Dragonball M, Chapter 2: Lighthouse! Across the Shores of Shattered Time!

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Gods do you strut, you should take that katchin and make yourself a peacocks tail....it would suit you better then a crown." Fate made no move to stop her, just standing back and watching the Onis attempts to make light of her. "But that's to be expected....Honestly, you come down here and mock me knowing full well where it'll lead you....I...." Fate paused, a curious expression on her face. She looked over towards the crystal spire, then shifted her gaze back to Ishtar sat smugly on her throne.

Then, she make a gesture with her hand.

Hundreds of her threads shot out and wrapped around Ishtar, binding her arms, legs and body to the throne...just enough to restrict movement but not enough to cause damage.

She made another gesture, and the throne...Ishtar and all, was lifted off the ground.

"......You know...it just occurred to me. We were having such a wonderful time talking....I haven't dealt with the pest removal for today."

Fate lifted herself into the air, floating by and giving Ishtar a look of sinister amusement as she passed. ".....How about we go and see if any other filthy bugs managed to sneak in...."

It seemed Fate did not take the bait.

A shame ...

Bound now to the crystalline throne upon which she'd sat, Ishtar struggled a moment as Fate began to carry her toward the others; before giving up and putting her efforts toward extricating herself from her entrapment. Realizing that the crown she'd made to subtly jab at Fate was certainly still there however, she also realized that something could in fact be down that might yet buy Zaofan -- whatever that well-meaning fool was up to -- more time. Though not without a few words.

"You do nothing to help your case, with these threads of yours, you know ..."

An extremely thin needle of Katchin punctured Etrina's body then, straight through the ankle, before exploding outward to sever the strings ... Ishtar would certainly have to ask Etrina's forgiveness for that one, presuming the girl got her body back.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

“Auroc”, he spits out “can go fornicate himself. I serve not that false fool. I serve only my Queen, and it is her wish Anula be taken care of. She disapproves of Auroc giving outsiders access to Threshling Magic’s.”

He draws his sword glance out of the ground.

“By her order a new age of Threshling power shall be seen amidst the universe, and Auroc can taste my blade if he disagrees.”

In a flash, Parsley was there on the battlefield. Immediately, she was beset by the stinging, chilling cold air of the Northern Tundra. The bitterly cold air whipped her hair, forcing her to sweep it out of her face. "So, you're this Threshling that seeks battle with the strongest of Earth," she spoke, the words proving to be the very first words she had spoken on the this mortal plane in a year.

That she chose to leave right away as soon as beckoned by Tiamat robbed her of the opportunity to assess and accept the fact that she was alive again after being dead for a significant amount of time. While it was a matter that could easily have been dealt with another time, it wasn't a matter so easily brushed aside; at least not as easily as she wished. Regardless, the thirst for meaningful battle and the sanctity of the planet whose soil she now stood on served as a suitable distraction.

And while she wished beyond all hope that the man standing before her was a Tuffle and not a Threshling, the elven would-be galactic conquerors would serve as a fine punching bag with which to work out the aggression that had been stymied the moment she was captured and tortured.

"I suppose your Queen must feel confident in your abilities if she sent you out here by your lonesome. Especially after what happened with her son." Her piercing greens eyes cast their gaze upon them, the critical analysis of Observational Focus, combined with its new magical counterpart Muda! Level One, scanned Luop for any traces of magic, and to gauge an understanding of what she was dealing with.

"Surely by now, you lot must realize there is more to us than meets the eye."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

In a flash, Parsley was there on the battlefield. Immediately, she was beset by the stinging, chilling cold air of the Northern Tundra. The bitterly cold air whipped her hair, forcing her to sweep it out of her face. "So, you're this Threshling that seeks battle with the strongest of Earth," she spoke, the words proving to be the very first words she had spoken on the this mortal plane in a year.

