it nicely, this once. Do not answer questions, not meant for you to answer. You are as relevant to this conversation, as you were in the fight against Inanna."

"That was rude of me. Apologies."

Sakin’s teeth clench but he ignores most of what she says.

“Asha’rah was the tool on hand at the time.”

Eldfen nods slowly.

“You and your sister, you said something to Night? He vanished after he took you.”

"Other than cryptic hints and boastful posturing, not much," she answered Eldfen. "I was unconscious for most of it. I peeked behind his veil and saw him for what he truly was: the son you had with a human woman. Trauma, I presume? Regardless, the stunt broke my third eye and rendered me unconscious, so I missed whatever happened after that."

Sakin looks at Sasheem, and the teeth de-clench and a smile curls across his mouth.

“Heh, interesting. I suppose I should have suspected that one of Auroc’s kin would spot it, uncouth though they all are.”

He stands taller, and looks around before tapping his wrist.

“I do believe that’s all the time I needed.”

“It doesn’t matter, Goddess. I got what I wanted from this. Stand aside or stand with me, either way I won’t ever stop.”

Sakin smirks, eyes the fuming Eva in the distance and waves slightly at her.

“I await your arrival, M-Fighters, at my home. Bring everything you have to bear, attack with all your mortal heart and power. And when your bones decorate my planets’ surface like so…..many……others have, I will make your souls watch this universe die slowly, knowing you failed. And then I will remake each and everyone of you into my servants. Until then.”

Sakin’s image breaks, the black butterfly popping out of existence.

Parsley and Sarada sigh almost simultaneously. They managed to get quite a bit of information out of him, but at the cost of allowing him to complete whatever it was he was trying to do. Without doubt, it wasn't going to be good. A hundred worlds had already been destroyed, a few of them very personal to them. Whatever resistance they intended on mounting, they were going to have very little time to prepare it.

Parsley's eyes lingered on the spot where Sakin's form once manifested, then flicked to the spot where Grinthorn had been standing until he disappeared. Eldfen's help could be conjured, but she didn't dream even suggesting it. After a lifetime of oppression at his hands, the Humans would in no way even entertain such an idea. His death meant more to them than almost anything.

She turned to Caliban. "Whatever you intend on doing, it'd be best to do it now."

[MrSandman]

“It doesn’t matter, Goddess. I got what I wanted from this. Stand aside or stand with me, either way I won’t ever stop.”

Sakin smirks, eyes the fuming Eva in the distance and waves slightly at her.

“I await your arrival, M-Fighters, at my home. Bring everything you have to bear, attack with all your mortal heart and power. And when your bones decorate my planets’ surface like so…..many……others have, I will make your souls watch this universe die slowly, knowing you failed. And then I will remake each and everyone of you into my servants. Until then.”

Sakin’s image breaks, the black butterfly popping out of existence.

As Sakins image vanishes into the ether, a flash of movement blurs the spot from which his bufferfly had but faded a mere moment earlier. With a heroic battle cry, Erosa clawed the air several thousand times in but the fraction of a second, stopping only to let the air settle over the now empty spot.

"......I killed Sakin~Ero!" The Id proclaimed proudly. "No need to thank Erosa, all in day job. We go eat now?" Erosa beamed a smile, then looked around.....then again. Eyes trailing over everyone, Nu-Inanna more then once.

"...Erosa....miss something important?"

[MrSandman]

“It doesn’t matter, Goddess. I got what I wanted from this. Stand aside or stand with me, either way I won’t ever stop.”

Sakin smirks, eyes the fuming Eva in the distance and waves slightly at her.

“I await your arrival, M-Fighters, at my home. Bring everything you have to bear, attack with all your mortal heart and power. And when your bones decorate my planets’ surface like so…..many……others have, I will make your souls watch this universe die slowly, knowing you failed. And then I will remake each and everyone of you into my servants. Until then.”

Sakin’s image breaks, the black butterfly popping out of existence.

"....M-fighters?" Etrina tilted her head as the old angel vanished. She had remained unusally quiet as the group had bantered back and forth with the old angel, it had only been the parting words that broke her thoughts. "....I never noticed...were we always known by such a ridiculous name?"

The mage turned temporary time lord sighed and banished the momentary ponder from her mind, managing to simultaneously ignore the sudden appearance of the Id, and instead focused now upon the new arrival...in a sense at least. There was a long pause, and the mage opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly closed it as she stared for another moment....her thought muted by the look of curiosity and....something else.

In the end, Etrina turned away and stared out across the ruins of Reshlan.

"...god of true magic....huh...." Etrina spoke quietly, then chuckled. "....ha...after everything...I've fallen quite far behind..."

[Yun Lao]

Sakin glances at him, lip curling.

