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

[KingofPie]

Woven Path of the Spider School - Form 16: Thread the Loom!



The crackling of the comms caught their attention. Of course...the Kaiju-jin were primary suspects because they could survive the rigors of space!

"Thanks for covering us!" Zaofan called out. They had the coordinates first, it stands to reason they'd have met us here. But still...

"Koorimaru! Go!"

Once he had made his mark, Koorimaru peered at the planetoid below them. The total darkness was all but tantalizing, this fearful, lightless form shrouding the sanctum of the Destroyer come Vampire Queen below.

With a gesture, he opened a Void Tunnel, and immediately all was encapsulated in shadow. Only by the cease of momentum would they* know they had arrived upon the Dark Moon of the Forsworn World.

OOC: * All party members that wish to disembark the Gotengo have the means to continue this leg of the quest here; for ease of narration, Ochazuke and Zaofan will remain on the ship.

With that said, she and Avoca stood from their seats on the bridge - Sarada had already been standing. Koorimaru's Void Tunnel swallowed them, whisking them from the ship to Cancer's Dark Moon. Finally, she thought to herself. I'm on my way, Garnish! The parental instincts were creeping into the edge of her awareness again. She breathed in to suppress them again so she could once again focus on the task at hand. There would be no saving Garnish or Totoma's family until Cancer and her minions were dealt with.

Observational Focus scanned the Dark Moon for everything. Specifically, the locations of Cancer and her minions and how shadowy the Moon was. For what she intended on doing, she would need a large quantity of shadows to power that spell.

"Where are you, Cancer, you fucking cunt?!" Sarada yelled beside her.

"Be silent and save your bluster," Koorimaru hissed, "Your lust for battle will be meted out shortly, and she knows we are coming."

In the darkness, the Arcosian floated, fanning out his six Capsule Drones about him as he moved forward, heedless of his present company.

"Moreover...for those who can survive in space, your simian brood and the Primogen girl are not among them. I've risked a great deal to get you here, do not waste my time."

"Eh, clam it, ice box," the Majin chided, only catching the tail end of the conversation as he too slipped through the Void Tunnel. "Sasheem knows you were gone a while, but you should know how we roll by now. We gotta prep with petty insults before the real trash talk begins!"

"It'll help us focus on the big game," Lantro nodded in agreement. "Cancer's got the hometown advantage, but not the heart."

"...Has anyone ever told you, you got a serious screw loose, basket-bozo?" Sasheem inquired in a dull tone.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Eh, clam it, ice box," the Majin chided, only catching the tail end of the conversation as he too slipped through the Void Tunnel. "Sasheem knows you were gone a while, but you should know how we roll by now. We gotta prep with petty insults before the real trash talk begins!"

"It'll help us focus on the big game," Lantro nodded in agreement. "Cancer's got the hometown advantage, but not the heart."

"...Has anyone ever told you, you got a serious screw loose, basket-bozo?" Sasheem inquired in a dull tone.

Praxat sighs at Lantro's comment about Cancer."(Yeah, like having heart matters much. Having heart isn't going to defeat this Cancer person. This isn't some fucking anime,) Praxat thought.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

There is darkness.

And then there is darkness.


Cancer’s moon is the pitch of empty space. Of every underground cave where no light dwells. It is fathomless, it is complete, and your eyes can see nothing.


Koorimaru’s drones are forced to twitch to night vision, but with no real light to wok off of, they swap to a limited microwave band that allows a small amount of understanding of the layout. For him, who dwelt here momentarily as Remnant, actually being here and seeing it (not actually) is….eerie. Opressive. Disquieting.

Parsley, likewise your eyes see nothing. Your Observational Focus sees nothing but psychic energy pulsing all around you.

————————

With the ship anchored safely via Zaofan’s help, and the others leaving to attend the moon, those on the ship still receive a comm message.

‘Your flank is protected. We took care of the seven, but we’re maintaining some distance from you for now. Did you want us to assault the moon or await your move against the planet itself?’ Last Daughter asks.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

There is darkness.

And then there is darkness.


Cancer’s moon is the pitch of empty space. Of every underground cave where no light dwells. It is fathomless, it is complete, and your eyes can see nothing.


