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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley feels Caliban poke her.

“You ready missy?”

Parsley flinched and turned slightly to look up at the retired Creator. "For your thing? Yes." She stood to face him. "What will you be doing?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

A lone Nevadian Stargate perched over empty space, and only found purchase where the sprawling docking station had been set before it. It had been set there a year previously, a monument to the partnership between the Saiyan Empire and Nevadian Federation broken by Earth's diplomatic missions, a vector to connect the three peoples at an instant through folded space. Now this interstellar bridge presided over a solitary, mournful watch, in the aftermath of the heavy blow dealt to each of these civilizations.

Yet there it remained. Its instruments flickered online, and a comm frequency spread far and wide, hailing any receptive in a span, repeating its message.

"...GP, have you affirmed that last transmission, we have a vector to attack? Broadcast coordinates-"

"...have confirmed the worst among hundreds of worlds, this is a call to sound off. You are not alone, the Earth stands with you, please respond-"

"...and we cannot give in yet! Know still, 'That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse*'-"

"...homeworld took the brunt of it and the House of the High Dean. From Held Debon himself, we are calling upon all the forces of the Armada for those that stand at the ready! Repeat, we are prepared-"

Slowly, the voices began to pool behind the first message that carried its divine intonation sweeping across the universe.



Silently drifting there, fixed silently, the Stargate shone, and as the Leyline swelled, the message was reiterated. Sakin made his move, and Evangeline had made her rebuttal.

Now, who among the allied peoples of the Known Universe would respond in solidarity?

OOC: *O Me! O Life, Walt Whitman

The Saiyans' response to Earth's call came not from Mato, but from Maiz. Deep within the recesses of her underground temple, she had been gathering power ever since he left her alone to handle necessary business in the capital. Eva's message inspired her and showed her what she needed to do. Hearing her fellow Guardians do exactly the same only increased that resolve.

The power that was welling inside her was immense. She had never conjured that much at one time; she had never needed to. But in a time of such uncertainty and peril, the need for solidarity overweighed the fear of overextending herself to the point of uselessness. If all she could do was that one thing, that was good enough.

I think... this is enough.

She breathed out. There was an audible tremble that rumbled through the temple.

When she opened her mouth, the planet trembled as if beset by a tremendous earthquake in each corner. "This is Guardian Maiz. I remain."

It was a short and simple message, but those were the ones that cut the deepest. A middle finger to that bastard who had wrought so much suffering and trauma throughout the universe. They all stood as a united front against him to reject his mad designs of a "better" universe in his hideous image. It would be up to the M Fighters to finish the job but knowing that everyone - those they knew and the grand multitude they didn't - stood beside them was an encouraging sentiment that could be weaponized and turned against the false idol.

She let out a tired sigh. "That's all I got," she said with a soft chuckle.

---

Maiz's message was heard loud and clear across the planet and the Empire. Mato allowed himself a small smile before wiping it away. He pressed a button on the communication board in front of him to send a message to every planet in the Empire. "This is Mato. I want every available soldier to report to Sarada immediately. Set defense systems to maximum if they aren't there already. Stand by for further instruction."

With that said, he stepped back and folded his arms. "With the entire army here, that will make deployment easier."

"And it will leave the worlds without defenders," Botarega argued.

"For as much good as that will do. However Sakin destroy Langal happened so quickly, there was no time for anyone to even pull on their armor, much less mount a defense. It's out of our hands, but that doesn't mean we can't and shouldn't be ready if Her Highness sends the call for reinforcements. If she needs us, we'll be there. All of us."

To that, he nodded. "Even us?"

"If the situation requires us being there, then so be it."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" Noted. Oh, I do hope Jinzi managed to make contact with my great-great-uncle Bulllick, and the rest of the Intoadians. they could be great allies to have beside us in the fight," Praxat said.

" Being hunters that rely on their own power and have spent their entire lives surviving on a post-apocalyptic planet Amperior. They are way hardier than my people and are way ahead of my people in combat prowess. Especially my great-great-uncle Bulllick. When I first met him he tested me in combat, I went all out against him and lost, but through my acceptance that I couldn't beat him," Praxat said.


"He decide to train me," Praxat said Praxat then grabs a Senzu Bean with her tongue and swallows it whole. " Hmm I shouldn't sell my people short, we do have are technological prowess. However, with Qaceria destroyed there is no more major resource of Irdiuam Diamond, all the tech and manufacturing companies are gone. Leave my people who are left with only the tech we have at our disposable," Praxat said.