“A prime example of one abomination right there, one reason this universe is tainted. Ghost Hakai, a perverted godly energy used by a soul that refuses to recycle or move on, denying the natural moral and mortal order. His mere existence leaks perversion and chaos, tainting the universe.”

His form shimmers a bit.

“Come to me than, lizard. Come to my world and die.”

He chuckled, dark and deeply, "You're a bit late to the party if ghost hakai is the worst I've done." His middle finger still upright, although it was soon followed by the index and thumb, "Since then I've consumed a small star and supped the chalice of creation energy. I don't even know what I'm working with nowadays."

Amused, he continued, "The natural order. I used to believe it... or rather I've used it as an excuse to justify my actions. In truth, the only thing the natural order cares about is the survival of the fittest, and I think I've done a pretty damn good job of surviving."

“It doesn’t matter, Goddess. I got what I wanted from this. Stand aside or stand with me, either way I won’t ever stop.”

Sakin smirks, eyes the fuming Eva in the distance and waves slightly at her.

“I await your arrival, M-Fighters, at my home. Bring everything you have to bear, attack with all your mortal heart and power. And when your bones decorate my planets’ surface like so…..many……others have, I will make your souls watch this universe die slowly, knowing you failed. And then I will remake each and everyone of you into my servants. Until then.”

Sakin’s image breaks, the black butterfly popping out of existence.

"Tsk!" Right as he was getting warmed up, the old man ran off; no doubt to set up the home advantage.

"Just when things were getting interesting..."

[grampagen]

Eva nods.

“I wanted…..I wanted to help….to be with you…all.”

She looks up and sees Sakin and Grinthorn, and her form straightens. Energy, silver and gold start to swirl around her and that faint chord is heard once more to both Zaofan and Ochazuke.

“Those two……animals……”

She grits her teeth.

In tandem with Evangeline, Zaofan had, despite himself, become gripped by silence as he beheld the Fallen Angel, and the acrid smoke from which Grinthorn appeared all but sealed his breath.

One, an apparition, the other...oh god, he's actually here-!

The beating of his heart slowed, sank, and grew heavier, and his lower limbs felt leaden. Zaofan's stance did not yield, however it was not training alone that carried the reflex through flesh and bone.

For everything that's gone wrong...no matter how I feel about it, Eva's been dealing with this for three-hundred years longer!

So did he stand firm, poised to move, and in the face of his fear found he was not tensed, only ready.

Come what may...this is what we've trained for. Can't second-guess myself now!

Nor did he doubt Ochazuke, who had for the last three years made it his personal mission to extract the truth of Sakin since Slak had extracted the memory from the first Parasite so long ago.

Long had he gazed into the star-laden abyss above, peering through forgotten realms and the spectral matter of the universe. By old Arthur's lead they'd all managed to find the Forsworn World through these efforts. Now with the last legacy that the Dragon had vanquished, the Ten Teachings of Master Zxu'ro had been reunited as had the fragmented factions and stifled potential under the Dragon's One World Government.

Yet now, Ochazuke had no words, nor stance brought to bear. With a small lift of his hand, he motioned for his brother and their guardian both to silence for a time.

The Goddess born from Inanna had executed some maneuver to parlay with the Fallen One, he thought to himself, That curiosity may well be the core of her being.

Moreover, she had caught their eye. For now, he was content to listen.

There, in the eyes, buried deep. Deep below the intelligence, below the cunning and guile and pretty words.

Buried so deep is this fault, this defect that perhaps Sakin himself cannot see it or acknowledge it.

He is mad. So mad he believes that what he will do is the sanest, most reasonable thing. It is the false belief in perfection, in his rightness (tinged with jealousy) that drives him.

Sakin merely shakes his head, disappointment evident.

“First you have to break an egg before you can make an omelet. Asha’rah would have failed eventually, I merely sped things along to fix it earlier than later, when the situation was more dire.”

He gestures all around.

“I wanted to prevent this madness.”

Eldfen looks at the corpse and nods slowly.

“I know what Night is, and judging from his sudden absence, so do your ally’s. He’s my son. That……”

He points to the corpse.

“Was my youngest brother, Jormandur. He sought to renege on a deal made between Night and himself. So Night slew his mortal essence, trapping the soul until he deemed he had paid the price. Thus the deal was honored.”

As they conversed, the Oni-That-Was peeled back the layers of the Angel's raison-d'etre. Solvent questions, also so much like her...

The Heka gathered to raise the voice of the Universe around them, against its wayward Steward and one that rendered miracles from it, Ochazuke dared to believe that this might be enough; to shift the Axis, by their intention lift the fulcum by which this mortal existence turns...

Yet he would not tap into that well directly, not yet. As it had expanded his powers of observation, Ochazuke drew upon the Cosmic Leyline to amplify his skill sublime in a bid to acquire some knowledge of the inner nature of Sakin and Grinthorn alike.

