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

[bruceleegreyhulk]

No new enemies are found.

" Jinzi, the area is secured. Now I have two options ahead of me. I can A, go to the lookout, or B, stay with you, Jinzi, and help build a portal to Amperior. Also, probably should check in with my mother, the Prime minister of my home world Qaceria," Praxat said.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

SWS smiles widely.

“I cannot wait to see it, though I’d much rather you show me…….in a different manner.”

Again, that seductive voice filters through your mind and you recognize it as a very potent combination technique. A layer of her magic and psychic power suffuse her words, combined with natural pheromones, and it creates a triple whammy of a potent attack. You have to repel all three or it won’t work.

It took him a bit to really get a handle on what he was sensing. There wasn't any ki involved, as expected, but there was definitely a psychic element. And yet, while he could sort of block out the psychic energy with a mental shield, the effect still grew stronger. That implied there was more to it. Straining his senses, trying to remember the rudimentary magical instruction he'd gotten from Aiden all those years ago, the feeling of.. magic dansed at the edge of his senses. It was like trying to read braille with a telescope, so the best he could do was recognize it was braille, not what it actually said.

So it was a two-pronged atta--

...damn, she smelled good.

...

Totoma mentally paused and, for once in his life, examined that seemingly stray thought. Yeah, she smelled good, but her very scent was intoxicating in a way that...

Weren't there things he'd learned about in school like... ten years ago that could have that sort of effect? Something from biology. Fieromoms? Feromoans?

Oh, Pheromones! Yeah, usually

Steadying his breath, he strained his psychic senses towards the... very... very appealing scent, and, indeed, he could feel psychic energy almost wafting through the air, attached to something drifting from her, to him and the others. If he could actually sense magical energy properly, he was willing to bet it'd be attached to the scent too. So that made it a three-pronged attack.

As his impression of what was happening became more concrete, his psychic senses, untrained as they were, had more to work with, and a flash of psychic intuition hit him! One had to block out all three or it'd somehow have the full effect. Great... but how? He could block out two of the three--barrier would stop the pheromones, and he could block out the psychic portion... probably... but while he could kinda-sorta sense magic if he put his mind to it, he couldn't actually counteract it.

...well, he could always explode her clothes with magic, but that would probably just make things worse. But dear god did he want to do it.

Reaching out, he put one hand on Sarada's shoulder and the other on Nevanlinna's.

So, uh... you two pin her down and I'll pound her until she's sati--ggsgdsg, no, damn it. DAMN IT, THINK OF KARINE

Focusing on the image of Karine--his very loving and sexy wife--along with him and... She Who Stalks. And this got sent to both of the people he was mentally connected with.

Totoma's expression blanked for a moment, and then both were assaulted with a... mental depiction of a number of Totomas running around a room screaming about... muffins. (Muffins instead of heresy). As the scene was engulfed in chaos and fire, one Totoma finally found it: the muffin button!

He pushed it again and again, filling the room--nay, Totoma's entire mental universe with muffins. And then that mental universe exploded, granting Totoma...

Post-Muffin Clarity

She's got some sort of psychic-magical pheromone ability that makes her muffins especially delicious! I can't block out muffins! DO SOMETHING

What. Nevanlinna was absolutely befuddled by... whatever had just been inflicted upon her by Totoma. Oddly enough, however, its absolutely absurdity seemed to have distracted her from whatever SWS was doing to her.

I mean magic! Scent's easy, and I can block out psychic energy, but the only magic I know is a spell to explode clothing, and... that's not gonna help at all.

...get out of my--our--heads. You're proving even more distracting than She Who Stalks, in far more perplexing ways.

Nevanlinna grumbled and brushed away Totoma's hand, waving her hand as she cast her Null Magic Field. Totoma, for his part took a deep breath, focused his mind, and imagined three giant muffins surrounding him, Sarada, and Nevanlinna, blocking out the psychic portion of the power. Hopefully Sarada had finally learned how to craft some layered shields to filter out the pheromones... or they were doomed!

Doomed to a life of sexy slavery!

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Her axe suddenly disappears from her hand, even as his blades and your shields intercept each other.

M-Incenio’s smirks and twists his hand, which now looks suspiciously like your own, and in its grasp is your axe.

“Took a bit to mimic your hand, but worth it. This is a fine axe, Saiyan. And I’m going to kill you with it.”
—————

Avoca blows a a hole clean through K-Incenio, causing the hybrid to float backwards, choking on blood and clutching the grievous wound.

Parsley didn't have much of a reaction to M-Incenio taking her ax, other than a soft chuckle. "If you think you can, then go ahead. Give it a try." Ever since Caliban did the exact same thing during their training a few months ago, she had been working on being able to remotely control Piecemaker beyond simply recalling it back to her grip after throwing it. She hadn't had much time, but she was very certain Incenio wouldn't be able to do much of anything with her ax. In fact, he was very close to wishing he had never taken it.

