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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OT: With Maiz in her waterfall temple.

IC:



"But of course. I shall be a model citizen," he said with a flourishing bow. Too bad Letchee has to take the fall. Better him than me, of course.



Nothing, unsurprisingly. Sarada's frown deepened. Something was going on and whoever was the cause had to be nearby. "Tch. I don't have time for this," she grumbled as she started back for the palace. After she made sure Avoca was okay, she'd get in touch with Parsley and see if her observation skills could unravel what was happening.

Sihn gestures and two beefy Oni women walk up and take Tundra away. The last he sees is a strange humanoid disappearing briefly, before reappearing with a visibly terrified Letchee in hand an dropping him off with a Sheki’hinah.

———————

The blood red sun pulses, casting its crimson light on the planet, and Sarada can feel a strange…energy pulse through her brain. Almost like someone was lulling her to sleep. Any Saiyan caught in this pulse feels sleepy, or light headed, something attempting to put them all down on one fell swoop.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Sasheem has no idea what that is or what it does, but he doesn't like the look of it," the Majin nodded. "Sasheem doesn't really care much about what happens anywhere else aside from Earth but whatever that thing's doing probably won't stop here. But hey, since you seem to know something about it and don't seem to like it much either, how about you fill Sasheem in on just what the hell it is before we gotta part ways?"

Auroc nods.

“The Dreadnaught of Mala is an ancient entity, once trapped in the Way Between Worlds. It is a massive creature of ill intent, possessing a shield barely penetrable and offense means enough to shatter solar systems and more. It was servant to a long dead race from another universe. Traditional means of hurting it won’t work.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley didn't respond for a moment. Her heavy gaze fell upon the blood moon, Observational Focus scanning it in an effort to unravel its origins.

...a blood red moon, accompanied by a red sky. "No, it can't be...," she muttered. Shabador Un Balac, Banner of the Crimson was dead. His soul was torn asunder by Binder. Unless there was another of his ilk lurking about, it had to be something else.

Yet, the similarities were too glaring to ignore. "We may be dealing with one of Wolf God's kin."

“****.”

Parsley, the blood sun pulses with a strange energy briefly and you all of a sudden feel very sleepy, like something is lulling you to sleep.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Hmm, that is a conundrum," Blizzar scratched his chin, before suddenly lifting his hands and snapping his fingers. "Ah, but of course! I know more than a few government officials myself! All I need to do is line the right pockets, get some paperwork in order, and you and your associates are officially instated as privateers working for the allied planetary systems! Being of business-like mindset, I'll even work part-time as your manager, overseeing day-to-day operations, taking stock, all of the boring, menial work! Why I can even provide you with a new base of operations! For you see, I happen to own a planet that once operated as an old Gun Runner Hideout. Its previous occupants abandoned it long ago, so I see no reason, why I should not grant it to you!"

Liz pauses, then nods.

“Your word than?”

She holds a hand out.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Avoca could only watch with abject horror as Cancer changed into a perfect replica of herself. Not only in appearance, but with her memories, power signature, and even her DNA. With her paralyzed, there was nothing she could do was watch and listen.

Turn my kids? Into what?

It was then that she remembered what Parsley's guide said about Cancer. She had vampire Icers under her control. Those Icers weren't vampires originally, they couldn't have been. They had been turned into her slaves and she wanted to do the same to Garnish and Mais. Probably Kumara, too, though she wasn't sure how useful one year old would be. "...stop...," she pleaded helplessly, but to no avail. She was bitten one final time to make sure she couldn't move before bleeding to death.

Alone.

She was alone. Alone and dying. Bleed seeped out of her wounds at a steady pace. It was the worst on her leg; the main artery was punctured. She could feel herself becoming weaker by the second. Cold, unforgiving darkness slowly crawled into her field of vision.

The corners of her eyes glistened, the only warning given before the tears started falling. "I... don't want... to die. This isn't... how I want to die..."