That she chose to leave right away as soon as beckoned by Tiamat robbed her of the opportunity to assess and accept the fact that she was alive again after being dead for a significant amount of time. While it was a matter that could easily have been dealt with another time, it wasn't a matter so easily brushed aside; at least not as easily as she wished. Regardless, the thirst for meaningful battle and the sanctity of the planet whose soil she now stood on served as a suitable distraction.

And while she wished beyond all hope that the man standing before her was a Tuffle and not a Threshling, the elven would-be galactic conquerors would serve as a fine punching bag with which to work out the aggression that had been stymied the moment she was captured and tortured.

"I suppose your Queen must feel confident in your abilities if she sent you out here by your lonesome. Especially after what happened with her son." Her piercing greens eyes cast their gaze upon them, the critical analysis of Observational Focus, combined with its new magical counterpart Muda! Level One, scanned Luop for any traces of magic, and to gauge an understanding of what she was dealing with.

"Surely by now, you lot must realize there is more to us than meets the eye."

The armor and blade are both magical. Otherwise, the armor stops them scanning him or sensing him.

“Perhaps. The Queen choose me personally because I am loyal to her. I shall not break her faith, no matter what secrets you may bare.”

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"It was created by the Tuffles, so there's no shock that it's so advance," Maiz explained. At the mention of Chill, a Arcosian of some notoriety, Maiz grimaced. "Funny you should mention that. It's suspected that the assassin that attacked Sarada works for Blizz, another Arcosian. The GP have been looking for him ever since it was found out that he was behind the Tuffle attacks on Saiyan worlds."

It was strange that they hadn't heard from the GP captain in charge of that investigation since Sarada was attacked. Surely, he would have heeded Sarada's request to keep them more in the loop than they had in the last few weeks. Regardless, she hoped they heard word from him soon. They needed a lead to work with.

"My staff?" She remembered one of the former guardians suggesting she use one to focus her power through, but assumed it was only that, a suggestion. "Ah, it's still in fabrication. As for my new role, I've adjusted well enough, I suppose. I'm basically doing the same thing I had been doing since Sarada began her reign, only now I have more powers." Those were taking a bit more getting used to. Especially the telepathy. Being able to hear someone's voice in her head and knowing they could hear hers in theirs was off-putting and somewhat unnerving.

Not to mention distressing in that she needed to keep her thoughts to herself at all times, a notion that was novel just a year ago.

"And how's that son of yours? Keeping up with his training, I hope."

Tuffles again... feh. While they had every right to be angry about all that happened, what they had done was nothing more than continuing that cycle of... mistakes. Had they simply asked, the Saiyans they had killed would have bent over backwards to accommodate them. And to hear that the Arcosians, in some way, had been backing that attack... Tasure wasn't surprised. There had been bad blood between their people for thousands of years...

In more positive news, it seemed that Maiz was adjusting well to her new position. Good, good.... even if she was getting up there in years, she was still as mentally spry as she ever was--definitely the right person for the job. Still, in a way, Tasure entertained the thought that her friend's new position might be a double-edged sword... she was a Guardian, meant to safeguard her people, and yet recent events--the tuffle attack, Sarada's assassination attempt--no doubt weighed heavily on her mind, the latter especially. There was little she could do about that, however, save offer some empty words.

As for Totoma... "He's doing well. I've been focusing on improving his skill level, rather than power level, for the past year, and he's actually become a more well-rounded fighter. More importantly, he's actually training instead of coasting by on natural talent, though I would prefer he train more, but... ahh, some training is better than no training, and he's a halfbreed, and you know how they are." She of course meant their... comparative lack of diligence when it came to training, as well as the undeniable fact that halfbreeds could afford to train a bit less, given how quickly they could grow in power.

Bekon, meanwhile, had sat himself down on a nearby chair and... fallen asleep, evidently exhausted from the exertion of making that potion. Tasure gave him a sidelong glance and, ever so slightly, grinned. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Maiz.