Her mirth faded as she stretched her hand out. "There's a reason I chose to fight you and not the other one." A white glow enveloped that hand as she began to drain Incenio of his magic. Sorceror's Folly

Next Post

Meanwhile, Avoca had struck a devastating blow. While gloating would have felt nice, she wasn't one to waste time. She closed the gap between them. As she approached, a large ball of pink ki formed in her palm. Her brow furrowed as she condensed it, concentrating the mass amount of energy until it was a brightly glowing orb that could barely wrap around her the tip of her outstretched forefinger. That finger hovered only a few inches from his throat. "Die."

Rose's Thorn

[MrSandman]

"You will," Ochazuke spoke, his thoughts carried through the bridge comms fraying under the immense spiritual pressure radiating from the creature lanced before them. Their position held briefly, but the gradual descent remained, for the weight of the Agravain-Creature thrashing about the bow-drill made it difficult to maintain altitude. With Muhen Sekai Keikatsu, his meditation field wove through the Earth. Much of the life, if it could indeed be called that in its malformed state crystallized from prehistory had been wiped out when the Magi Queen's Lookout had fallen.

That did not, however, mean it did not endure. Whether slain or unmade in this morbid harvest, whatever was taken from this world will not leave it broken.

So it was that, as he beckoned the Earth to loan them its Genki. From beneath the snow and ash, he knew the roots ran deep, and silently life continued to grow.

It was at that moment that he noticed something in the ether peering over Morgan.

And within that hidden place, he glimpsed at Persephone briefly, but said nothing, only tightened his grip on the Forger's Hammer as he collected the assembly of energies on the bridge and set Morgan as the focal point.

"The axis that turns the world rests upon you, and so shall we help bear the burden," he said as he united the will of the six that stood aboard the Gotengo bridge to the purpose before them. The whisps passed from Ochazuke, then gathered from Aleka, Hops, Chou and himself to bolster the magicians' efforts, and began to spiral around Morgan as she wove her spell.

"The worth of this world shall not be determined by the undying ones, Agravain. If you so desire to prostrate yourself before your truth, then we shall send you to meet them! Sekai Jiku: Rasen."

Spinning about the Bow Drill, the energy from the Wave Motion Engines gathered the collected energy, and with a forceful push threw the last of the Grey Thorns through the emergent portal.

"THROW WIDE THE GATE AND BEGONE WITH YOU!" Morgan thrusted her hand forward, the magical energy forming a spiral around it as the power of the crew joined with hers....and with an ear splitting crackle the wave motion cannon fired. The bow of the ship was consumed in a blinding flash of light, and through Agravain had found as many points as he could grip....with a the energy of the cannon slammed into his void body with such overwhelming force not even his many limbs could hold fast. Some tore, leaving only quaking tips still attached...others tore small chucks of the ship with them. But in the end his body was blown clear.

Yet....even as his body was shunted through, engulfed in a light of creation, Agravains hollow laugher rung in Ochazukes head.

"....You...blind fool...You will never be rid of me.....I am eternal.....you are not.....I'll always find my way back..."

"Ero! Stupid void thing is through! Close portal!" Erosa shouted.

"I'm trying....the magics are unstable..." Morgan answered, focusing her hands and shaping the magic.

"If I can't kill you, you line will suffer in your stead....and the lines of any who would aid you....I'll take their souls....all of them...I'll...."

His voice cut off. Through the gate what remained of his body could be seen floating in a dark void.

"..No.....this...this isn't.....where am..."

His form flickered, or rather....a shadow passed between him and the portal. Then another....then many, many more. The light of reality could only partly illuminate what lay beyond, but to those who watched....it was enough, just enough to be as needles in the eyes. A sight that should not be seen, that was never meant to feel the warmth of light. Argavains confused utterances turned to panic...then hysterical screams, and finally fell silent.

Just before the gate folded in on itself, Ochazuke caught a glimpse of mouths, teeth and eyes...Endless configurations of them, a hungry sea, a starving all consuming current. Looping and layering in and around each other. Chewing and staring and whispering. A crawling chaos unlike anything his mind could even comprehend....even as hardened as it was.

Morgan collapsed to her knees, her spell finally giving out as the gate dissipated into the ether. Erosa moved to support her with a concerned grunt.

"...I'm...ok....that....." Morgan lifted her head. "....I...don't understand....he was a creature of the void wasn't he....why would they.......are those the ones my ancestors served?"


"No....They weren't..." Cthylla answered, the voidlings presence seemingly fading into existence just behind the captains chair.

The voidlings faux body stepped forward to Ochazukes side, as robotic and emotionless as ever, and through she answered Morgan a side glance told her words were directed to him as much as her. "There are places, deep and dark....where the currents of the void run stagnant. Far from the light of creations. Where the endless hunger and dreams die.....but we cannot, and so they sink forever."

Cthylla tilted her head to the aged martial artist. "Fear not.....he will bother you no more, not even the eternity granted to him will suffice to crawl his way from that place....and none of mine will seek him out. There are places, even we will not travel anymore. You would be best to keep this way closed.....though that will come to naught if the barrier continues to weaken. This is a formality.....but I shall assist you with the destruction of our mutual enemy."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Zaofan tilt his head forward, eyes alit with mischief as he tapped two fingers to his forehad.

