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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Yeah, playing' babysitters no fun, huh?" Sasheem inquired, leaning over to where he'd heard the voice sigh. Shaking his head, he let the pillow fall between them. "That's an anti-magic bomb, by the way," he commented casually as the explosion from the pillow reacting with the magic bindings resulted in him being knocked away from Maven.

Not bothering to concern himself with whether she survived or not, Sasheem concentrated on regenerating, hoping the bindings were off.

A brief shrill curse and the invisible Maven, now visible, is blow backwards. Auroc himself, from where he was standing, had blocked the explosion from the hotdog vendor.

He swiftly turns, mouth full of food, and blasts Sasheem as he’s healing.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Now now, no need to be so violent, I merely wish to talk!" He commented back handing blasts after blast away with his fist as the matchup lat chin Squad engaged in a dogfight in the background. "The fate of the universe may not be of your concern, but how about the fate of your wallets? Should you complete your pitiable attempt at revenge, I daresay your pockets be as empty as the void of space."

The reptiloid, whom Blizzar recognizes as Liz “The Blizt” Blunter, a notorious mercenary and bounty Hunter for various cartels and Syndicate work, holds a clawed hand up.

“I’m listening.”

Her sibilant speech is hard to understand, but the mask she wears allows for somewhat clearer conversations.

[KingofPie]

A brief shrill curse and the invisible Maven, now visible, is blow backwards. Auroc himself, from where he was standing, had blocked the explosion from the hotdog vendor.

He swiftly turns, mouth full of food, and blasts Sasheem as he’s healing.

"Wait, you idiot!" Sasheem exclaimed, splitting himself up to dodge the blast. "Those are pretty good, right? But if you think that's all the Earth has to offer, think again! And there's no better expert on that than Sasheem!"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Tch. One of us. She's someone who value friendship until that friend stands in her way," Sarada said, a biting edge coloring her words. Friendship was a novel idea to someone so willing to cast aside untold eons of it for the pursuit of a fruitless goal. Asha'rah's win-at-all-cost mindset cost Indar'en his life, the universe its GoD, and mortalkind their chance at a fair shot at a safe existence.

How many problems would have been prevented had she just kept her nose out of her creation's business? More than she could count. She had thought very hard about that over the last few months during her isolation and had no desire to go over the same points again. Her conclusion would have remained the same, anyway.

"If we know Sakin needs her and she's still here, I'm assuming destroying her simply isn't an option." If it wasn't, then taking her with them was the right call. What they decided to do with her after that was up in the air. If it was up to Sarada, she would receive further punishment for her idiocy. It wasn't just a mistake; it was a willful decision that cost untold trillions of people throughout the millennia. That wasn't something she would forgive so easily, nor should anyone else. Being stripped of her station wasn't enough. Not by a long shot.





Before Sarada could answer the challenge, something she wasn't really in the mood for, a sinister power crept into her senses. And it was right below them. As in, right under the Lookout! "What the hell?!"

She transformed to Super Saiyan 2 and moved to check out what it was from a safe distance. Goddamn it, now is not the fucking time. As long as my clone is back home, I'm only at half power. Worse, she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was happening on Sarada. Damn it, I shouldn't have left. Every fucking time I leave, something goes wrong. By that point, Parsley and Avoca would have likely made their way back. As soon as whatever the threat under the Lookout was taken care of, she needed one of them to give her a status update.

The Lookout had been positioned back to float over the ancient location of it’s original, stationary, home. It was still free floating, mind you, but the ruins of the once massive tower that had connected to it lay far below them. As such, checking the bottom out was easy enough, and as Sarada does so she doesn’t actually see anything.

But the feeling persists.

And then Sarada is calling, plummeting down to Earth like a puppet who’s strings had just been cut. Not only that, but some sort of impressive, sinister force had also cut her voice off as she finds she cannot shout out either.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Wait, you idiot!" Sasheem exclaimed, splitting himself up to dodge the blast. "Those are pretty good, right? But if you think that's all the Earth has to offer, think again! And there's no better expert on that than Sasheem!"

Auroc pauses, and Sasheem would note that the once god seemed more…..in control of himself than the last time they had met on Reshlan.

“I’m listening.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The Lookout had been positioned back to float over the ancient location of it’s original, stationary, home. It was still free floating, mind you, but the ruins of the once massive tower that had connected to it lay far below them. As such, checking the bottom out was easy enough, and as Sarada does so she doesn’t actually see anything.