" That's not to say the Intoadians didn't have technological prowess, they did. Lost technology I managed to gather on Amperior. Showed that the Intoadians were once very highly advanced in technology, but then a minor apocalypse happened on their planet many decades ago, like 50 years ago. The Intoadians lost most of their technology, and their people, including most of their smartest minds," Praxat said.

" Amperior when I arrived there was a planet in ruins, a planet that was probably dying. I did all I could to help that planet," Praxat said.

[MrSandman]

With a small, defeated chuckle, Zaofan shrugged his shoulder to give the little Foci a boost...perhaps to sit on his head, though he offered a cheek or an ear to nuzzle. About the closest thing to a hug I can manage with a Guardian on one arm...

"Maybe, but it's one thing to say the words. I made a promise to them, dear, and I had every intention of keeping them, one way or another."

His white cape had been reduced to tatters during the fight with She Who Stalks, and though the symbol of that duty had been relieved, its weight still remained heavy on him.

"...ah what am I doing? I didn't really know Inanna, I only got a small read on her, and even then I couldn't help myself when I tried to stop her. She came to us and...," he trailed off.

"...well, for better or for worse that was my answer, I can only do what I can. Suppose there's no sense trying to do it over, but part of her is still with us. Let's show her that our way works."



"Wau-wau."

It slipped out entirely on reflex and he could only raise his brows and hastily clear his throat.

"'Mistress, I need your help,'" he repeated. "We all do. It's been too long since we all went off training, I've missed you, but we could all really use some magic right now."

"Besides...for the fight to come, I'm going to be needing my staff."

"There are some do overs even a time mage can't conceive...Nor would it be wise to do so. The burden of knowing how things could have been, all the ways they could have gone wrong. Sometimes the end that brings us lowest is the one we can rise from the strongest....." The foci pauses, then chuckles. "It sounded better in my head....a lot of things do in fact."

Only a moment later the foci lifted from Zaofans grasp. "But since you asked nicely, maybe I can give them a little boost this one time...since we did the most damage this time around."

In a comet of light, the foci shot off into the air....and from other locations around the area the other three joined, converging on where Etrina had been quietly observing the ruins. As each arrived they took up a formation around her, linking themselves into her pool of magic and forming an array around her. As the last took its position, the mage raised her hands to her chest and form a series of symbols before thrusting them forward.

Time around the ruins of the capital lurched to a stop, and then....with a semi sickening sensation of vertigo for anyone close by, everything began to reverse. In slow motion the damage inflicted on the city cycled backwards, rubble fused, roads reformed, buildings rose, monument rose from the ashes they had been reduced too.

Etrina form another series of symbols and poured more of her energy into to the spell, visibly shuddering as the magic took hold. Fountains, ponds and rivers that had evaporated from the heat of the cities destruction slowly refilled and flowed once again. Bridges knitted themselves back together. Homes that had been reduced to slag were remolded back into their former shape. The tallest buildings rose above the reformation, their peaks the last to knit back together before the spell was complete.

With a start, Etrina stumbled backwards with heavy arms, her four foci falling to the ground around her. A second later the mage was on her knees, breathing heavy.

"....aha...That...that was less dignifying then....I....was hoping..."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" This god talk will makes me want to jump into the heart of nebula storm and attempt to harness its cosmic electromagnetic energy into myself. Going up against a god, I feel like I need the power. Yeah, this Cancer person sounds really tough," Praxat said.

" The Electromagnetic Force, it's a force that governs light, other electromagnetic radiation, all of chemistry, most of mechanics, Electricity, and magnetism. The electromagnetic force is responsible for the chemical bonds between atoms which create molecules, and intermolecular forces. The electromagnetic force governs all chemical processes, which arise from interactions between the electrons of neighboring atoms. It holds atoms and molecules together," Praxat said.

" It is not a toy and something that shouldn't be abused. I was taught on Amperior to respect the Electromagnetic force, and to never abuse my control of it. However, from what we're about to go up against I'm not so sure I should stick the principles I learn on Amperior," Praxat said.