Koorimaru’s drones are forced to twitch to night vision, but with no real light to wok off of, they swap to a limited microwave band that allows a small amount of understanding of the layout. For him, who dwelt here momentarily as Remnant, actually being here and seeing it (not actually) is….eerie. Opressive. Disquieting.

Parsley, likewise your eyes see nothing. Your Observational Focus sees nothing but psychic energy pulsing all around you.

————————

With the ship anchored safely via Zaofan’s help, and the others leaving to attend the moon, those on the ship still receive a comm message.

‘Your flank is protected. We took care of the seven, but we’re maintaining some distance from you for now. Did you want us to assault the moon or await your move against the planet itself?’ Last Daughter asks.

OT: I'm wondering shouldn't Praxat be able to get a sense of her surroundings and get a mental image in her head since she's relying on her Electroreception / Spectral Vision and not her sight? Wait, are we talking about darkness that blocks out visible light, or absolute darkness that blocks out all forms of EM Radiation?

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OT: I'm wondering shouldn't Praxat be able to get a sense of her surroundings and get a mental image in her head since she's relying on her Electroreception / Spectral Vision and not her sight? Wait, are we talking about darkness that blocks out visible light, or absolute darkness that blocks out all forms of EM Radiation?

It’s blocking out both.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

It’s blocking out both.

OT: Okay gotcha ya.

IC

( Strange my Electroreception isn't sensing my surroundings, It's as if there's no Em Radiation whatsoever on this moon. I had been in darkness before, but this is different, this is absolute darkness,) Praxat thought.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

There is darkness.

And then there is darkness.


Cancer’s moon is the pitch of empty space. Of every underground cave where no light dwells. It is fathomless, it is complete, and your eyes can see nothing.


Koorimaru’s drones are forced to twitch to night vision, but with no real light to wok off of, they swap to a limited microwave band that allows a small amount of understanding of the layout. For him, who dwelt here momentarily as Remnant, actually being here and seeing it (not actually) is….eerie. Opressive. Disquieting.

Parsley, likewise your eyes see nothing. Your Observational Focus sees nothing but psychic energy pulsing all around you.

Parsley blocked out the annoying chatter and focused on what her preternatural senses showed her.

Darkness. An absolute, all-encompassing darkness that appeared to have no beginning and no end. Beyond that, there was a swell of psychic energy all around them. It permeated the very air. "There's more psychic energy all around.

"Tch. I guess she plans on trying to scare us some more," Sarada posited tersely. "Anything you can do about it? Like what you did before?"

She had received direct confirmation just mere moments ago that her nullification powers worked on psychic energies, so she intended on doing exactly that. They may not have been able to see in the dark and that was to Cancer's advantage. However, she would be down one if Parsley had anything to say about it.

She balled her hands together, once again fusing together the nullification energy with her God Ki to create something more powerful. The Divine Nullification, a milky white tinged with deep crimson, swirled in her hands as she attuned it to the psychic energies she senses. What light it naturally gave off as an energy orb was swallowed whole by the ravenous darkness that surrounded them. She had no idea how to deal with that outside of introducing a literal source of light, but that could wait a few moments.

"Here goes." The orb detonated, sending the nullifying energies arcing outward into the vast unknown.

[grampagen]

There is darkness.

And then there is darkness.


Cancer’s moon is the pitch of empty space. Of every underground cave where no light dwells. It is fathomless, it is complete, and your eyes can see nothing.


Koorimaru’s drones are forced to twitch to night vision, but with no real light to wok off of, they swap to a limited microwave band that allows a small amount of understanding of the layout. For him, who dwelt here momentarily as Remnant, actually being here and seeing it (not actually) is….eerie. Opressive. Disquieting.

Parsley, likewise your eyes see nothing. Your Observational Focus sees nothing but psychic energy pulsing all around you.

"Eh, clam it, ice box," the Majin chided, only catching the tail end of the conversation as he too slipped through the Void Tunnel. "Sasheem knows you were gone a while, but you should know how we roll by now. We gotta prep with petty insults before the real trash talk begins!"