"I think the people of Yardrat-sei might disagree...though to be fair I don't recall hanging out with you half as much as I'd like for this to be a problem," Zaofan shrugged.

Stealing techniques...well it happens to the best of us, i suppose.

"I'd also suggest you take some time to recover. No need to push yourself and port around that distance when we already have a means to get there."

Counting off the available fighters in the area, he folded his arms for a moment.

Sasheem, Praxat over here...Ochazuke, Erosa in the North...which leaves Etrina and...

Instantly, Zaofan's smile flattened and his eyebrow twitched.

"...Totoma took off again, didn't he? Great," he muttered, "The nerve of that guy...but if he's got confidence, suppose it can't be helped. If he's got a mind to do something then surely he'll deliver."

Pinging every available fighter on the comms, he added an addendum to his previous call.

"Jinzi's safe, and things are settling down on Earth, so soon, we'll be heading to space. Let's rendezvous at the Lookout, and this time we won't leave until everyone's assembled."

Curiously, some of the channels only seemed to return static. For a moment, thoughts of the worst fluttered in his mind.

No, we've come too far to fail now.

Praxat listens to Zaofan's call. she then calls him back using Electronic Communication. (I hear you, Zaofan. I'm heading to the Lookout right now, Praxat said electricalpathically.

(Oh, I talked to Jinzi about reaching someone who could be a great ally for us. You going to like this guy, Zaofan) Praxat said electricalpathically. Praxat then heads off to the Lookout.

[grampagen]

"I was taught the instant transmission during my... time in the otherworld by a Yardrat named Sobizu," she replied.While Sobizu hadn't been strong even by standards of the time, she possessed excellent reactions and was a master of Instant Transmission.. and more advanced techniques the Yardrat had created. And given that the conditions for learning the technique had been to catch her, it had taken a good amount of effort and trickery to actually catch her.

Tasure crossed her arms and waited as Zaofan pinged the others. She caught the faint sound of static from some of them, which was slightly worrying. Only slightly, however. It's not that she wasn't concerned, but these were experienced and capable fighters they were talking about--they would not fall so easily, even alone.

"Is that so? Interesting," Zaofan said, thought his courteous airs were thinner in merriment. "Incorrigible pranksters. When Ochazuke and I were there on a goodwill mission to meet their Guardian, our trade shipments seemed to disappear before our eyes. One second they were neatly arrayed, then in an instant-," he snapped his fingers,"-as if they hadn't been there at all...that is, until they popped the Capsules."

"Very kindly people, the Yardrats, but also a bit strange. For folks that have the ability to be anywhere in an instant, all told they'd rather keep to themselves."

"Fine," she said. "And as for Totoma, he's on Reshlan right now. Didn't rush off--I dragged him there when Nevanlinna sent her little message.' She wanted to say it was for his own good--that a fight would help calm his nerves--but that would be a lie. She had simply reacted without thinking.

...perhaps she and her boy were more alike than she'd like to admit, at times.

She sighed and sat down. While she had recovered some, fusing, fighting Cancer, and all this instant transmissioning had taken its toll on her. Never mind basically her entirely family being kidnapped. "...don't be too hard on him when you see him next. Karine, Chaz, Eva, Bekon, Cado... they were all taken."

"...so you both took off, uh-huh." The flatness in his voice made it difficult to perceive whether he was joking or not, until his shoulders visibly sagged as the sigh left him.

"I don't get it. I mean, yeah, maybe I understand a bit, but after all this time, I still don't get it," he said, "Imagine setting up a communication band that can reach across the universe. The message must have reached you, otherwise why would you be here? Yet it's been awfully quiet on Earth this whole time, until the moment there was a fight to be had. Then, and only then, with the promise of the scrap of your lives..."

Zaofan's tongue clicked behind his teeth with a distant 'tsk'.

"...I suppose it can't be helped. This, on the other hand, this can be fixed. Before we get on that, however, I want to know everything about the God of Destruction Cancer and this nameless one you can tell me. For this, we'll need all hands on deck, and I know just how to do that."

Praxat listens to Zaofan's call. she then calls him back using Electronic Communication. (I hear you, Zaofan. I'm heading to the Lookout right now, Praxat said electricalpathically.

(Oh, I talked to Jinzi about reaching someone who could be a great ally for us. You going to like this guy, Zaofan) Praxat said electricalpathically. Praxat then heads off to the Lookout.

Zaofan, who was also at Capsule Corps at this very moment - and was talking with Tasure where they stood not twenty feet away besides - blinked, and lowered his head with a small chuckle.

"...one thing about learning a new skill, Praxat, is that there's no point showing it off unless it's absolutely necessary. The span from your thoughts to your action, how much power could you have saved if you paid mind to your surroundings? Save your energy for when you're going to need it in the fight to come."

"As for your ally, we don't have time. If he wanted to join the fight, he would have followed you, yet you're the only Toadian I see here."

[grampagen]

"THROW WIDE THE GATE AND BEGONE WITH YOU!" Morgan thrusted her hand forward, the magical energy forming a spiral around it as the power of the crew joined with hers....and with an ear splitting crackle the wave motion cannon fired. The bow of the ship was consumed in a blinding flash of light, and through Agravain had found as many points as he could grip....with a the energy of the cannon slammed into his void body with such overwhelming force not even his many limbs could hold fast. Some tore, leaving only quaking tips still attached...others tore small chucks of the ship with them. But in the end his body was blown clear.