Sakin ignores him as Alakazah ponders a moment.

“I do not know. Once, long ago…….as Eldfen I was vindictive and haughty, arrogant. As Alakazah, I was cruel and a conquerer. I do not know what I will do once reunited with all of myself. Perhaps….rest. I cannot say, I have been Grinthorn too long. But the need, the ache, to be whole is like an itch you cannot scratch, a numbness where a limb once was. It’s enough to drive one mad.”

As suddenly as they had come, so had the Fallen One and the Dragon departed. As the smoke cleared, Zaofan found his pulse slowed, and the pressure upon his soul lift. With a sharp inhale, he found new life, and it was cold from the icy sweat that had gathered upon his dirtied face.

But Ochazuke had been listening. He had heard the Fallen One reveal his intentions, but more cuttingly, he'd heard Eldfen confess his sins.

His shoulders took a small tremble. His head lowered, and slowly, his lips split into a shallow grin. The hammer raised before him fell to his side, and a roaring basso laughed and laughed and echoed into the wastes of Reshlan.

[grampagen]

The Nevadian let out a laugh in response. It wasn't a conscious, considered response. It was a biological--no, perhaps psychological---response that escaped from him when confronted with the absurd.

"Impossible." Held replied simply. Of course, he knew full well that nothing was impossible in this day and age. Destroying Nevada was hardly a trivial task, but these were hardly trivial times. In another time Held would have denied the possibility of such a thing entirely, brushing off the words of the Saiyan Queen to a particularly distasteful joke. Of course, even if he had considered such a possibility, if either Maiz or Sarada had given them reason to doubt them--which they had not-- a casual glance at Sarada told him the truth of her statement.

The Shingan revealed all, as they say.


The strength of their enemy, the absolute pandemonium cascading throughout the universe at large....It was not impossible. It was hardly even improbable. It made sense from a strategic standpoint.

Nevada. Gone. In the space of minutes. Those assembled on Reshlan were distracted for mere moments, and Sakin managed to strike at the heart of the Nevadian Empire.

The Nevadian continued to laugh, the absolute absurdity of the situation coming to a crescendo. Had the destruction of Nevada not been so absolutely bewildering in the moment, the shame he felt would have been neigh unbearable. The friends and family lost, and he had failed his duty--as burdensome as it was--to his people. How many----

No. Held felt himself on the very precipice. Lingering on the very edge of going down the rabbit hole. It was not proper for a warrior, nor was it productive. Nothing could be done for Nevada at this moment, and allowing despair to blind his judgement would only be detrimental to the grand strategy. The true goal.

Hilda had told him that this was a battle to stop the end of times. It was nothing more than hubris to assume that any blow struck by Sakin would be glancing. It was a deep blow to be sure. But not yet fatal, unable to be undone in its entirety.

The laughter of the Nevadian ceased as he regained his composure. Even now, that was hardly beyond him. It was the result of years of training, embedding the grace of the Unicorn into his very being.

"....I see." Held replied curtly, his attention drifting back to the Saiyan Princess. "Thank you, Sarada. I suppose it's best I learned sooner rather than later."


He activated his communicator, summoning forth a trusted ally.

"Ulysses." Held inquired, "Who exactly is in charge of the defense effort---"

Static crackled over the line, the response shaky. It was as if there was a row of interference in the ambient radiation, like a spacefaring vessel drawn too close to a corona event shocking the vital communications from bow to stern.

"--say again, Admiral. Repeat, this is Captain Ulysses of the Navigation Guild hailing from the Big Ghetti Star, are you getting this?"

"Nevada-Prime is gone! When the Merchant Guild went silent we thought they were scuttling their wares before things went to shit, then the Stargate comms went dead! After rerouting we got a visual from the spaceport, it's gone!"

"While we had our eye on the Earth Defense Force as we were containing the situation on the BGS promenade, the Cabal must have made their move. Homeworld and half the fleet-! The rest is scattered on peacekeeping efforts...everyone, your father, the High Dean, they're gone!"

Across the universe, hundreds of butterflies on hundreds of worlds appear, they flutter and float and from each butterfly, EvaÂ’s voice rings out. It is the voice of fate, of resistance, of hope.

“I Remain.”

The butterflies fly out, the voice ringing clearer.

“I REMAIN. I RESIST. I WILL…..NEVER……SURRENDER. I AM GUARDIAN OF EARTH, AND TO THE UNIVERSE……I SAY…..FIGHT! RESIST! WE ARE NOT THE PLAYTHINGS OF FALSE IMMORTALS! EARTH WILL NEVER FALL UNDER THAT TYRANTS SHADOW EVER AGAIN.”