"I'd like any information you have on these guys, so I can keep an eye out for them. If I were to run into one of 'em, would you prefer 'em in one or many pieces?" In other words... dead or alive.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

“I cannot. I am honor bound to carry my Queen’s orders out. I have chosen this place to lessen innocent casualties to nothing. Nor did I simply raze the planet from orbit as I could have. Honor demands I give Earth it’s fair chance.”

The weapon begins drawing energy from the icy surroundings.

Ishtar nodded, even as the pain caused her eyes to lose focus a moment.

"How noble."

When Luop began drawing power into the sword, then, the golden-eyed Oni nodded and wasted no time; and manifesting her own Katchin blade the Oni stepped forward and swung at Sir Luop.

OT: Xshathra active. Ishtar is now focusing energy through the Katchin Weapon, increasing damage output by x3 her PL.

"Surely by now, you lot must realize there is more to us than meets the eye."

Passing by Parsley -- recently arrived from Otherworld -- the Oni grunted in her direction. "Welcome back."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The armor and blade are both magical. Otherwise, the armor stops them scanning him or sensing him.

“Perhaps. The Queen choose me personally because I am loyal to her. I shall not break her faith, no matter what secrets you may bare.”

The armor and blade were both of magic, as she suspected given his race. She wouldn't have been surprised at all if every Threshling could produce some kind of sorcery.

That was, distressingly, all she could glean. Something about his armor was blocking her analysis, leaving her blind and ignorant. "The faith a monarch has in her subject can provide strength where martial training fails," she admitted. "Should you fail in your endeavor to subjugate this world in the name of Reshlan, what will you do? Surely, your Queen tolerates failure even less than she does the 'abominations' we call half-breeds. Will you really submit yourself to whatever punishment she would have in mind at the time, be it exile or even death?"

Not even having a clue as to how strong he is is an issue. I'll have to stall until some more of the others show up. As it stands, I doubt Ishtar is in any position to stand against him alone. Damnable Tuffles. With my tail gone, I have no access to Hitozaru, as risky as using that form is. I'll have to fight more intelligently from now on without the power to fall back on.

It was a crutch, that much was certain. Still, it was a useful crutch. If Threshling were as powerful as she thought, then as she was now, it wasn't enough.

If I can get close enough, I can drain his mana. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Totoma had continued sparring with Karine shortly after his mother had left... and once she'd reappeared and whisked his dad away, he took the chance to, ahem, have a different sort of fun with Karine. Nothing... time-consuming, just a quickie, as they said. Never knew when mom and dad would pop back in.

After... finishing, Totoma got dressed in his new, state-of-the-art armor, while Karine... heh, did not. Just as he finished, he felt... something? Like he was being called somewhere... to Earth? Yeah, that...

"Did you feel that?" he asked.

"Yeah..." replied Karine

Hm, this was weird. Karine had heard it too, but if they both answered the call, his mom wouldn't have anyone to lock onto to get back to the ship, so...

"...you probably know what I'm thinking." Between himself and Karine, he was the stronger, so it was best if he went. His mother could just pick him up once things were settled.

Karine nodded, stood up (yes!), walked over, and gave him a kiss (DOUBLE YES!). "Don't do anything reckless, Toto."

Totoma chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Hehe, don't worry, I'll be alright. No way I'll just up and die when I've got such a beautiful mate waiting for me. Anyway... up, up, and away!"

He accepted the summons and, instantly, disappeared from the ship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Totoma appeared right between Luop and the assembled group of Earth's defenders. He blinked and looked around, saw some of his, uh, friends... and allies. And some dude in some freaky-looking armor. He couldn't sense the guy's power, though... weird.

He leaped back, landing near the front of the group of Earth's defenders. "Hey guys, long time no see."

[Lord Falcon]

When Asha'rah received the broadcast, she swelled in appreciation of an enemy considerate enough to wait upon a tundra free from civilization for challengers to show. It gave her some time to prepare. She reached deep into her orbs, bringing them together to summon Tiangou. The dragon manifested before her, serpentine body the size of a mountain stretching this way and that, awakening from a nap.