Yet....even as his body was shunted through, engulfed in a light of creation, Agravains hollow laugher rung in Ochazukes head.

"....You...blind fool...You will never be rid of me.....I am eternal.....you are not.....I'll always find my way back..."

"Ero! Stupid void thing is through! Close portal!" Erosa shouted.

"I'm trying....the magics are unstable..." Morgan answered, focusing her hands and shaping the magic.

"If I can't kill you, you line will suffer in your stead....and the lines of any who would aid you....I'll take their souls....all of them...I'll...."

His voice cut off. Through the gate what remained of his body could be seen floating in a dark void.

"..No.....this...this isn't.....where am..."

His form flickered, or rather....a shadow passed between him and the portal. Then another....then many, many more. The light of reality could only partly illuminate what lay beyond, but to those who watched....it was enough, just enough to be as needles in the eyes. A sight that should not be seen, that was never meant to feel the warmth of light. Argavains confused utterances turned to panic...then hysterical screams, and finally fell silent.

Just before the gate folded in on itself, Ochazuke caught a glimpse of mouths, teeth and eyes...Endless configurations of them, a hungry sea, a starving all consuming current. Looping and layering in and around each other. Chewing and staring and whispering. A crawling chaos unlike anything his mind could even comprehend....even as hardened as it was.

Morgan collapsed to her knees, her spell finally giving out as the gate dissipated into the ether. Erosa moved to support her with a concerned grunt.

"...I'm...ok....that....." Morgan lifted her head. "....I...don't understand....he was a creature of the void wasn't he....why would they.......are those the ones my ancestors served?"


"No....They weren't..." Cthylla answered, the voidlings presence seemingly fading into existence just behind the captains chair.

The voidlings faux body stepped forward to Ochazukes side, as robotic and emotionless as ever, and through she answered Morgan a side glance told her words were directed to him as much as her. "There are places, deep and dark....where the currents of the void run stagnant. Far from the light of creations. Where the endless hunger and dreams die.....but we cannot, and so they sink forever."

Cthylla tilted her head to the aged martial artist. "Fear not.....he will bother you no more, not even the eternity granted to him will suffice to crawl his way from that place....and none of mine will seek him out. There are places, even we will not travel anymore. You would be best to keep this way closed.....though that will come to naught if the barrier continues to weaken. This is a formality.....but I shall assist you with the destruction of our mutual enemy."

Peering into the darkness in that tear between dimensions, Ochazuke shuddered to behold the sight. The physical senses would have been twisted blind, for the irrational forms slavering behind the veil were not meant to be seen. Yet where it intersected with his sense sublime, to perceive the truth of the matter on a spiritual level filled him with an unease unmatched by anything in the corporeal sphere. It was a primordial terror, its roots slithered deep, and as the first of an eternity of psionic screams reverbed, and it seemed to him, echo its fell magic as the last glimpses fell from side when the edges of the portal sealed.

Breathing a sigh, Ochazuke loosed the energy he had pulled from the Earth, and the reconstruction of the Gate of Amdapour faded as a result. The moment Cthylla rendered herself, it seemed as if the power in the ship buckled for a moment as his aura flared.

"Remember our agreement, Voidling. Everything on this side affects your kind as well. For that, perhaps, you may continue to observe."

"This ship, heh," Chou scoffed as he darted his eyes over the new arrival, "looks like Jinzi's new toy harnessed but a fraction of the true power of the Hadou Wave-"

As the Gotengo lurched to a stop as it landed, Ochazuke's eyes snapped open.

"An ignorant man, Basaraa, should not open his mouth to remove all doubt of that notion."

The components of the Zero System released and the ship's configurations fell to analog instruments and reserve power. For the first time since the invasion of Earth started, Ochazuke stood.

"Between Agravain, the Tulpa and the Dreadnought, while the starship can move, we cannot afford give any less than our all. The Ghetto Star Nanites will repair the hull, if they have sufficient material...unfortunately I'm not sure what it will make of this place."

Still with few options, he moved off, taking Aleka with him past the heavy boarding doors and the airlock, Ochazuke began to pace about the ruined kingdom. Taking a few long strides, he dusted off a sheet of ice, pressed his fingers into the broken earth, and pulled a piece of a broken, cobalt-blue gear that seemed to shimmer even in the darkness left in the absence of the dark portal.

Here lay the scraps of Queen Persephone's clockwork tomb. Beneath the blasted tundra, the ageless metal proved resilient. Like many things suspended in this forsaken place, it had not gone to rot for in a sense it was not a natural element, this Orichalum alloy.

"I'd rather not use this, seeing the sort of creature it attracts, but knowing what we must confront, perhaps it's only appropriate to take something from Arthur's distant kin into battle," he said. Bracing it against a puncture in the hull, he began to direct the Acorian to scan the earth to find more.