[grampagen]

"Sure that's enough for everyone, genius? Don't you see we got Saiyans onboard?!" Sasheem's mocking voice rang out, hovering down with a giant crate carried on his shoulder. "Not that Sasheem's gonna apologize for cleaning out the kitchen before they could, but he had a great plan in the last fight by makin' all these tacos, and by the time Sasheem was done, the fight was over, so..." Sasheem shrugged slamming the massive crate, filled with tacos on the floor. "Dunno how many there are, but it's a lot. Sasheem's got his students carrying more. They also used to be rocks but now they're all flour tortilla and carne asada so nobody can complain!" he smirked. "Should go good with Senzu beans at any rate."

Laugh lines pressed hard upon Zaofan's face, though not a one escaped him.

"Yeah, I did have more," he said through a forceful grin, "but I did the best with what I had available."

Yet the fighting had worn long on his thoughts, and now having only just pulled from the hollow pit of despair welling beside his heart, at thus moment the martial chef realized the depths of his own appetite. Skeptical, as always when it came to matters dealing with Sasheem, he gave the tacos a side-eye before relenting, and gingerly picked up one of the softly toasted shells.

"As for a magical preparation, well...I'll just take it for what it is."

That subtle off-white colour...the tortilla flour is just like heirloom maize hominy from the first virgin harvest at the solar equinox...

He lingered for a moment as he studied the shape of the little pocket, which by looks alone was sufficient in presentation. Chili, tomato, herb...but when he took a bite, his features curdled on his face as he chewed.

The tasteful thickness of it...the moisture doesn't escape nor run. Oh my god, the skirt steak even has a hint of smoke...

"...very nice..."

Bite by small bite, Zaofan's troubles were forgotten for the moment, for his thoughts were filled with the torment of nuisance that had built up over the years. Majin Sasheem, but for cake and ice cream, was a gourmand with an appetite that ran as deep as his childish, impulsive cruelty.

When the hell had he learned to season beef so well?

"There are some do overs even a time mage can't conceive...Nor would it be wise to do so. The burden of knowing how things could have been, all the ways they could have gone wrong. Sometimes the end that brings us lowest is the one we can rise from the strongest....." The foci pauses, then chuckles. "It sounded better in my head....a lot of things do in fact."

Only a moment later the foci lifted from Zaofans grasp. "But since you asked nicely, maybe I can give them a little boost this one time...since we did the most damage this time around."

In a comet of light, the foci shot off into the air....and from other locations around the area the other three joined, converging on where Etrina had been quietly observing the ruins. As each arrived they took up a formation around her, linking themselves into her pool of magic and forming an array around her. As the last took its position, the mage raised her hands to her chest and form a series of symbols before thrusting them forward.

Time around the ruins of the capital lurched to a stop, and then....with a semi sickening sensation of vertigo for anyone close by, everything began to reverse. In slow motion the damage inflicted on the city cycled backwards, rubble fused, roads reformed, buildings rose, monument rose from the ashes they had been reduced too.

Etrina form another series of symbols and poured more of her energy into to the spell, visibly shuddering as the magic took hold. Fountains, ponds and rivers that had evaporated from the heat of the cities destruction slowly refilled and flowed once again. Bridges knitted themselves back together. Homes that had been reduced to slag were remolded back into their former shape. The tallest buildings rose above the reformation, their peaks the last to knit back together before the spell was complete.

With a start, Etrina stumbled backwards with heavy arms, her four foci falling to the ground around her. A second later the mage was on her knees, breathing heavy.

"....aha...That...that was less dignifying then....I....was hoping..."

Then all of a sudden, Zaofan felt his stomach forcefully churn. Had he been foiled by a moment of weakness and succumbed to poison?! Defeated...utterly...by...by Sasheem?!

Risking a step forward, he found even a most basic movement had left him wobbling until he set his foot down on a cobblestone road...which should have been impossible, the Capital had been destroyed.

Am I seeing double? Setting his shoe down again, he narrowed his eyes; though he felt quite like himself through the queasiness, it was as if the very world had entered a shifting phase around him, and as he turned his head to and fro, the sky flashed with tongues of fire that slithered backwards; masonry that had fallen climbed back upon itself to renew the shape of homes and great ancestral arches, and the very air itself seemed to grow that much sweeter. The city, it had been restored, as if the battles had never happened.

Then when the whorl of magical reconstruction had ceased, he'd finally reset his footing, but found the butterflies inside him did not cease. This much turned back all at once, that was no trifling matter.