A Saiyan died in battle. It was a glorious death that proved that they were a valiant warrior who never stopped fighting, even up until their demise. To die while paralyzed and taken advantage of like a weak fool was as inglorious a death as there was.

What was worse, there was nothing she could do to protect her children. Cancer's mimicry was so perfect that she doubted even Parsley would be able to tell the difference until it was too late. Even if she could, Cancer was too powerful to stop her. Mais and Garnish were as good as gone and there was nothing she could do.

"Nothing, huh. How are you this weak?" Parsley's voice echoed in her head. It felt so real, like she was standing right there. She wanted to reach out for her, but her arm would not move. "Help."

"Help? No. Help yourself! I can't always be there to protect you!

Avoca didn't need her protection; she needed her to stop the bleeding. She was going to die! "I...I can't...please"

"You're too clever to let this be your end."

"You're really gonna let some knife-ear do you in? Really?" That was Sarada that time.

She gasped. The pool of crimson blood under her was steadily growing. Her head had gotten light. She was dizzy and her vision was darkening and swimming. Was that death? Parsley used to describe what it was like to die, to take her final breaths. It was always a horrible, harrowing tale that she always imagined would be terrifying to experience firsthand.

She was right.

Two blurry figures appeared before her. It was impossible to see who they were, but that didn't matter. She knew who they were.

She was always the weakest, the slowest, the most vulnerable. She had always been holding Sarada and Parsley back, even if they didn't dare say it aloud. Maybe...

Maybe it would have been better if she just died. Parsley deserved a stronger mate, someone who could keep up with her.

As the blood continued to drain out of her, she started to feel cold. Not the kind of cold that could have been fought off with a blanket, but the kind that chilled her to her soul. It was an ethereal cold that gripped her mercilessly.

Was this what you felt on Turrip, Parsley? Were you as scared as I am right now? Beyond being scared of dying, there was no comfort in knowing she had done all she could. There was plenty she could do, but being paralyzed and completely sapped of energy, she...

Wait...

"Elf Land!" It was the loudest she has spoken since her fight with Cancer started. She had forgotten about the key to Vaikuntha months ago. She didn't even have to touch it or walk through it.

She mentally activated the key she was given, which opened a portal directly under her. She fell through and landed on the plush, verdant grass of a luscious field not far from a bubbling brook.

"I'm sorry, Parsley. I'm tapping out for a while. You'd better know it's not me."

Avoca figures she has five, ten minutes tops before she bleeds out.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Sakin's little... proclamation had caused quite a stir on Reshlan. Nothing of the sort that took place on other worlds, but certain sections of the population now had concerns. A large crowd had gathered outside the rebuilt palace, and Nevanlinna now stood on the speakers' balcony in order to address said concerns. From her perch, she gazed down upon her people, flanked by Luop and her mother.

...no, that was wrong. In this situation, she did not want to look down upon. Stepping onto the railing, she launched herself over and floated down into the crowd, which parted to allow her safe landing. Her mother and Luop moved to follow, but she motioned for them to stay where they were--a show of trust in her people. They remained silent, looking at her expectantly.

"My people, I know recent... messages have given rise to concerns about the motives of both myself and my offworlder friends," she said. "However, I can assure you that this Sakin is naught but a deceiver. He would not raise you up to godhood, but rather reduce you to mere slaves yet again. I will admit, I cannot make you an offer as grand as godhood... merely that I ask you to look within your hearts to remember that I have never, not once, acted against you."

"When the Phyrigian drought descended upon the land, who was it that gave voice to the voiceless and entreated the lords and ladies of unaffected lands to redirect their excess crops and water to those who truly needed it?"

The crowd responded, almost in unison. "You, your highness!"

"And when rogue nobles conspired to steal your farms and businesses, rendering you not even serfs, but slaves, who was it that uncovered and unraveled their foul plot?"

Again, they responded, with more fervor. "You!"

There were many such instances she could list.