"It'll help us focus on the big game," Lantro nodded in agreement. "Cancer's got the hometown advantage, but not the heart."

"...Has anyone ever told you, you got a serious screw loose, basket-bozo?" Sasheem inquired in a dull tone.

"To wit, I had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that would have been a habit you'd grown out of under the circumstances." His whispers now strained past his teeth. "I hope you've learned something from the Earthers about concealing your soft head, otherwise this will be brief and most unfavourable, hmm-ahh?"

Slowly, a soft, red light began to illuminate the darkness about them. One of the six Capsule Drones glowed with a ki charge, a subtle light cast upon the environs while concealing a subtle threat of his own. Further ahead, another one began to glow nearer to Koorimaru as it moved ahead, scouting through the darkness.

Silently he continued to float ahead, monitoring the darkness. He focuses his defenses, anchoring his mind as he stole through those memories that seemed to stand beside and within his own. The traces of this path are familiar...I remember...but it is like stalking the path of a dream...

Time was short, and they were being hunted.

With the ship anchored safely via Zaofan’s help, and the others leaving to attend the moon, those on the ship still receive a comm message.

‘Your flank is protected. We took care of the seven, but we’re maintaining some distance from you for now. Did you want us to assault the moon or await your move against the planet itself?’ Last Daughter asks.

With the Woven Path reaching from the genius loci of the Dark Moon to Zaofan back to the Gotengo, as the starship orbited the stratosphere in a slingshot effect Ochazuke parsed the message.

"We will need to give Sarada and the others time to recover their families," Ochazuke said, "Yet Cancer is not the only one watching..."

Moreover, the residual memory of the planets fading out one by one was still far too near to mind. Upon the drawn reel of Cancer's spent defenses, as they ambled about to face the Forsworn World itself, Ochazuke regained his focus and turned his attention towards the origin of all things in this universe.

Muhen Sekai Keihatsu remained active as he read the pulse of the cosmos. By the Guardians of the Universe, he'd previously had a glimpse of it, but now he sought out the apparatus that had been used to erase countless lives upon the homeworlds of their allies.

[Miburo]

"Heh, suppose we'll need all hands on deck for this one," Ulysses replied. "When this is all over, tell the Saiyan Princess I might even waive the surcharge fee! The repair bill, on the other hand, heh."

With the flick of a switch, the tractor field on the First Race ship left it hanging in orbit.*



The package fell, and as reentry caught them their course was clear as they moved directly to where the Galloping was grounded.

"Initiating upgrade sequence**. Good luck, Admiral"



OOC:
* - Parsley's First Race ship has returned to the party
** - Held's ship the Galloping has received an upgrade...to be determined by Miburo

"I'd have preferred 'good hunting', but the sentiment is appreciated nonetheless." Held replied, a hint of amusement escaping his grim tone despite the gravity of the situation. Perhaps his care package had lightened his spirits just enough.

There is darkness.

And then there is darkness.


Cancer’s moon is the pitch of empty space. Of every underground cave where no light dwells. It is fathomless, it is complete, and your eyes can see nothing.


Koorimaru’s drones are forced to twitch to night vision, but with no real light to wok off of, they swap to a limited microwave band that allows a small amount of understanding of the layout. For him, who dwelt here momentarily as Remnant, actually being here and seeing it (not actually) is….eerie. Opressive. Disquieting.

Parsley, likewise your eyes see nothing. Your Observational Focus sees nothing but psychic energy pulsing all around you.

————————

With the ship anchored safely via Zaofan’s help, and the others leaving to attend the moon, those on the ship still receive a comm message.

‘Your flank is protected. We took care of the seven, but we’re maintaining some distance from you for now. Did you want us to assault the moon or await your move against the planet itself?’ Last Daughter asks.

"Huh."

From within the cockpit of the Galloping, Held 'looked' on.

This was rather unexpected. The Nevadian had traversed the depths of space countless times over the years, and seen the darkest depths that space had to offer.

Or so he thought. It was quite a humbling blow to learn that what he had encountered thus far was nothing more than basic darkness.

This, he surmised, was advanced darkness. The type of darkness that Vantablack looked upon in jealous envy.