Holding the Orichalum in place, with the Dragon's Flame he began to weld it and affix the scrap in place.

"The world continues to turn, all thanks to you , Morgan. If anything was Familiar to your Queen today, surely it was the better part of her courage. Yet there is more to do."

It was at that moment that communications began to stream in over the Gotengo's receivers. Slowly, cheers began to rise over the continents and carrying up to the Orbital Ring, and they knew, at least for a moment, that they had successfully repelled this invasion. Then Zaofan's voice broke through.

"Ochazuke? Erosa! There you are! Listen, two Gods of Destruction have appeared on Reshlan! Sarada, Totoma and Nevanlinna are there, but from what I hear these are Sakin's heavy hitters! Listen, can you get to the Lookout?"

[grampagen]

With the first piece affixed crudely like a patchwork, Ochazuke folded his arms for a moment as Aleka began to pull more Orichalum scrap from the ground. Certainly there was enough to repair the craft, he only needed to somehow work it into its structure.

Lifting the Forger's Hammer in his left hand, he began to consider how best to accomplish this work, and but for the will to see it done, he stopped. The better for Morgan to offer her insight.

Though he had been relieved to hear Zaofan and felt some measure of ease as the Earth was no longer under attach, this was a hard-fought prize paid for with constant vigilance. Sakin's clairvoyant call stirred the fears and panic of the myriad peoples of the BGS Space Station; his appeal called through every Stargate, every Guardian channel, but in his jaded thoughts he feared this was but a microcosm of the myriad symptoms of an all to fragile and mortal universe?

Did other worlds fare any better than ours?

Turning away from the ship for a moment, he fell the Hammer at his side in his hand, and underfoot where the blackened snows crisped, he spread his awareness through the Earth, Kyokushin Keihatsu seeking the truth, Muhen Sekai Keihatsu integrating it with feedback from the planet itself.

Already the results of their battle was as much a patchwork as the starship; pockets of shrinking, dark presences, and a lingering, fading shadow affixed upon the Lookout: dead, still, unmoving.

With a breath, his awareness concentrated through the latent Creation of Banespell's instrument, and with it bloomed an awakening: Satori. From the living pathways entrenched through his home planet, his meditation field expanded, intersecting from this living world and beyond. Guided by Evangeline's presence into what the Guardians had collectively arrayed. But even this was only upon the surface of something nigh eternal as cosmic expanse itself

Across the endless span of stars, there it was. Drifting, chaotic, the connection was so subtle it could hardly be said to exist at all, yet the Fallen One's sundering of its structure had paradoxically made it more evident than ever. Ordinarily he'd glimpsed figments as if it were a revelation, but now in this hour of need, the Galactic Leyline providing a medium for an expanded perception of the very Universe itself.

Among the cold dark lit by distant pulsars, its first revelation was one of forboding.

Inanna stood alone in the crater that once was Hell, and listened.

After a year of nonstop fighting, she fully expected another challenger. Another beast; but as the ash continued to coat her gaunt figure she heard nothing. Sensed nothing. Surely, that wasn't it? She stood like this a long while, searching for any signs of a challenger, or prey; but in the end all that remained was the devastation caused by her own two hands, and the cooling corpse of at her feet. A frown tugged at the corner of her mouth, before she crouched down beside the heartless corpse.

"Looks like you were the best Hell had to offer. Shame."

Squatting, Inanna brought a bloodstained claw to her lips, and licked it clean. Ensuring that nary a drop was left behind, before cleaning the next... Then she consumed his heart, and corrupted his corpse. A charnel ritual to be sure, but one she'd come to enjoy. There was after all power in symbols, and in blood; and this man had stolen hers. It was only proper it be returned in the same way it had been stripped from her. Now all that remained to do was track down the last thief, and do to them what she'd done to the others. Kill... feed. It was perhaps useless to her now- and had been since its inception thanks to Asha'rah, and others- but all the same: it belonged to her. There was, however, the matter of escaping this recently dug grave first. From what she recalled from her previous lives, there were a few hidden pathways out of this place; she merely needed to track them down. So with a sigh, Inanna began her ascent out of the crater.

Unbeknownst to her, it was about this time that an adversary she'd written off finally put his plans to motion. Images, and a voice flooded Inanna's mind, and she stopped moving to bear witness.





When it was over, Inanna could only laugh.

Sakin, the Coward had finally revealed himself. Not only that, he had played his hand; and what a pitiful thing it was. He sought to turn the Universes against those who might stop him, and in so doing revealed that he had not the strength to do so himself. Much like Auroc, she had more pressing matters to attend to; and saving the sealed Universes was no longer her concern. Leaving this in the capable hands of the M-Fighters seemed the most amusing thing to do. So as soon as Sakin quit speaking, she stopped caring. Though at the *very* least, he had proven himself useful in one aspect:



She could sense them. Ochazuke. Zaofan. Held. Which meant he'd kept his word.

No longer forced to seek a hidden pathway now that the veil keeping her sequestered from the land of the living had been sufficiently weakened. Inanna grinned, and tilted her head.

"Thanks, Sakin."