On Earth, as her message spreads across the universe, with a shudder, Eva vanishes into a flurry of ephemeral butterflies, leaving Kai and Nunlil alone on the Lookout.

Then a second surge shocked through the comm, drowning the Captain's voice out, and all the ill-tidings his report brought with it. In its place, the message of a Guardian rang out loud and clear.

Moving swiftly to a window overlooking the Earth, he and several of the denizens of the Big Ghetti Star bore witness to Evangeline's decree and saw the rising stream of light break the stratosphere. Among the offworlders that had settled into this makeshift stellar city, the feed came in from hundreds more worlds that yet lived.

"By the horns of Great Capricorn...!"

From the many jaded years of the Captain's life, he could be regarded as many things. Upon the loss of his eye, a believer would scarcely be among them. But ever since Held had commissioned him and his crew, the shit they'd seen while charting new frontiers had brought even this seasoned navigator who measured the inches between stars and planets to questions. Now...now, he was completely at a loss, but he had a ship, and clearance to patch in to the alliance he'd rushed along with the Crane and the Cook.

"...Admiral, are you still there? What should we do?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The dust had settled and the smoke from Grinthorn's appearance had filtered away into Reshlan's bloodstained air. Sarada's nose scrunched as the lingering scent hit her nostrils. It reminded her of those smelly sticks Jack always smoked after they mated... every other waking moment. Her eyes lingered where he had once been standing. The allusion that he would be willing to help them against Sakin if they gave him his seven dragonballs so he could finally be free. She supposed she couldn't fault him for wanting freedom. She was only worried about what he intended on doing with that freedom. 'I don't know' wasn't good enough for her, and she knew for damn sure it wasn't enough for anyone who actually suffered under his presidency.

They knew were six of them were. As long as none of them talked, he would never be free.

Eva nods.

“I wanted…..I wanted to help….to be with you…all.”

She looks up and sees Sakin and Grinthorn, and her form straightens. Energy, silver and gold start to swirl around her and that faint chord is heard once more to both Zaofan and Ochazuke.

“Those two……animals……”

She grits her teeth.

In tandem with Evangeline, Zaofan had, despite himself, become gripped by silence as he beheld the Fallen Angel, and the acrid smoke from which Grinthorn appeared all but sealed his breath.

They had been gifted a moment's reprieve before the end came. With that moment, she was able to breathe. Her breaths were heavy and almost labored. After fighting for... what... an hour straight? She felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. I've had next to no time to rest since this shit all started.

Despite that, she felt herself smiling upon seeing Eva with Zaofan. It had only been a few hours since she last her, but seeing that she was still standing after all Hell literally breaking loose gave her a measure of comfort. The message that rang from the Guardian's mouth and echoed across the universe loudly and clearly only compounded into something greater. A message brimming with defiance, resiliancy, and hope. It was a feat that made Sarada proud to call her a friend and a mentor.

She approached the two of them. "That was a hell of message you sent just then, Eva," she said. She took stock of her exhausted and haggard appearance and realized that said feat must have taken so much out of her, along with somehow transporting herself across dozens of light years instantly. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes then fell upon Zaofan. Her brow fell and her shoulders slumped. Memories of him still trying to talk Inanna down from her immense rage despite being in her grasp and clinging to consciousness were burned into her mind and would stay there for the rest of her life. He was still standing, so there was that; but who knew what kind of scars laid just below the surface. "And you?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

“It doesn’t matter, Goddess. I got what I wanted from this. Stand aside or stand with me, either way I won’t ever stop.”
Sakin’s image breaks, the black butterfly popping out of existence.

She quirked an eyebrow at this response, taking note of the near slip; but made no further response as he challenged the mortals around her and his simulacrum faded from view. At the least, Sakin had given her much food for thought.

Sakin vanishes without another word, but Grinthorn remains. The former President seems…….like he is listening, judging and weighing her words.

“Night and I, we cannot harm each other. The boy’s mother saw to it. Still…..I am thankful he has stepped aside.”

He eyes the body before him.

“As to Sakin……..a dangerous game indeed. I know he intends on betraying me at some point, just as he knows I will to him. We have a tacit agreement: I help him, I get my full self back, as our Oath officiated by Lady Binder says. Once that is fulfilled……..well, one of us will survive.”

He breathes deeply.

“I am closer now than I have been in so long. So very, very long. Like I am drowning but the surface is so very close.”

He shakes his head and winks slightly at she who was Inanna.

“But…….I once told you I liked the Earth. That I liked my farm there. The contract…..well, it’s void if I get my balls back without him. And MY help………..can be interpreted in various ways. Take that for what you will, Goddess. I called you falsely profane, instead I see……..great potential in you.”

He grins and vanishes in a puff of smoke. The last words echoing to her.