"....Is this a trick of some sort?" He wondered out loud as he gazed outward with his Shingan. If the faintest hint of ki or celestial energy existed, his eyes were unlikely to miss it, especially given how it would stand out like a torch in a cave to his eyes. "Or is this really just the universal equivalent of sub-prime real estate?"

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. With a name like 'cancer' it would have been wishful thinking to imagine we'd come upon a bright technicolor utopia as her base of operations.

"Either way, it's actually...discomforting to look at." Held mumbled, his eyes failing to adapt to such deep darkness.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley blocked out the annoying chatter and focused on what her preternatural senses showed her.

Darkness. An absolute, all-encompassing darkness that appeared to have no beginning and no end. Beyond that, there was a swell of psychic energy all around them. It permeated the very air. "There's more psychic energy all around.

"Tch. I guess she plans on trying to scare us some more," Sarada posited tersely. "Anything you can do about it? Like what you did before?"

She had received direct confirmation just mere moments ago that her nullification powers worked on psychic energies, so she intended on doing exactly that. They may not have been able to see in the dark and that was to Cancer's advantage. However, she would be down one if Parsley had anything to say about it.

She balled her hands together, once again fusing together the nullification energy with her God Ki to create something more powerful. The Divine Nullification, a milky white tinged with deep crimson, swirled in her hands as she attuned it to the psychic energies she senses. What light it naturally gave off as an energy orb was swallowed whole by the ravenous darkness that surrounded them. She had no idea how to deal with that outside of introducing a literal source of light, but that could wait a few moments.

"Here goes." The orb detonated, sending the nullifying energies arcing outward into the vast unknown.

For a few moments, the detonated energies clear a brief path and you see a stone fortress all around you. Dark grey to black stone walls and ceilings, roughly ten feet tall in height and fifteen feet wide. You stand amidst a long corridor, both the left and right paths.

That’s just want the light from the attack does.

The actual nullification energy seems to get swallowed up amidst the layers of psychic energy throughout the place. It does ‘eat’ some of that psychic pressure, but Parsley can tell it will take more than just one of those to clear out the psychic energy all around.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"To wit, I had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that would have been a habit you'd grown out of under the circumstances." His whispers now strained past his teeth. "I hope you've learned something from the Earthers about concealing your soft head, otherwise this will be brief and most unfavourable, hmm-ahh?"

Slowly, a soft, red light began to illuminate the darkness about them. One of the six Capsule Drones glowed with a ki charge, a subtle light cast upon the environs while concealing a subtle threat of his own. Further ahead, another one began to glow nearer to Koorimaru as it moved ahead, scouting through the darkness.

Silently he continued to float ahead, monitoring the darkness. He focuses his defenses, anchoring his mind as he stole through those memories that seemed to stand beside and within his own. The traces of this path are familiar...I remember...but it is like stalking the path of a dream...

Time was short, and they were being hunted.



With the Woven Path reaching from the genius loci of the Dark Moon to Zaofan back to the Gotengo, as the starship orbited the stratosphere in a slingshot effect Ochazuke parsed the message.

"We will need to give Sarada and the others time to recover their families," Ochazuke said, "Yet Cancer is not the only one watching..."

Moreover, the residual memory of the planets fading out one by one was still far too near to mind. Upon the drawn reel of Cancer's spent defenses, as they ambled about to face the Forsworn World itself, Ochazuke regained his focus and turned his attention towards the origin of all things in this universe.

Muhen Sekai Keihatsu remained active as he read the pulse of the cosmos. By the Guardians of the Universe, he'd previously had a glimpse of it, but now he sought out the apparatus that had been used to erase countless lives upon the homeworlds of their allies.

Koorimaru, once anchored mentally, you observe your surroundings. When Parsley’s nullification attack released some of the psychic pressure all around, and kites up the corridor a bit, your mind slots in and memory returns.

You know exactly where you are. Eastern corridor, two floors above one of three ‘hives’. Your path is to the left, that is where you need to go.

————

The apparatus is like a malignant beat against Ochazuke’s brow. He knows exactly where it is on the Forsworn World

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"I'd have preferred 'good hunting', but the sentiment is appreciated nonetheless." Held replied, a hint of amusement escaping his grim tone despite the gravity of the situation. Perhaps his care package had lightened his spirits just enough.