"I could go on, but I'm sure that each and every one of you can remember many other times I have acted on your behalf when no one else could or would. Perhaps personally, in some cases," she said. "Sakin's words are sweet, yes, but they ring hollow, and I ask you... how do you know he tells the truth? He is simply a voice from the ether, whispering honeyed words directly into your minds. If you would turn on me, who has always been on your side, often to my own detriment, in favor of an unknown voice from a person of unknown origin and character, then so be it. But I, for one, have faith that the Threshlings, free of Auroc's influence, are not a people so keen to turn their backs on one who has shown her people nothing but loyalty and love in favor of voices from the sky.

A murmur rose up in the crowd, as her people discussed the matter amongst themselves. Soon enough, they seemed to reach a consensus...

That murmuring became a cheer, and some in the crowd yelled over that cheering (amazing, given how loud it was,) offering anecdotes about various matters she'd helped them with, either personally or simply as part of a group. And she remembered each and every one of those times, her heart swelling to see those people--her people--now doing so well, in small part due to her efforts years ago.

Although being the center of attention like this, much to her surprise, felt... rather uncomfortable. But then, she had spent approximately two centuries living as a magitech hermit in Vaikuntha, so being around people at all was rather uncomfortable. In a good way, if that made any sense at all.

After some more interaction, the crowd dispersed, and she returned to the balcony.

"That was risky, your highness," said Luop.

"Yes, it was... but also necessary. I needed to show them that I truly do not consider myself above them. I am a public servant, not some cloistered royal or noble dictating from on high."

Her mother stepped forth. "It worked splendidly... you're quickly coming into your own as a leader."

"Speaking of, please mobilize the knights and imperial guard," said Nevanlinna, as she strode back into the palace. "We may need to fend off... interlopers soon, or at the very least, ride to the defense of our allies, unofficial as they are."

Her mother nodded and left to attend to that matter. She was still the queen and her official authority still exceeded Nevanlinna's... although her own popularity with the people far exceeded her mother's. Less-so with the nobles, since she had often worked against their interests over the years, but the Knights, at least, largely respected her, if only because of her sheer martial and magical might.

She sighed. "What a troublesome individual, this Sakin..."

Alarms, gifted from Jinzi and the GP, suddenly blare as something enters Reshlan airspace.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Maybe, but Koorimaru's the only one that's stepped into the Remnant's head...er, scratch that, reverse it," Zaofan replied, still uneasy at the mention of destroying the downed goddess. That's twice now... "What she said all those years ago was tactless, and I think we can agree, quite unexamined. They were also the words of only a third of what the real Asha'rah was. I have a distinct feeling we've only ever been around a part of the story."

Of course, with the Mind of the Remnant shunting away the remaining aspect of their more familiar goddess to the mercy of her Soul's Genesis, he didn't really have a rebuttal for the panic in the sky.







"Wh-whoa! Okay, I know that wasn't here before, what the heck?!"

Just when he'd been ready to literally run and bring the fight everywhere around the world that was asking for it, it seemed fate had conspired to fall its clutches on the Guardian's residence directly. Sighing, Zaofan wrung his hands around his staff for he found he could not leave, and as Sarada went over the edge of the Lookout, gravity seemed to invert itself as they were slowly pulled to the ground.

"Sarada! Oh my sweet Kami!!!"





Through the fog of sinister aura, Zaofan searched for Sarada's presence. C'mon, c'mon...

It seemed fruitless at first, and as the distance closed the presence seemed to become only more dreadful. Then Totoma reached out, offering his strength to everyone else here.



"Oh! You're back! Ha ha!"

Freshly energized, Zaofan knew he couldn't do any less than trust they they had his back; and so there was something he could do in return.

It was a real crash course in Banespells last momebts, but if he understood the principle correctly, maybe this would be the foundation from which Heka could flow...

"Alright...let's all stand together and show this....this thing, what for."

Combined with Kizuna, perhaps everyone on the Lookout would be able to illuminate the manifest darkness that had shrouded the ground below them, and face the emergent threat that had come.