“Appreciate you taking care of Jormandur. Never liked him just floating in space like that.”

As with Sakin, She allowed Eldfen to say his piece, before he too disappeared.

He had given her far more than Sakin to consider, and She found herself more interested in his commentary about his son, and his desire to be unbound; than she had been at the Divine Angel's banal insanity. It helped, too, that Eldfen was- to Her- far more sympathetic as well. An creature of Chaos, arguably the first, it acted on its whims and desires without care or consideration beyond that which was enjoyable in the immediate. Something She was intimately familiar with by virtue of the fragmentary memories she now sifted through, passively, to better help shape her next steps. All that considered, it was also worth noting that, by his very nature, Eldfen gave rise to a curiously visceral response from one who had so far kept his thoughts sequestered, focus unwavering.

The Stoic's booming laugh carrying over the chittering of mortals who had- for seemingly no reason- opted to ignore multiple things in favor of... pleasantries.

His shoulders took a small tremble. His head lowered, and slowly, his lips split into a shallow grin. The hammer raised before him fell to his side, and a roaring basso laughed and laughed and echoed into the wastes of Reshlan.

"Ah, the Stoic laughs." She said, slowly approaching Ochazuke. "Has that final, taut cord holding fast to your sanity snapped at last? Or was there a joke buried within the confessions of that Old Dragon?"

[grampagen]

The dust had settled and the smoke from Grinthorn's appearance had filtered away into Reshlan's bloodstained air. Sarada's nose scrunched as the lingering scent hit her nostrils. It reminded her of those smelly sticks Jack always smoked after they mated... every other waking moment. Her eyes lingered where he had once been standing. The allusion that he would be willing to help them against Sakin if they gave him his seven dragonballs so he could finally be free. She supposed she couldn't fault him for wanting freedom. She was only worried about what he intended on doing with that freedom. 'I don't know' wasn't good enough for her, and she knew for damn sure it wasn't enough for anyone who actually suffered under his presidency.

They knew were six of them were. As long as none of them talked, he would never be free.





They had been gifted a moment's reprieve before the end came. With that moment, she was able to breathe. Her breaths were heavy and almost labored. After fighting for... what... an hour straight? She felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. I've had next to no time to rest since this shit all started.

Despite that, she felt herself smiling upon seeing Eva with Zaofan. It had only been a few hours since she last her, but seeing that she was still standing after all Hell literally breaking loose gave her a measure of comfort. The message that rang from the Guardian's mouth and echoed across the universe loudly and clearly only compounded into something greater. A message brimming with defiance, resiliancy, and hope. It was a feat that made Sarada proud to call her a friend and a mentor.

She approached the two of them. "That was a hell of message you sent just then, Eva," she said. She took stock of her exhausted and haggard appearance and realized that said feat must have taken so much out of her, along with somehow transporting herself across dozens of light years instantly. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes then fell upon Zaofan. Her brow fell and her shoulders slumped. Memories of him still trying to talk Inanna down from her immense rage despite being in her grasp and clinging to consciousness were burned into her mind and would stay there for the rest of her life. He was still standing, so there was that; but who knew what kind of scars laid just below the surface. "And you?"

Supporting Evangeline despite his own condition, Zaofan found part of his resolve return when Sakin and Grinthorn had departed. From all appearances it seemed they would both need to lean on each other for the time being, but until then he'd made sure to hold the Guardian up, keeping both of her feet on the ground to preserve her dignity.

"What about me? Whatever I'm thinking doesn't seem matter very much, now does it? Look around you," he said. "The Threshlings were counting on us to save their world, and Inanna, she came to us to find a reason to live. The people barely have a thing to return to, while she, she won't be returning at all."

He looked at Sarada, eyes dull and holding back something deep within them. The flattened plains of what was once the finest city upon all Reshlan were reflected in them before they listlessly turned toward Illargi with his thoughts, still fixated on the people on that distant planet, plucked from Vaikuntha where it had been meant to be their shelter from all of this.

"It's too late, far too late, for anything I can say now to mean anything in the slightest."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Supporting Evangeline despite his own condition, Zaofan found part of his resolve return when Sakin and Grinthorn had departed. From all appearances it seemed they would both need to lean on each other for the time being, but until then he'd made sure to hold the Guardian up, keeping both of her feet on the ground to preserve her dignity.

"What about me? Whatever I'm thinking doesn't seem matter very much, now does it? Look around you," he said. "The Threshlings were counting on us to save their world, and Inanna, she came to us to find a reason to live. The people barely have a thing to return to, while she, she won't be returning at all."

He looked at Sarada, eyes dull and holding back something deep within them. The flattened plains of what was once the finest city upon all Reshlan were reflected in them before they listlessly turned toward Illargi with his thoughts, still fixated on the people on that distant planet, plucked from Vaikuntha where it had been meant to be their shelter from all of this.