-----

???, E̶a̶r̶t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶l̶m̶, U15

There was no warning when Inanna crossed the threshold. Merely a sharp and sudden crack as a fist was rammed through weakening bonds, and shattered the barrier like glass, sending ripples through the Firmament.



A moment later, she was gone. A voice that carried with it more weight than Sakin's drawing her attention; weakening bonds seeing fit to release him upon the Universe much the same as she.



She would answer this call.

When the angel had sundered the foundations of the universe leading the dead to rise once more, despite the more immediate chaos that had erupted, the pandemonium had not been limited to this side alone.

Sakin had thinned the passage from the Afterlife; Why wouldn't one who once tended the Enseiji gardens of Hell recognize it for what it was? She was stubborn yet, and that much remained familiar.

Familiar, yes, but like the first time he laid eyes upon the Oni-That-Was that fateful night on Baradur, she merely wore Ishtar's face. To Ochazuke, the violent exit from Hell suggested Inanna's journey had not been intentional, and as she tore herself through this intersection between the planes, it seemed that even from this distance he could perceive the well of turmoil and power, the facsimile flesh holding fast the Black Fire he'd seen so long ago.

Ancient power, cataclysmic, and filled with purpose stoked with undying hatred, she had become a demon that eats devils.

Did you find what you seek?

In that moment, Ochazuke felt as if his curiosity had betrayed something. It was a faint sensation, like blood welling from a scratch as it captures the cold suddenly...and the thoughts seemed to echo. Though he stood on Earth, he felt it reverb across the binding pathways of the universe that surrounded and binded them, and he stared at a spectre from the abyss eternal.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Is that so? Interesting," Zaofan said, thought his courteous airs were thinner in merriment. "Incorrigible pranksters. When Ochazuke and I were there on a goodwill mission to meet their Guardian, our trade shipments seemed to disappear before our eyes. One second they were neatly arrayed, then in an instant-," he snapped his fingers,"-as if they hadn't been there at all...that is, until they popped the Capsules."

"Very kindly people, the Yardrats, but also a bit strange. For folks that have the ability to be anywhere in an instant, all told they'd rather keep to themselves."



"...so you both took off, uh-huh." The flatness in his voice made it difficult to perceive whether he was joking or not, until his shoulders visibly sagged as the sigh left him.

"I don't get it. I mean, yeah, maybe I understand a bit, but after all this time, I still don't get it," he said, "Imagine setting up a communication band that can reach across the universe. The message must have reached you, otherwise why would you be here? Yet it's been awfully quiet on Earth this whole time, until the moment there was a fight to be had. Then, and only then, with the promise of the scrap of your lives..."

Zaofan's tongue clicked behind his teeth with a distant 'tsk'.

"...I suppose it can't be helped. This, on the other hand, this can be fixed. Before we get on that, however, I want to know everything about the God of Destruction Cancer and this nameless one you can tell me. For this, we'll need all hands on deck, and I know just how to do that."



Zaofan, who was also at Capsule Corps at this very moment - and was talking with Tasure where they stood not twenty feet away besides - blinked, and lowered his head with a small chuckle.

"...one thing about learning a new skill, Praxat, is that there's no point showing it off unless it's absolutely necessary. The span from your thoughts to your action, how much power could you have saved if you paid mind to your surroundings? Save your energy for when you're going to need it in the fight to come."

"As for your ally, we don't have time. If he wanted to join the fight, he would have followed you, yet you're the only Toadian I see here."

Praxat, still in earshot, answers back." You're right, and the person I'm referring to is technically an Intoadian. Maybe he didn't follow me because he figured out the teleportation system I designed on his home planet Ameprior. Was faulty before I did," Praxat said.

" I mean, this guy Bulllick McFrog is the last greatest mind on his homeworld, and his homeworld suffered a minor apocalypse many decades ago. I suspect it was caused by the person we're after. When I was on Ameprior, I saw a site that looked like a Guardian might have once lived there," Praxat said.

" It was a site that looked like a major battle happened there. Praxat said. Praxat skin turns blue." everyone would probably be better off if he was here," Praxat said.

" Sensei Bullick is a way better fighter than me. Everything I can do now, he can do way better than me. " Levitate and control a bunch of blades at once. I can only levitate a single blade," Praxat said.

" He can make dozens of dozens of blades out of metal dust. Something which I haven't learned how to do. I can't even switch between a pure electromagnetic energy form and a physical matter form in combat without throwing up. Something he can do casually," Praxat said.

" Oh and, I believe he can see into the future with his Electroreception, but that just a theory of mind. Oh, I came up with a name for the tech you helped me unlock, Zaofan. I called it Overclock," Praxat said.

Praxat then turns into her pure electromagnetic energy form and speeds off towards the Lookout at near the speed of light.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat, still in earshot, answers back." You're right, and the person I'm referring to is technically an Intoadian. Maybe he didn't follow me because he figured out the teleportation system I designed on his home planet Ameprior. Was faulty before I did," Praxat said.

" I mean, this guy Bulllick McFrog is the last greatest mind on his homeworld, and his homeworld suffered a minor apocalypse many decades ago. I suspect it was caused by the person we're after. When I was on Ameprior, I saw a site that looked like a Guardian might have once lived there," Praxat said.