Did she do all this...for me?

Once more with a frightful thought, Zaofan found his strength, and with steps as swift as his racing thoughts he was gone from sight.

There, by the great fountain babbling in the quiet in the city square he was by Etrina's side in an instant; and for a rare instance indeed, he'd found himself standing over her as she took her recovery from the spell.

"What did you do...?" He asked, before sighing, and for the first time during the course of this day, his small, bright laughter caused him to buckle over as he found he didn't have a word to express the relief he felt.

Instead he offered her a hand up. The others, they weren't too far away, but right now it seemed as if it was just the two of them.

For here, she'd returned to them all the heart of the last good thing he'd helped to bring about. He'd finally found the courage; he figured he'd find the words soon enough.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat's electroreception processes incoming information, and Praxat gets a mental image of the city in her head. " So Reshlan's city is back to normal like nothing happened," Praxat said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley flinched and turned slightly to look up at the retired Creator. "For your thing? Yes." She stood to face him. "What will you be doing?"

He gazes at her, then nods and gestures for her to bend down.

“Gonna hurt. Real bad, missy. Going to….purge yer Ki with my Creation energy. Ain’t got enough pure Saiyans to make the ritual, gonna have to do with you alone. Ehh, cheat the system.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He gazes at her, then nods and gestures for her to bend down.

“Gonna hurt. Real bad, missy. Going to….purge yer Ki with my Creation energy. Ain’t got enough pure Saiyans to make the ritual, gonna have to do with you alone. Ehh, cheat the system.”

It was a familiar road she had been down once before. Only that time, Kakarot pumped her with more power than her body would have been able to handle if she didn't ascend. Caliban... had a different intention. "Purge... my ki?" Unless he had something else in mind to replace it, that would leave her powerless.

He mentioned the ritual, so she could only assume he meant the God ritual Lampton developed. She supposed that it was the easiest means of achieving "godhood", but not the only means. After all, unless it existed in other universes, there had to be other ways. After all, Beast God, Last Daughter, and Wolf God all had transcended mortality, as well.

It was going to cause her a great deal of pain. That was nothing new; if it meant having an easier time defeating Sakin, then so be it.

"Let's do it. Can you do the same for the others after?" she asked while bending down on one knee.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It was a familiar road she had been down once before. Only that time, Kakarot pumped her with more power than her body would have been able to handle if she didn't ascend. Caliban... had a different intention. "Purge... my ki?" Unless he had something else in mind to replace it, that would leave her powerless.

He mentioned the ritual, so she could only assume he meant the God ritual Lampton developed. She supposed that it was the easiest means of achieving "godhood", but not the only means. After all, unless it existed in other universes, there had to be other ways. After all, Beast God, Last Daughter, and Wolf God all had transcended mortality, as well.

It was going to cause her a great deal of pain. That was nothing new; if it meant having an easier time defeating Sakin, then so be it.

"Let's do it. Can you do the same for the others after?" she asked while bending down on one knee.

“Just once. Good luck with it, girlie.”

Time and space fade away for a moment, Parsley no longer on Reshlan as she and Caliban stand amidst a different planet altogether. Magic lays thick on the air, and the old goblin seems….truer, more real before her now. It thrums and hums all around, and she has never felt more magic before in all her life. Behind Caliban, a simple stone temple seems to stand, and she gets the impression this was the first world Caliban created in his universe, the first place of magic and power.

He moves impossibly quick, palm flat against her chest and a mighty surge of mystic and Creational energy roars through her body, burning away her Ki reserves like lava through her veins. Pain, heat, radiant force purges her Ki and makes it…….better. It seems to take forever, her thoughts in a singularity as her power is remade.

Magic, Ki, and Creational energy merge and pour into her, bleeding a crimson red aura around her as Caliban takes his power and converts it into something Parsley can use. After an eternity, the old goblin slumps back. His power, magic, Ki, and Creation, are gone. He seems……diminished, old and tired. He looks at her and grins a bit.

“Red looks good on ya, girlie.”

Parsley, your body thrums with the same type of crimson god energy that Sarada does, though your aura has wisps of magic layered throughout and the shade is different from Sarada’s.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

disregard post

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"So you can't do for me, what you did for Parsley? Well, I guess my only option is to plunge into the heart of a nebula storm and attempt to harness its cosmic electromagnetic energy into myself. Copying what my ancestor Disdemona did in a passage in one of her travelogues," Praxat said.