"Nice..." The sarcasm left his lips in weary resignation as he trudged towards the edge of the Lookout, grimly hoping that there was something worth punching behind this.



It had been some time since he had seen Sarada... at least, he thought so. It was difficult to decipher whose memory was whose when it came to the events surrounding his birth, but he was somewhat sure it had been as Rex. Still, her message confirmed all he really needed to know as he peered into the darkness, spotting the ancient tower that she had mentioned.




"Suppose this would be as good as any time to try this out."

Energy flowed into his palm as he pointed a hand down beyond the Lookout's edge and he invoked the memories of light and heat, raising the temperature around him as his ki aura was literally lit aflame.

"Solar Shot"

The usual green hue of his energy grew paler and paler until it was a brilliant white like a supernova going off. Firing it off, the blast hurdled toward the darkness like a blazing meteorite, illuminating everything in its downward path.

Combined with a bit of Heka and Totoma’s connection to everyone, the burning Ki of Solar Shot illuminates a nightmare.

Creatures, near formless, with odd angles and dimensions clung to the bottom of the Lookout like leeches. Invisible, they ooze a type of invisible mist that deadens flight and certain other Ki abilities. The presence they exude is foul and awful, scratching at their minds and senses as they try and observe things that shouldn’t be in this dimension.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat steps off the ship and puts her blindfold over her eyes. Then Praxat uses her sense of electroreception like a radar.

There is a battle happening not far from Capsule Corp. It appears to be a small and quiet affair, but no less fierce. That is the closest disturbance.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Direct hit!" Spirits were high across the circumference of the Earth, only for a moment, however, as the gargantua had merely stopped.

Braced atop the Orbital Ring, the site of another one of Capsule Corps' many emergent prototypes, an experimental engine was cradled there. A product of the Big Ghetti Star's engineering, it had been perpetually gathering and storing energy that empowered this entire planetary defense grid.

It wasn't enough. The Commander knew it. With the fighting on the ground slowly shifting their way, Kenshiko weighed the options before them.

"Get it back online."

Officers on the Orbital Ring communications array were silent in disbelief.

"If we fire again we'll need to draw more power than we have right now! We'll have to sacrifice the planetary shield!"

"And if we don't we may never get another chance at it while that thing moves ahead. Once it moves into our range, who knows what kind of **** will happen? I don't intend on letting the thing get past the moon."

With that, she hailed the battleships that had gathered.

"Coldlight. Gotengo. This is EDF Command. Do what you can to hold that thing off!"

Despite the steadfast, decisive orders, some part of her spoke this for her own benefit. They'd been trodden on long enough before Sakin pulled himself out of his hole. She knew it...and so did Ochazuke.

"Cheh. So that's the Wave Motion Cannon Pantaloon mentioned," came the echoed reply, thought-waves rearticulating themselves into audio transmissions, "Enough to strike through the barrier...but it's a waste."

The bore-bowed vessel turned on a dime, advancing from the trajectory it had launched from to meet the Dreadnought head on. As it passed, a faint aura seemed to follow in its wake, feeding directly from the residents of the Big Ghetti Star promenade and into the Gotengo. With the neural connectors interfaced with the machine, the core of its design was to make piloting as easy as a wave of a hand; why wouldn't the body of a martial artist be receptive to energies with an affinity for shaping ki?

With a crew of specifically trained officer-adepts manning the technical stations, the aura surrounding the Gotengo roared to life as it strafed and fired on their foe.

"Don't be a damn fool! What are you trying to pull off?!"

"What does it look like? I'm going to kill it."

As the next salvo of fire fell upon the giant, the shells exploded with their payload. Technology reverse-engineered from the detritus of past battles in the atmosphere, the Chaff of the First Race had locked the planet in space at a fixed interval of time. Now Ochazuke bombarded the Dreadnought in an attempt to keep its position fixed.

“Confirmed, following Gotenga on our attack run.”