"It's too late, far too late, for anything I can say now to mean anything in the slightest."

"Scarred though she may be, Reshlan still stands. Her people, their resolve and faith, still stand, unshaken, and it is in no small part due to your meritorious, as always, actions," came Nevanlinna's familiar, if curiously tired voice. She had remained silent during... everything that had transpired just now, as she had nothing to add and she had been, hm, indisposed. It turns out that being violently severed from one's oversoul had repercussions. "We have the means and the will to rebuild and restore... again... and so we shall."

The time she had spent in Vaikuntha--in Illargi's Gravito-temporal distortion well--deciphering the secrets of first race technology had been well-spent, it seems. Reshlan had required a bit of terraforming to get it, mm, to her ancestors' specific liking, so fixing this damage was merely a matter of time and effort. Once Sakin fell, they'd have plenty of both to spare.

She'd wanted to chew out that half-s--Totoma, but she still had some connection to Vaikuntha, to... Narayana's rotting corpse, and things had slowly been trickling in. She understood why it had done what it had done, at least partially, and why it had chosen him to be the vessel of its work. However, the only rationale she could discern for choosing that inopportune moment was either desperation or insanity. Neither of which sat well with her.

"And they stand with you. All of you. If you will have them, I will arrange for a contingent of our most capable knights to join the assault on Sakin's world. They won't be much use against Sakin, Elfden, or Cancer, but based on their performance against SWS' minions today, I believe they will be more than capable of handling any of their lesser servitors." Their performance had been... impressive, actually. There had been casualties, yes, but as far as she knew, they had all been among those limited to the older, Auroc-era armors, while the newer armors she had developed over the past year offered enough of an edge to those that wore them to prevent any casualties for their bearers.

...of course, even with those armors, the training Knights and their soldiers underwent now was much more strenuous and, mm, complete now than in the past. Less focus on glorious individual combat and more focus on group cohesion and effectiveness. Without those improvements, there would have been far more casualties, both military and civilian. She had both the Saiyans and Nevadians to thank for those particular improvements.

Her gaze turned towards... Inanna? Ishtar? This new being had told them to call her what they wanted until she found a name, but using either of those seemed inappropriate. She would find one, in time, likely of her own choosing, but until then... "It must be tiresome, to have only been... born, in a sense, and to be confronted with the sheer banality of Sakin's desires, I imagine. Elfden, at least, one can sympathize with. I suppose now, since you are the only one who knows where the last key to his freedom is, our task is to debate whether or not it is worth the risk freeing him and in the process, attempt to sway you towards the group's... preferred outcome."

She herself was neutral on the matter--most of the group, in her estimation, seemed to prefer the route of just killing him, but Elfden could be a powerful ally if--if--freeing him engendered a feeling of gratitude in him. Often, even the most chaotic and free-spirited of beings of magical nature still possessed a keen sense of reciprocity. They repaid their debts, whether that debt was positive or negative, in full. But his answer to the half-saiyans question--he didn't know what he'd do with his freedom--was vague and left her wanting.

...likely, in a long enough timespan, the results of said freedom would balance out in terms of help and harm.

"Am I to assume you presently either do not particularly care either way or lean somewhat in favor of freeing him?"

...admittedly, freeing him might be the more, ah, interesting of the options, one might say. She could not deny that sheer curiosity about what, exactly, he would do with his freedom did make a part of her want to loose his bounds...

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

In tandem with Evangeline, Zaofan had, despite himself, become gripped by silence as he beheld the Fallen Angel, and the acrid smoke from which Grinthorn appeared all but sealed his breath.

One, an apparition, the other...oh god, he's actually here-!

The beating of his heart slowed, sank, and grew heavier, and his lower limbs felt leaden. Zaofan's stance did not yield, however it was not training alone that carried the reflex through flesh and bone.

For everything that's gone wrong...no matter how I feel about it, Eva's been dealing with this for three-hundred years longer!

So did he stand firm, poised to move, and in the face of his fear found he was not tensed, only ready.

Come what may...this is what we've trained for. Can't second-guess myself now!

Nor did he doubt Ochazuke, who had for the last three years made it his personal mission to extract the truth of Sakin since Slak had extracted the memory from the first Parasite so long ago.

Long had he gazed into the star-laden abyss above, peering through forgotten realms and the spectral matter of the universe. By old Arthur's lead they'd all managed to find the Forsworn World through these efforts. Now with the last legacy that the Dragon had vanquished, the Ten Teachings of Master Zxu'ro had been reunited as had the fragmented factions and stifled potential under the Dragon's One World Government.