"My ancestor Disdemona never went looking for a nebula storm to plunge into. She just happened to get trapped in one. As stated by a passage in one of her travelogues. She had to find a means out, and the solution was to attempt to tame the storm by harnessing its sprite / cosmic electromagnetic energy," Praxat said.

" She was successful as stated in the passage. She mention experience unbearable pain, hallucinations, and feeling like she was losing her mind. When she was trapped inside that nebula storm, which she referred to as a space cloud," Praxat said.

" But as stated in the passage she managed to pull through. In the passage my ancestor Dsedmona stated that harnessing sprite / cosmic electromagnetic energy was nothing like she ever felt before, and felt somewhat divine," Praxat said.

The post between Caliban and Parsley happened offworld technically. Praxat would not have heard anything.

[grampagen]

A few dozen other Guardians, only a few once part of the Guardian Network, suddenly sound off, echoing EvaÂ’s original statement as their voices echo across the universe in solidarity. At their head is Meagan, her voice strong despite the audible tears in it. Chroma was gone, but she remained. JinziÂ’s voice slips in not long after hers.

The Beast God and Last Daughter respond next, anger and determination in their voices.

The GP, in fits and starts, sound off. Miras Thane and EdanÂ’s voices, alongside DashÂ’s, sound among them.


Distantly, a voice you all recognize as AurocÂ’s responds as well. The proto-majin, more subdued in tone, sounds off.

A strong voice, calling itself Durga, sounds off as well.

In bits and starts, voices across the universe respond with the same call Eva used: “I REMAIN” and their names fill the universe with defiance. More and more, from distant planets and stars, some you have not even meet yet, call out their will against Sakin.

The Saiyans' response to Earth's call came not from Mato, but from Maiz. Deep within the recesses of her underground temple, she had been gathering power ever since he left her alone to handle necessary business in the capital. Eva's message inspired her and showed her what she needed to do. Hearing her fellow Guardians do exactly the same only increased that resolve.

The power that was welling inside her was immense. She had never conjured that much at one time; she had never needed to. But in a time of such uncertainty and peril, the need for solidarity overweighed the fear of overextending herself to the point of uselessness. If all she could do was that one thing, that was good enough.

I think... this is enough.

She breathed out. There was an audible tremble that rumbled through the temple.

When she opened her mouth, the planet trembled as if beset by a tremendous earthquake in each corner. "This is Guardian Maiz. I remain."

It was a short and simple message, but those were the ones that cut the deepest. A middle finger to that bastard who had wrought so much suffering and trauma throughout the universe. They all stood as a united front against him to reject his mad designs of a "better" universe in his hideous image. It would be up to the M Fighters to finish the job but knowing that everyone - those they knew and the grand multitude they didn't - stood beside them was an encouraging sentiment that could be weaponized and turned against the false idol.

She let out a tired sigh. "That's all I got," she said with a soft chuckle.

The call answered, the cavalcade of voices rose in unison, undaunted. The moment contact had been established with those allies across systems, between peoples, the clamour redoubled as affirmation took sattelite and wire and frequency alike.

"You saw it, well so did we. Now let me ask you this, what are you going to do about it?"

"The place where it all started, we have a route to the planet? Heh, can't leave this up to the GP, after all! We live here too, you know!"

"Yes! Indeed it has not ended! To dance, clap hands, exult, shout, skip, leap, roll on, float on!*

BGM - Decisive Battle

With each declaration, the silent distance between them had all but disappeared, and now in these darkest days, the spirits endured as a hope had kindled anew.

"BGS-01, this is EDF Commander Kenshiko. Prepare the Stargate coordinates."

"Captain Prizzm, if you would, I need you to make a delivery."

"With everything ramping up as it is, frankly the last thing I'd want to do now is a cargo run-"

"Anything at all we can do to support them, we do it. It's not their fight, this concerns all of us" she replied. Kenshiko straightened up and adjusted her red beret. "Besides the Saiyans left something in port before taking off. We'll only get one shot at this, so we're going to do it right."

"...ah hell, it'd be on the way to the Admiral, we'll get it done with an emergency launch and tractor beam. Over and out."