The Coldlight falls in near the Gotenga as they fire their salvo of Chaff.

The shots strike the Dreadnaught, and for a few seconds, it appears that the behemoth has stopped moving.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Avoca could only watch with abject horror as Cancer changed into a perfect replica of herself. Not only in appearance, but with her memories, power signature, and even her DNA. With her paralyzed, there was nothing she could do was watch and listen.

Turn my kids? Into what?

It was then that she remembered what Parsley's guide said about Cancer. She had vampire Icers under her control. Those Icers weren't vampires originally, they couldn't have been. They had been turned into her slaves and she wanted to do the same to Garnish and Mais. Probably Kumara, too, though she wasn't sure how useful one year old would be. "...stop...," she pleaded helplessly, but to no avail. She was bitten one final time to make sure she couldn't move before bleeding to death.

Alone.

She was alone. Alone and dying. Bleed seeped out of her wounds at a steady pace. It was the worst on her leg; the main artery was punctured. She could feel herself becoming weaker by the second. Cold, unforgiving darkness slowly crawled into her field of vision.

The corners of her eyes glistened, the only warning given before the tears started falling. "I... don't want... to die. This isn't... how I want to die..."

A Saiyan died in battle. It was a glorious death that proved that they were a valiant warrior who never stopped fighting, even up until their demise. To die while paralyzed and taken advantage of like a weak fool was as inglorious a death as there was.

What was worse, there was nothing she could do to protect her children. Cancer's mimicry was so perfect that she doubted even Parsley would be able to tell the difference until it was too late. Even if she could, Cancer was too powerful to stop her. Mais and Garnish were as good as gone and there was nothing she could do.

"Nothing, huh. How are you this weak?" Parsley's voice echoed in her head. It felt so real, like she was standing right there. She wanted to reach out for her, but her arm would not move. "Help."

"Help? No. Help yourself! I can't always be there to protect you!

Avoca didn't need her protection; she needed her to stop the bleeding. She was going to die! "I...I can't...please"

"You're too clever to let this be your end."

"You're really gonna let some knife-ear do you in? Really?" That was Sarada that time.

She gasped. The pool of crimson blood under her was steadily growing. Her head had gotten light. She was dizzy and her vision was darkening and swimming. Was that death? Parsley used to describe what it was like to die, to take her final breaths. It was always a horrible, harrowing tale that she always imagined would be terrifying to experience firsthand.

She was right.

Two blurry figures appeared before her. It was impossible to see who they were, but that didn't matter. She knew who they were.

She was always the weakest, the slowest, the most vulnerable. She had always been holding Sarada and Parsley back, even if they didn't dare say it aloud. Maybe...

Maybe it would have been better if she just died. Parsley deserved a stronger mate, someone who could keep up with her.

As the blood continued to drain out of her, she started to feel cold. Not the kind of cold that could have been fought off with a blanket, but the kind that chilled her to her soul. It was an ethereal cold that gripped her mercilessly.

Was this what you felt on Turrip, Parsley? Were you as scared as I am right now? Beyond being scared of dying, there was no comfort in knowing she had done all she could. There was plenty she could do, but being paralyzed and completely sapped of energy, she...

Wait...

"Elf Land!" It was the loudest she has spoken since her fight with Cancer started. She had forgotten about the key to Vaikuntha months ago. She didn't even have to touch it or walk through it.

She mentally activated the key she was given, which opened a portal directly under her. She fell through and landed on the plush, verdant grass of a luscious field not far from a bubbling brook.

"I'm sorry, Parsley. I'm tapping out for a while. You'd better know it's not me."

Avoca figures she has five, ten minutes tops before she bleeds out.

After talking to her people and soothing their concerns, and ordering the knights to mobilize, Nevanlinna did what she usually did and went to Vaikuntha to center herself and work. When she was needed, Luop or her mother would know where to find her. After all, they were the only threshlings with 'keys'.