Yet now, Ochazuke had no words, nor stance brought to bear. With a small lift of his hand, he motioned for his brother and their guardian both to silence for a time.

The Goddess born from Inanna had executed some maneuver to parlay with the Fallen One, he thought to himself, That curiosity may well be the core of her being.

Moreover, she had caught their eye. For now, he was content to listen.



As they conversed, the Oni-That-Was peeled back the layers of the Angel's raison-d'etre. Solvent questions, also so much like her...

The Heka gathered to raise the voice of the Universe around them, against its wayward Steward and one that rendered miracles from it, Ochazuke dared to believe that this might be enough; to shift the Axis, by their intention lift the fulcum by which this mortal existence turns...

Yet he would not tap into that well directly, not yet. As it had expanded his powers of observation, Ochazuke drew upon the Cosmic Leyline to amplify his skill sublime in a bid to acquire some knowledge of the inner nature of Sakin and Grinthorn alike.



As suddenly as they had come, so had the Fallen One and the Dragon departed. As the smoke cleared, Zaofan found his pulse slowed, and the pressure upon his soul lift. With a sharp inhale, he found new life, and it was cold from the icy sweat that had gathered upon his dirtied face.

But Ochazuke had been listening. He had heard the Fallen One reveal his intentions, but more cuttingly, he'd heard Eldfen confess his sins.

His shoulders took a small tremble. His head lowered, and slowly, his lips split into a shallow grin. The hammer raised before him fell to his side, and a roaring basso laughed and laughed and echoed into the wastes of Reshlan.

Your senses, expanded, see through presented images and into the two themselves.

Sakin is a roiling mass of contempt. Of divine order mixed with arrogance and contempt for the universe at large. Beyond that though is a cunning, agile mind. Your see into his nature to have multiple backup plans, to have planned for and ready a multitude of problems once they alight upon his world.

You also get from his nature that he’d prefer everyone, including himself, lose instead of you all winning.

Grinthorn……….is different. Much has changed since you last saw him in person, when you struck the blow and sent fear into the dragon for the first time. Where once there was an arrogance, a knowledge of superiority and untouchableness, now there resides a tired yearning for freedom and a burning need to acquire it.

And fear.

Grinthorn is afraid. You can taste it on your tongue, in the back of your throat like rancid smoke. He fears you and believes he can only be safe if fully himself once more.

And, beneath that, when he said he liked Earth you actually believe him. Of the two, you believe the dragon is more Grinthorn than Alakazah the conqueror now.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Evan nods to Zaofan, smiles, than turns and nods to Sarada.

“Didn’t think…I had it in me. I’ll be fine. Just……did something I probably shouldn’t have.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

" F@$king asshole looking down at me like that. Really can't wait to see that smug look wiped off, his face. I guess that's the nature of people with god complexes Looking down on people from a high horse," Praxat said.

Praxat then approaches Eva. " Eva, is Althena alright? Is she on Earth?" Praxat said.

“I’m sorry, no, she didn’t make it Praxat.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Supporting Evangeline despite his own condition, Zaofan found part of his resolve return when Sakin and Grinthorn had departed. From all appearances it seemed they would both need to lean on each other for the time being, but until then he'd made sure to hold the Guardian up, keeping both of her feet on the ground to preserve her dignity.

"What about me? Whatever I'm thinking doesn't seem matter very much, now does it? Look around you," he said. "The Threshlings were counting on us to save their world, and Inanna, she came to us to find a reason to live. The people barely have a thing to return to, while she, she won't be returning at all."

He looked at Sarada, eyes dull and holding back something deep within them. The flattened plains of what was once the finest city upon all Reshlan were reflected in them before they listlessly turned toward Illargi with his thoughts, still fixated on the people on that distant planet, plucked from Vaikuntha where it had been meant to be their shelter from all of this.

"It's too late, far too late, for anything I can say now to mean anything in the slightest."

From what Sarada understood from the recounting of the events that followed Auroc’s death, Zaofan had been knighted by Queen Nevin herself. So it was easy to see how and why he was taking the destruction of the capital city so hard. He, and all of them, arrived with the intention of keeping Nevin safe and maintaining Reshlan’s security. They had succeeded in their ultimate goal, but with an incalculable amount of collateral damage as a result. As she let her gaze drift over the destruction, it was heartbreaking.

But there was benefit to be found in even the scorched earth. Eventually, the foliage would return, sprouting from ground that was more fertile than it was before. Reshlan would rise again, larger and grander than it was before.

“A city doesn’t give its people meaning or purpose, it’s the other way around. Buildings can be always be rebuilt. As long as the Threshling people survive, Reshlan will continue unabated, better than it was before.” She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “We gave them the ability to rebuild. We did good.”