But the feeling persists.

And then Sarada is calling, plummeting down to Earth like a puppet who’s strings had just been cut. Not only that, but some sort of impressive, sinister force had also cut her voice off as she finds she cannot shout out either.

When she reached the bottom of the Lookout, she saw nothing. Everything was as it had always been. Despite that, the evil feeling persisted. What gives? she wondered silently as she prepared to return to the Plaza to inform the others.

Then... something went wrong.

Instead of flying upward, she found herself in freefall toward the ground far below. She tried to cry out for help or even in exclamation, only to quickly learn that her voice was gone. What the hell is going on?!

While she was sure she would survive the fall with ease, she didn't want to be put in a vulnerable position even for a moment. She thought quickly and fired a weak energy blast directly under her. Instead of hurtling toward the ground, it instead hovered and flattened until it formed a platform for her to land on.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

When she reached the bottom of the Lookout, she saw nothing. Everything was as it had always been. Despite that, the evil feeling persisted. What gives? she wondered silently as she prepared to return to the Plaza to inform the others.

Then... something went wrong.

Instead of flying upward, she found herself in freefall toward the ground far below. She tried to cry out for help or even in exclamation, only to quickly learn that her voice was gone. What the hell is going on?!

While she was sure she would survive the fall with ease, she didn't want to be put in a vulnerable position even for a moment. She thought quickly and fired a weak energy blast directly under her. Instead of hurtling toward the ground, it instead hovered and flattened until it formed a platform for her to land on.

She lands, roughly, but the platform holds.

She still cannot speak or fly. And…..is the Lookout getting closer?

————

Eva meanwhile, standing on the Lookout, frowns.

“Something is wrong. The Lookout……I think it’s moving….down…”

[KingofPie]

The reptiloid, whom Blizzar recognizes as Liz “The Blizt” Blunter, a notorious mercenary and bounty Hunter for various cartels and Syndicate work, holds a clawed hand up.

“I’m listening.”

Her sibilant speech is hard to understand, but the mask she wears allows for somewhat clearer conversations.

"Think of this...the GP incarcerated you for your crimes, yes...but think of the reward if your forces instead helped turn the tide against Sakin! Not the benevolent benefactor he claims to be, he seeks to end everything as we know it. Which would mean....everything you're doing now is but a fruitless endeavor."

"However..." Blizzard raises a finger. "Would it not be best if your crimes were exonerated and you were all hailed as heroes?! The payouts alone would be tremendous, but every world you visit, you'll be treated as dignitaries! Receive a hero's welcome from every government leader in every major spaceport!"

The Arcosian tapped a hand to his chin. "That is, if you stand down now..."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The sun turns entire blood red, and from it’s fell light she realizes her energy sensing abilities seem to be on the fritz, as do any magical senses she might possess.

"How is this happening?" she gasped when the sun turned blood red. She frowned and halted to a stop. While Avoca was still at the fore of her mind, what was happening before her couldn't have been ignore. She sighed and started sensing for any malevolent signatures nearby. Something had to be causing it, after all.

...

Nothing.

Not that she didn't find any such energies. Rather, she didn't find any energies. "What the...? My ki sense is gone?" Her teeth ground together as frustration was steadily mounting. Things were steadily getting worse with no sign of improving in sight.

She soared higher into the sky to see if she could see anyone who shouldn't have been there.

Sihn nods slowly.

“And the name of this person? Their location? Understand something, Tundra, I can tell when I am lied to. If you are dishonest here, I will let Sheki’hinah put you inside that machine. She’s itching to do it.”

Tundra spoke without hesitation. "His name is Letchee. Currently, he's in the body of a Saiyan warrior wearing all black armor. He's on a ship to my former throneworld, Tundra Planet 227. These are the star coordinates." After giving them to Sihn, along with nearby constellations so he wouldn't get lost, he added, "If you leave now, you'll likely beat him there."

[KingofPie]

Auroc pauses, and Sasheem would note that the once god seemed more…..in control of himself than the last time they had met on Reshlan.

“I’m listening.”

"Hey now, would ya look at that? You ain't raving like a lunatic!" Sasheem sneered smugly, reforming enough of himself to fold his arms. "You know what this thing is?" He asked, producing Jinzi's black card. "This thing's a literal meal ticket! Sasheem only borrowing it..."