Some time passed, and she buried herself in her work. And then... she sensed it. Someone entering her realm, by way of a key. She had made each key's 'signature' distinct and identifiable, and she recognized the one entering as... ah, it was Avoca, Parsley's mate. Oddly, she was alone, but perhaps she wished to get in some training for the oncoming battle?

...

Upon expanding her senses, she realized that was not the case. She could barely sense the Saiyaness, and the energies--hozon and otherwise--were flowing into her in a way that indicated injury. And, unfathomably, that passive healing seemed quite insufficient.

How worrying.

Rising to her feet and took flight, reaching Avoca in less than a minute. There, she indeed found Avoca, looking... horrid, to be quite honest. Her energy was almost nil, and something had injured her gravely. She was bleeding out.

She gently knelt down and examined the saiyan. There was a bite mark on her thigh, from which crimson life flowed endlessly. She had perhaps... ten minutes, at best, before death claimed her.

Nevanlinna's form split as she created a body-double, who raced off to Ilargi to gather needed medical supplies, while Neva-Prime laid her hands over Avoca. Hozon flared and streamed into Avoca, to preserve her life.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Sihn gestures and two beefy Oni women walk up and take Tundra away. The last he sees is a strange humanoid disappearing briefly, before reappearing with a visibly terrified Letchee in hand an dropping him off with a Sheki’hinah.

As Tundra was led away, he noticed Letchee being dropped in front of Sheki'hinah. He chuckled to himself and turned, leaving his loyal minion to his fate.

The blood red sun pulses, casting its crimson light on the planet, and Sarada can feel a strange…energy pulse through her brain. Almost like someone was lulling her to sleep. Any Saiyan caught in this pulse feels sleepy, or light headed, something attempting to put them all down on one fell swoop.

Sarada's gaze fell upon the blood red sun again. A strange light pulsed from it, casting down on the entire planet. One by one, Saiyans - soldiers and civilians alike - felt themselves growing tired, like they had just finished an entire day of training. They fell out of the sky and to the ground like flies.

Sarada shook her head to clear her head and keep from falling asleep. "Something... is wrong...," she murmured. She raised her hands to the sky and transformed to Super Saiyan. A massive pillar of green energy erupted from her hands and darted upward and skyward. When it reached the lower atmosphere, it split and spread outward and across the planet to form a massive barrier that would, hopefully, block out the light from the blood sun.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

OT: Sun, that was supposed to say Sun, not moon. Sorry.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

OT: Sun, that was supposed to say Sun, not moon. Sorry.

OT: No worries, edited

[KingofPie]

Auroc nods.

“The Dreadnaught of Mala is an ancient entity, once trapped in the Way Between Worlds. It is a massive creature of ill intent, possessing a shield barely penetrable and offense means enough to shatter solar systems and more. It was a servant to a long-dead race from another universe. Traditional means of hurting it won’t work.”

"Dammit, Sasheem needs to make a pit stop on the way to Cask then..." The Majin sighed, beginning to take flight. "Sasheem needs to vamoose! You know what this **** is capable of so like Sasheem said...help us fight it!" Sasheem was about to take off before, he suddenly stopped mid-flight. He'd forgotten a few things in his hurry. First things first. The Majin ventured over towards the hot dog vendor, nodding appreciatively before stating, "Gonna take two dogs with sauerkraut for the road. Put it on Pants' tab, you know the deal!"

That was the first thing. The second was the one ally he'd left behind as backup. "Just follow me to the lookout, lameass," he spoke to what appeared to be a haggard old man, but from his appearance and aura, it could be assumed that he was a mage of some sort.

And thirdly...Sasheem zoomed up to Maven. "Oh, and you're gonna help too!" He smiled widely. "Or else." With that, he grabbed her by the collar, attempting to drag her towards Eva's Lookout.

[KingofPie]

Liz pauses, then nods.

“Your word than?”

She holds a hand out.

Blizzar shakes her hand. "Indeed, you do, Miss Blunter. Now, shall we signal a cease-fire?"