Tiangou yawned.

"Hey Asha. Yeah, I heard the challenge too. Are we going there?"

Asha'rah shook her head, petted her dragon on the snout and flew up onto her head.

"Eventually Tiangou. But first," she said, pointing a finger upwards, "take me to the sun."

Main Plot


Asha'rah sat weightless in space, her legs crossed upon Tiangou's mane. Her arms were raised to the side and above her head, rather than resting upon her knees in her customary lotus posture. The nuclear fires of creation burned hot here, blanketing the area thick with photons and radiation. It was a prime place to draw energy from. So here she stayed, eyes closed, body bathed in light as her focus became one with the glory of creation around her. Through her inherent connection to creation, she siphoned energy into herself and through her palms, manifesting it as a massive ball above her head, as if a miniature sun of her own. The Kami Dama.

The Kami Dama was not suitable for pitched battle. It took several minutes of preparation to set up, during which Asha'rah remained completely defenseless. It was impossible to hide such a massive build up of energy, and the technique required too much concentratin for its user to multitask. She had developed the technique as a siege weapon, to throw down the walls of divine fortresses like Zeno's palace. But here, now, she had the time and the place of her enemy. And so she prepared.

After ten minutes, she was ready. The ball above her head swelled to a size almost as large as Tiangou herself. Gingerly sparing a hand to pet Tiangou's head, Asha'rah addressed her pet.

"Alright, time to make our entrance."

Tiangou grinned, squeeing in glee at the chance. The dragon carried her master and her payload with her, speeding her way towards Earth.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Passing by Parsley -- recently arrived from Otherworld -- the Oni grunted in her direction. "Welcome back."

Ishtar finally greeted her, offering her a - terse - welcome. She nodded once. That she was... sparing on graciousness could only mean that Sarada's condition was worse than she thought. Perhaps the battle was more strenuous than either anticipated, or maybe her condition was more sinister than she realized.

"It seems I have you to thank for my sudden and timely resurrection," she replied. "Thank you, Ishtar."

She thought about asking about her sister's condition, but felt it could wait. It wasn't important to the immediate task at hand or the battle to come, and more personally, she was afraid of what she was going to hear.

Totoma appeared right between Luop and the assembled group of Earth's defenders. He blinked and looked around, saw some of his, uh, friends... and allies. And some dude in some freaky-looking armor. He couldn't sense the guy's power, though... weird.

He leaped back, landing near the front of the group of Earth's defenders. "Hey guys, long time no see."

Tasure's son also answered the call to defend Earth from Luop. And the abom-... mut-... and he was much stronger than the last time she saw him. Which should have been... when they returned from Terra last year. Which meant he had picked up with his training.

Good.

Half-breeds were so difficult to goad into training. Many of them possessed some hidden talent that was beyond - regrettably - purebreds, so they preferred to coast on that rather than exercise it and become beyond anything their race had ever seen. Totoma was no different.

"Where's your mother?" she inquired, knowing full well that they would need Tasure's strength.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Ishtar finally greeted her, offering her a - terse - welcome. She nodded once. That she was... sparing on graciousness could only mean that Sarada's condition was worse than she thought. Perhaps the battle was more strenuous than either anticipated, or maybe her condition was more sinister than she realized.

"It seems I have you to thank for my sudden and timely resurrection," she replied. "Thank you, Ishtar."

She thought about asking about her sister's condition, but felt it could wait. It wasn't important to the immediate task at hand or the battle to come, and more personally, she was afraid of what she was going to hear.



Tasure's son also answered the call to defend Earth from Luop. And the abom-... mut-... and he was much stronger than the last time she saw him. Which should have been... when they returned from Terra last year. Which meant he had picked up with his training.

Good.