The viewscreen thinned to a single line, then silence. Her attuned ki sense for a moment made the raucous hordes of enemies loud; to behold such illumination of a Guardian brought things so sharply into focus even upon ordinary sensation, as if seeing everything all at once, that it had all become overly bright to her eyes. She took the moment to adjust her shades.

You believed in them all that much? In us as well. That's why Sakin took his shot. Time for a little payback for him...and for what we owe the lot of you.

The offworlders had come through after all. Kenshiko stole her gloved hand to a red phone upon the console. Her thoughts remained upon the blue world they'd built their garrison around, and now more than ever, they needed their brightest mind.

"Get me the President. Yes, I know he's not in his office, he's never there at the best of times. Right now, he's probably at the top of the world."

As She considered what was said, her expression briefly shifted, and though it was short-lived, the slight frown was telling as was the word she muttered under her breath.

"Chains..."

As the silence filled the gap between Ochazuke's answers and her response, She found herself fixating on that response in particular, and when She finally found her response she lead with that. "You are... Correct. I return to the memories of a dead woman, to sift through what remains thinking to find meaning where only a twisted understanding borne of suffering persists." For the first time, a frown tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"I would be better served to let her- and those lingering chains- die."

The frown, another short-lived wonder, disappeared; and she bowed her head in momentary deference.

"Forgive me."

Moving on from that concession, the question she asked had been answered two-fold. "This Heka Flow of yours... and your willingness to shed the cycle of bloodshed on the merit of actions, not simply comforting words.

... A meaningful divergence. One I would like to see bear out."

On distant Reshlan, Ochazuke felt the ripple carry its way across the Leyline of this universe. The Heka Flow, galvanized by Evangeline's call, now synchronized with all those kindred spirits From the warriors that remained, ready to lay their lives on their line, to the smallest voices who defiantly shout into the tide of despair until they heard their words echo as one, united if only for this brief moment against a common enemy.

"You only have to peer into the universe that surrounds us. The divergence has already begun."

The Axis he'd formed by gathering that will would harmonize it for a time, that very spiritual current that flowed through the fabric of the universe. With their feet upon this world, the living system resonated with it, one singular node, beating with living consciousness. Quadrillions more now loaned them their faith, and though it thawed much of the burden to come, it did not dispense with the weight of it.

"They too have chosen to cast off the yoke of fear the Fallen Angel threatens them with now. If it were to survive, they'd have surrendered, but to flourish, to protect the span of freedom that they all have only just realized with this choice perhaps there may be something held in kind with this host of mortals you may yet find."

Finally, for the moment, the hammer fell to his side; he would not need it for a time, for he found his focus heightened. As ever, the silent scars that ached with the expenditure of Life Energy brought him an especially pronounced clarity.

"Now that you must also make a choice. You have shed the name 'Inanna' and all that she had borne upon her head. This new life is your own, and while we share company it would not do to call you 'Goddess'. Speak your name now so that we might know you."

OOC:* Walt Whitman, Poem of Joys

[grampagen]

"I don't know how exactly Sakin's minions will engage us once we reach his world," she said to the assembled party. "I do know that Cancer will be among them, and Avoca, Sarada, and I all faced her with varying degrees of success." Ranging from absolutely none to becoming a mild nuisance. "Before we leave, I should relay to you what we've learned about her. She's a Vampire, as was noted in Auroc's journal. When she bites you, you become completely paralyzed. And when she consumes your blood, she can completely mimic your very being. Appearance, voice, energy signature; she even has access to your memories."

"She can also cast a crimson moon," Sarada said as she jumped in to add more. "Don't know if it can do more, but it can make anyone caught in its light drowsy. Damn near fell asleep before I cast a shield around the planet to block it. And she has an army of vampire Arcosians at her disposal. They're powerful. They easily outpaced me when I was in my Super Saiyan 3 form." She looked to say more, but paused briefly, as if thinking over something. She then nodded. "But, they're weak to Creation energy. Maiz and Meagan fucked a few of them up that way. Don't know if Cancer is, as well, but it's worth a try if it means knocking off one enemy in short order."

Parsley nodded. "That's about all I can think of. She's a GoD, so danger is always apparent. But her perfected shapeshifting ability makes her incredibly dangerous. Be on your guard until she's off the board."

"Ah-ah, so now a God of Destruction is an danger worth considering."