"Huh."

From within the cockpit of the Galloping, Held 'looked' on.

This was rather unexpected. The Nevadian had traversed the depths of space countless times over the years, and seen the darkest depths that space had to offer.

Or so he thought. It was quite a humbling blow to learn that what he had encountered thus far was nothing more than basic darkness.

This, he surmised, was advanced darkness. The type of darkness that Vantablack looked upon in jealous envy.

"....Is this a trick of some sort?" He wondered out loud as he gazed outward with his Shingan. If the faintest hint of ki or celestial energy existed, his eyes were unlikely to miss it, especially given how it would stand out like a torch in a cave to his eyes. "Or is this really just the universal equivalent of sub-prime real estate?"

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. With a name like 'cancer' it would have been wishful thinking to imagine we'd come upon a bright technicolor utopia as her base of operations.

"Either way, it's actually...discomforting to look at." Held mumbled, his eyes failing to adapt to such deep darkness.

Held sees the surface of the planet is dark beyond dark. However, the Shingan sees more than most things. He sees three fortresses made of black and grey stone mixed with psychic energy. He also sees a disturbing statue of some sort between the three fortresses.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

( I really do l hope my electroreception starts being useful right now. So I can sense my surroundings and sense the others with me bioelectric fields. Cause it really sucks not be able to sense anything,)Praxat thought.

[grampagen]

Koorimaru, once anchored mentally, you observe your surroundings. When Parsley’s nullification attack released some of the psychic pressure all around, and kites up the corridor a bit, your mind slots in and memory returns.

You know exactly where you are. Eastern corridor, two floors above one of three ‘hives’. Your path is to the left, that is where you need to go.

Koorimaru had no communicator, and whatever vestiges of psychic power he could afford to spare may very well tip the balance if the vampiric thrall caught their astral scent. Let them find their own means to remain hidden...

"This way." His whisper echoed in the long, empty dark, and floating over the ground - he appeared wary to set foot or to touch any surface - he led them forward as he followed the path he had walked as Remnant.

The Capsule Drones continue to glow red, a pilot light in the dark immediately in front of him and some distance behind, the four others hovering silently about him, disembodied eyes that peered into the shadow.

"The Hive of the Vampire's Nest," he announced, "She sustains herself by her conquests, but some victims are acknowledged as more than fodder."

He leaned his head foward, peering at the floor beneath him.

"Two floors below us is site of an arcane ritual. To be bled, or perhaps slowly turned."

But more than that, he could taste it at the back of his tongue, even as the echoing memory caressed behind his eyes, tantalizing and cruel as it had been an incarnation ago.

The power that had once been his, the memory of Hakai, he would recognize it wherever Cancer sat.

"It may be...difficult...to undo what has been done."

[grampagen]

The apparatus is like a malignant beat against Ochazuke’s brow. He knows exactly where it is on the Forsworn World

When Ochazuke finally found the location of the infernal apparatus, his eyes started open in the midst of his meditation. Immediately a call filled the bridge to address those present.

"I suggest we make haste for the Forsworn World," he said, "You remember what the Fallen One had said when Efrideet had confronted him. If he cannot rule and remake this universe, he will destroy it. We cannot afford to allow him to keep the means to do so."

Upon the tether of the Woven Path, he and Zaofan had a line to the Dark Moon, even as they turned about its orbit to face the planet past its surface. He felt the pulse of that cloistered place as his brother fastened the tether to its worldmind, and yet his thoughts were elsewhere.

Across the universe they remain, those with the will to fight...

Across the Cosmic Leyline, here at the Heart of the Universe, he reached deeper; to pull himself out of the fear of all that they had to lose, and remember the hopes of those distant ones they had all left at home.

If there would be any justice granted this day...it will not be by a solipsist's whim.

"The Beast God and the Last Daughter are as good as their word. Now let us pray the Galactic Patrol had spread it throughout the cosmos."

But they had all travelled here upon a pathway that had taken them down long forgotten paths. Though the universe had heard them, could they find them now?