Half-breeds were so difficult to goad into training. Many of them possessed some hidden talent that was beyond - regrettably - purebreds, so they preferred to coast on that rather than exercise it and become beyond anything their race had ever seen. Totoma was no different.

"Where's your mother?" she inquired, knowing full well that they would need Tasure's strength.

Totoma glanced over at Parsley and smiled. "Ah, welcome back to the land of the living, Parsley." His tone was genuine... despite her views on halfbreeds, he didn't really bear her any ill will. Especially not after she'd helped defend the Earth before.

...more importantly, she'd gotten a lot more powerful. Like... just a powerful as his mother. Geez, she really was a prodigy, wasn't she? As for where his mother was...

"She's on Vocado, visiting Maiz. She popped out, then popped back in and dragged my dad there without saying anything," he said. He closed his eyes and reached out through his Kizuna, trying to sense them... and sense them he did, though their powers were very low at the moment. "Huh... both have somehow used up most of their energy. That's... weird."

Shaking his head, he assumed a fighting stance, his gaze locking on Luop. "Guess we're just gonna have to manage without her."

[Cyke]

“I cannot. I am honor bound to carry my Queen’s orders out. I have chosen this place to lessen innocent casualties to nothing. Nor did I simply raze the planet from orbit as I could have. Honor demands I give Earth it’s fair chance.”

The weapon begins drawing energy from the icy surroundings.

Totoma appeared right between Luop and the assembled group of Earth's defenders. He blinked and looked around, saw some of his, uh, friends... and allies. And some dude in some freaky-looking armor. He couldn't sense the guy's power, though... weird.

He leaped back, landing near the front of the group of Earth's defenders. "Hey guys, long time no see."

Ishtar finally greeted her, offering her a - terse - welcome. She nodded once. That she was... sparing on graciousness could only mean that Sarada's condition was worse than she thought. Perhaps the battle was more strenuous than either anticipated, or maybe her condition was more sinister than she realized.



"It seems I have you to thank for my sudden and timely resurrection," she replied. "Thank you, Ishtar."

She thought about asking about her sister's condition, but felt it could wait. It wasn't important to the immediate task at hand or the battle to come, and more personally, she was afraid of what she was going to hear.



Tasure's son also answered the call to defend Earth from Luop. And the abom-... mut-... and he was much stronger than the last time she saw him. Which should have been... when they returned from Terra last year. Which meant he had picked up with his training.

Good.

Half-breeds were so difficult to goad into training. Many of them possessed some hidden talent that was beyond - regrettably - purebreds, so they preferred to coast on that rather than exercise it and become beyond anything their race had ever seen. Totoma was no different.

"Where's your mother?" she inquired, knowing full well that they would need Tasure's strength.

A white comet flies just a tad over the others, then dissipates with a soft explosion of powering down, enough for a gust of wind but nothing else. When the white energy fades away, Zaofan emerges and drops down to the collective, landing lightly on his toes.

"Totoma! Ishtar! Parsley!" he greets them warmly as he lands. "You know, with all these high power levels, ki sensing is like turning on a searchlight in a dark closet!"

His smile slowly fades as he turns around to face Luop in all his armored glory.

"Except..."

He begins to inspect the Threshling who summoned them all here in the first place. "...I'm sensing nothing from him. That's not a good sign, is it? Well, what with all your weapons and such, I figured I should bring one of the old classics! BOOOOJACK!"

Extending his hand outward and popping a capsule, his trusty, dependable Katchin bo-staff Bojack emerges from the smoke. He twirls it back and forth in a figure 8 before drawing it to the ready.

[KingofPie]

As Sasheem flew off in the direction given to him by the mysterious invader, he sensed two familiar ki signatures. Chuckling to himself, the Majin figured he'd say hello, using Mamba Boost to increase his flight speed.