Koorimaru floated down from his silent perch above. His arms were folded before him, six black drones hovering silent, weightless, beside him like shadows. Throughout the encounter with Inanna, he hadn't received a scratch.

By the smile on his face, the pleasure he'd taken in this fact was obvious.

"And here I thought strategic mindsets were a liminal state with you, you've thought this up before the moment approached, well done! The only problem with that, however, is the breadth of the information hardly matches the depth required to approach the task ahead."

His tail spooled behind him, and his eyes, unblinking, lizardlike, took on a terrible, wicked sheen.

"You seem particularly invested in this one, hmm-ah? I was there when the Queen hurled herself headlong into it and came out of it with a new colour." he sneered. "Sarada-sama, you answered her challenge, but you weren't the target of the attack after all, were you?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The call answered, the cavalcade of voices rose in unison, undaunted. The moment contact had been established with those allies across systems, between peoples, the clamour redoubled as affirmation took sattelite and wire and frequency alike.

"You saw it, well so did we. Now let me ask you this, what are you going to do about it?"

"The place where it all started, we have a route to the planet? Heh, can't leave this up to the GP, after all! We live here too, you know!"

"Yes! Indeed it has not ended! To dance, clap hands, exult, shout, skip, leap, roll on, float on!*

BGM - Decisive Battle

With each declaration, the silent distance between them had all but disappeared, and now in these darkest days, the spirits endured as a hope had kindled anew.

"BGS-01, this is EDF Commander Kenshiko. Prepare the Stargate coordinates."

"Captain Prizzm, if you would, I need you to make a delivery."

"With everything ramping up as it is, frankly the last thing I'd want to do now is a cargo run-"

"Anything at all we can do to support them, we do it. It's not their fight, this concerns all of us" she replied. Kenshiko straightened up and adjusted her red beret. "Besides the Saiyans left something in port before taking off. We'll only get one shot at this, so we're going to do it right."

"...ah hell, it'd be on the way to the Admiral, we'll get it done with an emergency launch and tractor beam. Over and out."

The viewscreen thinned to a single line, then silence. Her attuned ki sense for a moment made the raucous hordes of enemies loud; to behold such illumination of a Guardian brought things so sharply into focus even upon ordinary sensation, as if seeing everything all at once, that it had all become overly bright to her eyes. She took the moment to adjust her shades.

You believed in them all that much? In us as well. That's why Sakin took his shot. Time for a little payback for him...and for what we owe the lot of you.

The offworlders had come through after all. Kenshiko stole her gloved hand to a red phone upon the console. Her thoughts remained upon the blue world they'd built their garrison around, and now more than ever, they needed their brightest mind.

"Get me the President. Yes, I know he's not in his office, he's never there at the best of times. Right now, he's probably at the top of the world."



On distant Reshlan, Ochazuke felt the ripple carry its way across the Leyline of this universe. The Heka Flow, galvanized by Evangeline's call, now synchronized with all those kindred spirits From the warriors that remained, ready to lay their lives on their line, to the smallest voices who defiantly shout into the tide of despair until they heard their words echo as one, united if only for this brief moment against a common enemy.

"You only have to peer into the universe that surrounds us. The divergence has already begun."

The Axis he'd formed by gathering that will would harmonize it for a time, that very spiritual current that flowed through the fabric of the universe. With their feet upon this world, the living system resonated with it, one singular node, beating with living consciousness. Quadrillions more now loaned them their faith, and though it thawed much of the burden to come, it did not dispense with the weight of it.

"They too have chosen to cast off the yoke of fear the Fallen Angel threatens them with now. If it were to survive, they'd have surrendered, but to flourish, to protect the span of freedom that they all have only just realized with this choice perhaps there may be something held in kind with this host of mortals you may yet find."

Finally, for the moment, the hammer fell to his side; he would not need it for a time, for he found his focus heightened. As ever, the silent scars that ached with the expenditure of Life Energy brought him an especially pronounced clarity.

"Now that you must also make a choice. You have shed the name 'Inanna' and all that she had borne upon her head. This new life is your own, and while we share company it would not do to call you 'Goddess'. Speak your name now so that we might know you."

OOC:* Walt Whitman, Poem of Joys

Jinzi answers.

“Jinzi here.”

A faint anger, determination, and stalwart conviction leaks into his voice. Jinzi was ready.