For five plus years...

"But it gets you access to some of the best the Earth has to offer! Sasheem can get you a great deal on a buffet so long as you quit bein' A jabroni and help fight off that blueberry bastard, Sackin!"

Sasheem looked up in the sky, towards yet another massive threat encroaching upon the Earth. "Helping fight off whatever's loomin' up there might be a good place to start."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley, your find Avoca staggering a bit as she leaves the palace. She looks like she might have been in a fight, some blood around her face and hands. She waves you down.

“I took care of it. Shit, that was close. Sneaky bastard.”

To say Parsley was relieved when she watched Avoca stagger out of the palace was a complete understatement. The blood on her face and hands was concerning, but that was an easy thing to fix. She quickly descended and landed in front of her. "I'm glad you're alright," she said. "Sarada told me you were in trouble. We should have known you'd have it handled."

That was one less thing weighing on her mind. However, the sun suddenly turning blood red was a new thing on the list of things that were going wrong. It was clear that she had underestimated the scope of Sakin's actions. With just a few words, he literally turned not just the universe against them, but all of creation. Enemies were crawling out of the woodwork to dismantle all that they had worked so hard to build. She wouldn't allow them to tear their lives down to the foundation.

"I sense that Sarada's only at half power? Get ready; we may have to fuse eventually."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

She lands, roughly, but the platform holds.

She still cannot speak or fly. And…..is the Lookout getting closer?

Prime Sarada landed hard on the platform. Ugh. Okay. She rose to her feet and directed her platform to rise back up to the Lookout. Wait, it's coming down? In all the time she had been coming to Earth, with as many times as she had been on the Lookout, she had never once seen it descend. It always hovered high above the Earth. In fact, she wasn't even aware that it had a base station, but the ancient ruins of what looked like a tower that matched its design showed otherwise.

Some serious shit was about to happen, she just knew it.

She quickly ascended on her platform up to the Lookout Plaza. She created several more ki balls and used them to form words. "Can't talk. Can't fly. Lookout is about to land on old tower."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Prime Sarada landed hard on the platform. Ugh. Okay. She rose to her feet and directed her platform to rise back up to the Lookout. Wait, it's coming down? In all the time she had been coming to Earth, with as many times as she had been on the Lookout, she had never once seen it descend. It always hovered high above the Earth. In fact, she wasn't even aware that it had a base station, but the ancient ruins of what looked like a tower that matched its design showed otherwise.

Some serious shit was about to happen, she just knew it.

She quickly ascended on her platform up to the Lookout Plaza. She created several more ki balls and used them to form words. "Can't talk. Can't fly. Lookout is about to land on old tower."

Man, everything was happening so fast. First... Auroc was back, or someone that felt like Auroc, and now there was something under the lookout.

And also the lookout was falling and someone had grounded and silenced Sarada.

Taking a deep breath, Totoma kneeled down and placed his palm onto the lookout's surface and focused his will. But rather than infusing his ki with his will, he reached out with his mind, attempting to stop, or at least slow the lookout's descent with telekinesis. Since his, uh, ESP was back, maybe that was back as well?

...not that he was confident in being able to do more than slow it, given that it was a 'muscle' he hadn't exercised in a long time.

Come on. Come on...

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Totoma manages to slow the downward pull of the Lookout, but he can feel something exerting force against him. That sinister sense lingering around.

Eva walks up and lays a hand on his shoulder, her power flowing into him a she helps to ‘pull’ the Lookout back up. The downward pull halts, and the three are now in a stalemate.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

To say Parsley was relieved when she watched Avoca stagger out of the palace was a complete understatement. The blood on her face and hands was concerning, but that was an easy thing to fix. She quickly descended and landed in front of her. "I'm glad you're alright," she said. "Sarada told me you were in trouble. We should have known you'd have it handled."

That was one less thing weighing on her mind. However, the sun suddenly turning blood red was a new thing on the list of things that were going wrong. It was clear that she had underestimated the scope of Sakin's actions. With just a few words, he literally turned not just the universe against them, but all of creation. Enemies were crawling out of the woodwork to dismantle all that they had worked so hard to build. She wouldn't allow them to tear their lives down to the foundation.

"I sense that Sarada's only at half power? Get ready; we may have to fuse eventually."

She spits some blood from her mouth in answer, fingering briefly a loose tooth.

“Any idea?”

She gestures to the blood red moon.