"OCHAZUKE!" he would hear from the distance. Zaofan arcs in from above and speeds up to match a parallel course, joining him in mid-flight, white aura flailing about while he maintains his course. "So, you heard the summon, too, apparently! I should've known you'd never be one to turn down a challenge! Threshlings cause no end to trouble, am I right?" he says in jest, happy to see his martial brother. "Once more unto the breach, dear friend!"

The world rolled over the horizon, and on the course to answer Threshling summons Ochazuke found better company than he could hope for. He turned his head with a small smile before further picking up speed towards that grim vision before them.

"This one is kindred the the few we know," he answered Zaofan, "but still, it seems the ill intent of Auroc's people is the same as ever."

The last he saw of him after the Hokuto Shin Ken master had fled, he had been out of sorts. Now under the precipice of action Zaofan's elated spirits for the moment lifted his dour mood. "Seems they didn't understand our message, for they still seek to convert our world. 'but when the blast of war blows in our ears'..."

...imitate the action of the Tiger.

"...heh, seems the responsibility of the Legacy is at hand again, and so we have our duty ahead of us."

"Look what we have here...," Sasheem greets the two of them with a smug smile, swiftly flying above them, his arms folded. "Three sworn brethren charging in to defend the Earth. You two ready to get this party started?" the Majin asked of them.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Tuffles again... feh. While they had every right to be angry about all that happened, what they had done was nothing more than continuing that cycle of... mistakes. Had they simply asked, the Saiyans they had killed would have bent over backwards to accommodate them. And to hear that the Arcosians, in some way, had been backing that attack... Tasure wasn't surprised. There had been bad blood between their people for thousands of years...

In more positive news, it seemed that Maiz was adjusting well to her new position. Good, good.... even if she was getting up there in years, she was still as mentally spry as she ever was--definitely the right person for the job. Still, in a way, Tasure entertained the thought that her friend's new position might be a double-edged sword... she was a Guardian, meant to safeguard her people, and yet recent events--the tuffle attack, Sarada's assassination attempt--no doubt weighed heavily on her mind, the latter especially. There was little she could do about that, however, save offer some empty words.

As for Totoma... "He's doing well. I've been focusing on improving his skill level, rather than power level, for the past year, and he's actually become a more well-rounded fighter. More importantly, he's actually training instead of coasting by on natural talent, though I would prefer he train more, but... ahh, some training is better than no training, and he's a halfbreed, and you know how they are." She of course meant their... comparative lack of diligence when it came to training, as well as the undeniable fact that halfbreeds could afford to train a bit less, given how quickly they could grow in power.

Bekon, meanwhile, had sat himself down on a nearby chair and... fallen asleep, evidently exhausted from the exertion of making that potion. Tasure gave him a sidelong glance and, ever so slightly, grinned. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Maiz.

"I'd like any information you have on these guys, so I can keep an eye out for them. If I were to run into one of 'em, would you prefer 'em in one or many pieces?" In other words... dead or alive.

Totoma was focusing on his skill rather than simply boosting his power. That was good. Many so-called warriors felt that power and physical strength was all one needed, but it went to pieces when the right technique was applied. Skill, on the other hand, could never be taken, no matter how badly injured a warrior became. "Good. I'm glad he's focusing on the more subtle aspects of combat. That will make him more well-rounded."

Maiz was about to reply when there was a sudden and very loud uproar outside. "What the hell?" Millions of power levels appeared out of nowhere. Before her heart could jump into her throat, they were Saiyan energies. "Ah. Then the wishes have been made." She allowed herself to smile for the first time in days. She even felt her wayward ward, Parsley, for a brief moment before the girl vanished.

That smile dimmed just slightly. I'm sure she had a good reason.

"Ah, yes. I can get you the information on Blizz. What little there is anyway. He's a reclusive little bastard."