As for Inanna, her already somber expression worsened as her hand fell to her side. “As for Inanna, blame me. I was the only one who could have known what she was looking for... and I failed her.” She clenched her teeth, but to no avail as tears feel down her face. “And I will live with that for the rest of my life. How can I even look our... my daughter in the eye and explain what happened to her mother?”

It felt like her heart had torn itself in two all over again. It hurt worse than when she learned that Ishtar was gone forever. At least that time, Inanna had a good reason for it and most likely, her Oni wouldn't have ever been the same had she somehow survived that encounter. This time, there was no good reason and she could have at the very least gotten the talking started sooner. Instead... that happened.

"Why the fuck do I always do this?!" She angrily scrubbed her face dry. “Tch. Damn it.”

Evan nods to Zaofan, smiles, than turns and nods to Sarada.

“Didn’t think…I had it in me. I’ll be fine. Just……did something I probably shouldn’t have.”

She sighed heavily and forced a smile on her face, one that barely curled her lips upward. “That thing you shouldn’t have done made Sakin nervous. That makes it worth it. At least for now.” For it to truly mean something, they had to win.

“Do you need to sit down or something until you get your energy back?”

"Scarred though she may be, Reshlan still stands. Her people, their resolve and faith, still stand, unshaken, and it is in no small part due to your meritorious, as always, actions," came Nevanlinna's familiar, if curiously tired voice. She had remained silent during... everything that had transpired just now, as she had nothing to add and she had been, hm, indisposed. It turns out that being violently severed from one's oversoul had repercussions. "We have the means and the will to rebuild and restore... again... and so we shall."

The time she had spent in Vaikuntha--in Illargi's Gravito-temporal distortion well--deciphering the secrets of first race technology had been well-spent, it seems. Reshlan had required a bit of terraforming to get it, mm, to her ancestors' specific liking, so fixing this damage was merely a matter of time and effort. Once Sakin fell, they'd have plenty of both to spare.

She'd wanted to chew out that half-s--Totoma, but she still had some connection to Vaikuntha, to... Narayana's rotting corpse, and things had slowly been trickling in. She understood why it had done what it had done, at least partially, and why it had chosen him to be the vessel of its work. However, the only rationale she could discern for choosing that inopportune moment was either desperation or insanity. Neither of which sat well with her.

"And they stand with you. All of you. If you will have them, I will arrange for a contingent of our most capable knights to join the assault on Sakin's world. They won't be much use against Sakin, Elfen, or Cancer, but based on their performance against SWS' minions today, I believe they will be more than capable of handling any of their lesser servitors." Their performance had been... impressive, actually. There had been casualties, yes, but as far as she knew, they had all been among those limited to the older, Auroc-era armors, while the newer armors she had developed over the past year offered enough of an edge to those that wore them to prevent any casualties for their bearers.

...of course, even with those armors, the training Knights and their soldiers underwent now was much more strenuous and, mm, complete now than in the past. Less focus on glorious individual combat and more focus on group cohesion and effectiveness. Without those improvements, there would have been far more casualties, both military and civilian. She had both the Saiyans and Nevadians to thank for those particular improvements.

Her gaze turned towards... Inanna? Ishtar? This new being had told them to call her what they wanted until she found a name, but using either of those seemed inappropriate. She would find one, in time, likely of her own choosing, but until then... "It must be tiresome, to have only been... born, in a sense, and to be confronted with the sheer banality of Sakin's desires, I imagine. Elfden, at least, one can sympathize with. I suppose now, since you are the only one who knows where the last key to his freedom is, our task is to debate whether or not it is worth the risk freeing him and in the process, attempt to sway you towards the group's... preferred outcome."

She herself was neutral on the matter--most of the group, in her estimation, seemed to prefer the route of just killing him, but Elfden could be a powerful ally if--if--freeing him engendered a feeling of gratitude in him. Often, even the most chaotic and free-spirited of beings of magical nature still possessed a keen sense of reciprocity. They repaid their debts, whether that debt was positive or negative, in full. But his answer to the half-saiyans question--he didn't know what he'd do with his freedom--was vague and left her wanting.

...likely, in a long enough timespan, the results of said freedom would balance out in terms of help and harm.

"Am I to assume you presently either do not particularly care either way or lean somewhat in favor of freeing him?"

...admittedly, freeing him might be the more, ah, interesting of the options, one might say. She could not deny that sheer curiosity about what, exactly, he would do with his freedom did make a part of her want to loose his bounds...

As Neva approached them and spoke to Zaofan, Sarada watched her carefully. She looked and sounded tired, despite not taking part in the recent fight. It then occurred to her that whatever happened with Vaikuntha that caused Inanna to freak out must have had a heavy toll on her. Still, she seemed none the worse for wear.

“Is everything okay with that realm of yours? And is your mother alright?”