" It was a site that looked like a major battle happened there. Praxat said. Praxat skin turns blue." everyone would probably be better off if he was here," Praxat said.

" Sensei Bullick is a way better fighter than me. Everything I can do now, he can do way better than me. " Levitate and control a bunch of blades at once. I can only levitate a single blade," Praxat said.

" He can make dozens of dozens of blades out of metal dust. Something which I haven't learned how to do. I can't even switch between a pure electromagnetic energy form and a physical matter form in combat without throwing up. Something he can do casually," Praxat said.

" Oh and, I believe he can see into the future with his Electroreception, but that just a theory of mind. Oh, I came up with a name for the tech you helped me unlock, Zaofan. I called it Overclock," Praxat said.

Praxat then turns into her pure electromagnetic energy form and speeds off towards the Lookout at near the speed of light.

Jinzi blinks and comms Praxat after she left.

“I do agree with Zaofan. For the foreseeable future, getting to your…uncle will be no easy task. Focus on the here and now, Praxat.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley didn't have much of a reaction to M-Incenio taking her ax, other than a soft chuckle. "If you think you can, then go ahead. Give it a try." Ever since Caliban did the exact same thing during their training a few months ago, she had been working on being able to remotely control Piecemaker beyond simply recalling it back to her grip after throwing it. She hadn't had much time, but she was very certain Incenio wouldn't be able to do much of anything with her ax. In fact, he was very close to wishing he had never taken it.

Her mirth faded as she stretched her hand out. "There's a reason I chose to fight you and not the other one." A white glow enveloped that hand as she began to drain Incenio of his magic. Sorceror's Folly

Next Post

Meanwhile, Avoca had struck a devastating blow. While gloating would have felt nice, she wasn't one to waste time. She closed the gap between them. As she approached, a large ball of pink ki formed in her palm. Her brow furrowed as she condensed it, concentrating the mass amount of energy until it was a brightly glowing orb that could barely wrap around her the tip of her outstretched forefinger. That finger hovered only a few inches from his throat. "Die."

Rose's Thorn

Avoca obliterates her Incenio, though Parsley would find a strange….block that stops her draining M-Incenio’s power.

“Heh, magic drain? That’s pre-school stuff, Saiyan.”

He appears behind her and swings the ax for her neck.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It took him a bit to really get a handle on what he was sensing. There wasn't any ki involved, as expected, but there was definitely a psychic element. And yet, while he could sort of block out the psychic energy with a mental shield, the effect still grew stronger. That implied there was more to it. Straining his senses, trying to remember the rudimentary magical instruction he'd gotten from Aiden all those years ago, the feeling of.. magic dansed at the edge of his senses. It was like trying to read braille with a telescope, so the best he could do was recognize it was braille, not what it actually said.

So it was a two-pronged atta--

...damn, she smelled good.

...

Totoma mentally paused and, for once in his life, examined that seemingly stray thought. Yeah, she smelled good, but her very scent was intoxicating in a way that...

Weren't there things he'd learned about in school like... ten years ago that could have that sort of effect? Something from biology. Fieromoms? Feromoans?

Oh, Pheromones! Yeah, usually

Steadying his breath, he strained his psychic senses towards the... very... very appealing scent, and, indeed, he could feel psychic energy almost wafting through the air, attached to something drifting from her, to him and the others. If he could actually sense magical energy properly, he was willing to bet it'd be attached to the scent too. So that made it a three-pronged attack.

As his impression of what was happening became more concrete, his psychic senses, untrained as they were, had more to work with, and a flash of psychic intuition hit him! One had to block out all three or it'd somehow have the full effect. Great... but how? He could block out two of the three--barrier would stop the pheromones, and he could block out the psychic portion... probably... but while he could kinda-sorta sense magic if he put his mind to it, he couldn't actually counteract it.

...well, he could always explode her clothes with magic, but that would probably just make things worse. But dear god did he want to do it.

Reaching out, he put one hand on Sarada's shoulder and the other on Nevanlinna's.

So, uh... you two pin her down and I'll pound her until she's sati--ggsgdsg, no, damn it. DAMN IT, THINK OF KARINE

Focusing on the image of Karine--his very loving and sexy wife--along with him and... She Who Stalks. And this got sent to both of the people he was mentally connected with.

Totoma's expression blanked for a moment, and then both were assaulted with a... mental depiction of a number of Totomas running around a room screaming about... muffins. (Muffins instead of heresy). As the scene was engulfed in chaos and fire, one Totoma finally found it: the muffin button!

He pushed it again and again, filling the room--nay, Totoma's entire mental universe with muffins. And then that mental universe exploded, granting Totoma...

Post-Muffin Clarity

She's got some sort of psychic-magical pheromone ability that makes her muffins especially delicious! I can't block out muffins! DO SOMETHING

What. Nevanlinna was absolutely befuddled by... whatever had just been inflicted upon her by Totoma. Oddly enough, however, its absolutely absurdity seemed to have distracted her from whatever SWS was doing to her.