[KingofPie]

Blizzar stood in front of a monitor currently displaying footage of Luop speaking to Earth's fighters, via the Earth defense drones. It appeared that engagement was about to start at any moment. Whatever magical incantation that had surrounded Luop's ship had caused a slight delay in the Drone's feed. A problem he'd hoped would soon repair itself. For now, the Galaxy Police would remain on standby, intervening only if Earth's Fighters were in dire need of aid.

But the fact that the drone's built in scanners could not get a read on this Threshling's power level was...deeply troubling to Blizzar. Hopefully, it was only a matter of time before the drone's learned to bypass defenses such as hidden power levels.

for Kingofpie

Lieutenant Stratovarius goes to talk to Lieutenant Blizzar saying " hey Blizzar did you catch the news ." " a group of archeologists discover the ruins of the Kingdom of Zerxes on Planet Dune in the West Galaxy." " meaning that the fable kingdom of Zerxes will did exist ." " it wasn't just a myth." " they say that the ruins are over 900,000 years old." "oh apparently there's also this mural for this ancient evil being on the planet , and the writing on the mural refers to this being as Nyarlathotep The Crawling Chaos."


" I heard the name Nyarlathotep before but it was Nyarlathotep The Wicked not Nyarlathotep the Crawling Chaos."

Blizzar turned from the to look at his fellow lieutenant, "I...there's a...No," he stated eventually. "I cannot say I've caught any of that, no. But it sounds truly horrible. Let's hope the West Galaxy GP can keep a lid on it, eh?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Totoma glanced over at Parsley and smiled. "Ah, welcome back to the land of the living, {arsley." His tone was genuine... despite her views on halfbreeds, he didn't really bear her any ill will. Especially not after she'd helped defend the Earth before.

...more importantly, she'd gotten a lot more powerful. Like... just a powerful as his mother. Geez, she really was a prodigy, wasn't she? As for where his mother was...

"She's on Vocado, visiting Maiz. She popped out, then popped back in and dragged my dad there without saying anything," he said. He closed his eyes and reached out through his Kizuna, trying to sense them... and sense them he did, though their powers were very low at the moment. "Huh... both have somehow used up most of their energy. That's... weird."

Shaking his head, he assumed a fighting stance, his gaze locking on Luop. "Guess we're just gonna have to manage without her."

*sigh* I suppose I'll have to get used to hearing that until everyone who at least knows of me has offered their welcome. Not that she didn't mind, but she knew well in advance that it was going to get tiresome after a while.

At least it would until she came to grips with it herself.

"I see," she replied when told Tasure was on Vocado with Maiz. It was just as well that she left when she did. As someone who very plainly said she'd kill her if Parsley won the crown, Tasure was likely happy that Parsley was dead. Far be it for her to ruin the woman's happiness.

"Very well. Just be aware of his -"

A white comet flies just a tad over the others, then dissipates with a soft explosion of powering down, enough for a gust of wind but nothing else. When the white energy fades away, Zaofan emerges and drops down to the collective, landing lightly on his toes.

"Totoma! Ishtar! Parsley!" he greets them warmly as he lands. "You know, with all these high power levels, ki sensing is like turning on a searchlight in a dark closet!"

His smile slowly fades as he turns around to face Luop in all his armored glory.

"Except..."

He begins to inspect the Threshling who summoned them all here in the first place. "...I'm sensing nothing from him. That's not a good sign, is it? Well, what with all your weapons and such, I figured I should bring one of the old classics! BOOOOJACK!"

Extending his hand outward and popping a capsule, his trusty, dependable Katchin bo-staff Bojack emerges from the smoke. He twirls it back and forth in a figure 8 before drawing it to the ready.

Ah! Her favorite human, perhaps the person she missed the most after her sister and lover, arrived. "Zaofan!" she greeted before scaling her enthusiasm back. "It's very good to see you again."

She cleared her throat, getting the inevitable cherry pie she had in her near future out of her mind so she couldn't start drooling. "As I was saying, his glaive is magical, as is his armor. I posit that's the reason why we can't sense his power. Also, he's drawing energy from the surroundings."