I mean magic! Scent's easy, and I can block out psychic energy, but the only magic I know is a spell to explode clothing, and... that's not gonna help at all.

...get out of my--our--heads. You're proving even more distracting than She Who Stalks, in far more perplexing ways.

Nevanlinna grumbled and brushed away Totoma's hand, waving her hand as she cast her Null Magic Field. Totoma, for his part took a deep breath, focused his mind, and imagined three giant muffins surrounding him, Sarada, and Nevanlinna, blocking out the psychic portion of the power. Hopefully Sarada had finally learned how to craft some layered shields to filter out the pheromones... or they were doomed!

Doomed to a life of sexy slavery!

The magic and psychic portions push against the null-magic and psychic push back, but the pheromones seem to increase as SWS slinks just a bit closer.

“Are you certain? Is this the path you all wish to walk? Once I start…..I don’t stop until I get what I want.”

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Jinzi blinks and comms Praxat after she left.

“I do agree with Zaofan. For the foreseeable future, getting to your…uncle will be no easy task. Focus on the here and now, Praxat.”

Praxat answers back." Right I'll do my best. I nearly almost die and I would have if I didn't learn how to use my bioelectromangokineses to heal myself. Getting a death beam to the stomach and almost dying is making me doubt myself," Praxat said.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Avoca obliterates her Incenio, though Parsley would find a strange….block that stops her draining M-Incenio’s power.

“Heh, magic drain? That’s pre-school stuff, Saiyan.”

He appears behind her and swings the ax for her neck.

Geistbane appeared in her hand and flashed through the air-less void to parry the potential killing blow. "You speak of pre-school yet like a child, you are completely ignorant of the danger you're in."

Even though he had a perfect copy of her hand and her ax, Piecemaker was bound to her. Further, her ki had been inbued through it time and again. With those two things in mind, the ability of a woman long dead and sorely missed could be used to her advantage.

Perfect Intuition: Xšaθra Vairya

With Ishtar's ability to manipulate metal previous bound to her, Parsley took control of her ax's blade and turned it around to face Incenio.

"You're about to die, Arcosian. And when you do, there will be no resurrection."

The solar power that has been accumulated for the last few minutes flowed up the handle and bubbled into the blade. The ruins etched into it shone brightly like the sun in the far distance. Then, with an extreme flash of light that blinded Parsley, a solar blade erupted out of the blade and toward Incenio.



Daylight's Judgment

[Sub-Zero MKA]

SWS smiles a bit, and her honeyed words fill Sarada’s head. She’s so convincing, so sultry and exotic.

“Hmm, but I only want to borrow her for a time. You too. Come, I don’t bite. Much.”

Sarada could feel SWS trying to worm her way into her head. Her words sounded so sweet, only enhanced by her sultry and sexy voice. It was subjugation by seduction. Her keen nose also picked up the distinct scent of pheromones. A double-edged sword that sought to cut down her defenses and bend her to the GoD’s will. She imagined most people would have been caught off-guard. She certainly was. She had never experienced anything like it before.

Her gaze glanced upward and around, taking stock of the demon horde attack Reshlan. Were those demons fighting the Threshling knights mind-broken slaves or just loyal followers? Just how many slaves did SWS have?

She clenched her teeth and exerted a measure of control over herself to keep herself in line with Royal Authority. “I bow to no one,” she gritted out. It didn’t have to be perfectly resistant, but just enough to give herself a fighting chance to help the others.

Post-Muffin Clarity

She's got some sort of psychic-magical pheromone ability that makes her muffins especially delicious! I can't block out muffins! DO SOMETHING

What. Nevanlinna was absolutely befuddled by... whatever had just been inflicted upon her by Totoma. Oddly enough, however, its absolutely absurdity seemed to have distracted her from whatever SWS was doing to her.

I mean magic! Scent's easy, and I can block out psychic energy, but the only magic I know is a spell to explode clothing, and... that's not gonna help at all.

...get out of my--our--heads. You're proving even more distracting than She Who Stalks, in far more perplexing ways.

Nevanlinna grumbled and brushed away Totoma's hand, waving her hand as she cast her Null Magic Field. Totoma, for his part took a deep breath, focused his mind, and imagined three giant muffins surrounding him, Sarada, and Nevanlinna, blocking out the psychic portion of the power. Hopefully Sarada had finally learned how to craft some layered shields to filter out the pheromones... or they were doomed!

Doomed to a life of sexy slavery!

“Get a grip, you idiot,” she growled. Totoma’s psychic link was forcibly projecting whatever he was thinking into her head. As nice as the images of Karine were, she really didn’t want to be distracted with things that had nothing to do with living long enough to see the next fight. Though, that link did provide something useful.

The intoxicating aroma of SWS’ pheromones was just one of three different facets. The alluring voice in their heads was the psychic aspect, and then there an additional magical aspect to boot. Feh. It was all just cheap games that only pissed her off! “Hang on.” Herself, Totoma, Neva, Nevin, and any Threshling knights nearby were suddenly wrapped in an emeral barrier. Then another. And then another still. Those three barriers merged together, creating a triply thick barrier that, with hope, would block the pheromones from reaching them. “That should handle the pheromones.”