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

[Tami]

The sword digs in deep, but before it can cut too far her skin hardens against the sharp end of the blade while nanocites close the cut behind it......though not before the briefest burst of underlying energy escapes the wound.

Inky blackness, void energy in a form not native to this universe....neither solid, nor liquid nor gas. If one were to examine the next micosecond of time...they would witness a strange death indeed. A foreign element, introduced to a place it shouldn't exist....suddenly under the whim of a thousand laws the void was no part of, the universe attempting to force definition upon it....cycling through a thousand states, a million states.....

.....and then finally, collapsing under the weight of creation.

In that moment before annihilation, the voidling grasped Kenbos sword with on hand and reached back...grasping his arm with the other. Then....she void stepped, pulling him as well, and appearing on the other side of the arena as the small puff of void com busted into a sphere of annihilation that expanded and then collapsed in an instant....leaving a sphere of empty space that had carved out a quarter of the arena and extended out into the first row of the spectators stands, utterly obliterating a small section for people who had, rather unfortunately, paid top dollar for the front row.

..........and proceeding on with the spectators lack of luck, the vacuum created by the sudden removal of everything within a small sphere of existence ended up pulling all but the most staltward of souls and those in the very back row, sending the lot of them flying or tumbling forward in a devastating mess of chairs, food, debree and bodies.

A balding man in the back of the arena also dropped his popcorn.

Though the two were even closer, Cthylla had braced for the impending explosion...and in a way her grasp on Kenbo, if not for his own strength as a fighter, had kept the two from being pulled in by the time the air finally calmed.

"......" Cthylla glanced at the devastation, then turned her attention to Kenbo and the sword still lodged in her side....and as well as her firm grip on his arm. In the moment, she had teleported both her and him, rather then just having moved herself.

If Kenbo could sense the aura put off by the voidling, he might....in one of the few rares cases....experience what it was like to see a voiding express embarrassment.

"My apologies....I had forgotten I was attempting to kill you." The Voidling proclaimed. "...I'll rectify that no...."

In the next moment, the skin around the blade hardened and gripped the sword tight...void nanomachines beginning to erode the blade where it contacted her skin while Kenbo felt something start draining his power from where the voidling had gripped his arm.

---

Voida-cite Infection Stage 1
-10% PL

The shock of it nearly hit Meagan like a landslide. Shaking it off, she tried to calm her racing pulse as she silently cursed under her breath. She did not think Cthylla would be so reckless.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The sword digs in deep, but before it can cut too far her skin hardens against the sharp end of the blade while nanocites close the cut behind it......though not before the briefest burst of underlying energy escapes the wound.

Inky blackness, void energy in a form not native to this universe....neither solid, nor liquid nor gas. If one were to examine the next micosecond of time...they would witness a strange death indeed. A foreign element, introduced to a place it shouldn't exist....suddenly under the whim of a thousand laws the void was no part of, the universe attempting to force definition upon it....cycling through a thousand states, a million states.....

.....and then finally, collapsing under the weight of creation.

In that moment before annihilation, the voidling grasped Kenbos sword with on hand and reached back...grasping his arm with the other. Then....she void stepped, pulling him as well, and appearing on the other side of the arena as the small puff of void com busted into a sphere of annihilation that expanded and then collapsed in an instant....leaving a sphere of empty space that had carved out a quarter of the arena and extended out into the first row of the spectators stands, utterly obliterating a small section for people who had, rather unfortunately, paid top dollar for the front row.

..........and proceeding on with the spectators lack of luck, the vacuum created by the sudden removal of everything within a small sphere of existence ended up pulling all but the most staltward of souls and those in the very back row, sending the lot of them flying or tumbling forward in a devastating mess of chairs, food, debree and bodies.

A balding man in the back of the arena also dropped his popcorn.

Though the two were even closer, Cthylla had braced for the impending explosion...and in a way her grasp on Kenbo, if not for his own strength as a fighter, had kept the two from being pulled in by the time the air finally calmed.

"......" Cthylla glanced at the devastation, then turned her attention to Kenbo and the sword still lodged in her side....and as well as her firm grip on his arm. In the moment, she had teleported both her and him, rather then just having moved herself.

If Kenbo could sense the aura put off by the voidling, he might....in one of the few rares cases....experience what it was like to see a voiding express embarrassment.

"My apologies....I had forgotten I was attempting to kill you." The Voidling proclaimed. "...I'll rectify that no...."

In the next moment, the skin around the blade hardened and gripped the sword tight...void nanomachines beginning to erode the blade where it contacted her skin while Kenbo felt something start draining his power from where the voidling had gripped his arm.

---

Voida-cite Infection Stage 1
-10% PL

Kenbo’s eyes glow.

“I see. Life has little meaning to you, creature. I suppose the Void cares little.”

A strange thing happens.

A gem, unnoticed up to this point, pulses in the hilt of the blade and time suddenly warps for those in the arena and those in the stands that were just killed. Time reversed back to when he landed the blow against her side, and instead of slicing her he turns the blade flatside and bats her aside. The memory of what happened, however, remains to all.

The gem on his sword goes a bit darker.

He lowers the blade, point towards her.

“Time alone is judge and jury of us all. You cannot defeat it.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"An Incenio, I guess." Held said with a sigh. He had managed to recover a fair bit, but the fatigue was deep. "It's going to be a long day if we really decide to bother with three of them."

Or if this Char woman is more than just an egotist....




"Now that I think about it, I do have to ask...What's everyone's plan here?" He inquired, looking to all those assembled, "Chris, technically this is the end of your mandate, isn't it? You wanted to find the missing, and we've found them."

He looked at Eonoki, before glancing at the dismembered Namekian and Nevadian, "One way or another, at least....I can guess Eonoki is pissed, and Tanaki probably has this kind of thing in her job description."

He paused, before looking at the Promethean, "How do you know Incenio again? I can't entirely figure out what your role in all this was, aside from being next on his meal course."

...For that matter, do we really have to push it this far? I dislike Incenio as much as I've disliked anyone in ages...But killing two of him, and his whole crew, to get to the jewel? Assuming it's even that easy, it seems exhausting....Then again....He's already done so much damage to this universe I couldn't sleep well knowing we didn't do something more....

Chronal sighs.

“I was the one who manipulated the temporal rift and placed it within the gemstone. It’s a speciality of mine, temporal studies. Incenio stole the gem from me and took me to...harvest my knowledge.”

Chris looks at Samson before answering.

“Well, Samson and the others won’t let this bastard go now that we have the truth. Seems I have no choice but to help.”

Balon nods, grinning a grin smile.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Please..." Blizzar scoffed. "The bloody psychopath was undone when he was nearly atomized and scattered into unrecognible chunks of flesh thanks to our collective efforts."

Blizzar turned towards the remains. "Speaking of which..." he blasted turned them apart too. "Can't be too careful dealing with this one."

He turned to look at Chris and Samson. "No point in dallying around for too long. We have two more Incenio's to take care of and fifty of his cloned guards now that we have access to all three floors. Though, if you don't nind, I'd like to make a couple of stops before I join the rest of you."

“We took out about fifteen of his guards. They are unconscious and bound by their own Ki binders upstairs.” Samson tells him.

[KingofPie]

Chronal sighs.

“I was the one who manipulated the temporal rift and placed it within the gemstone. It’s a speciality of mine, temporal studies. Incenio stole the gem from me and took me to...harvest my knowledge.”

Chris looks at Samson before answering.

“Well, Samson and the others won’t let this bastard go now that we have the truth. Seems I have no choice but to help.”

Balon nods, grinning a grin smile.

“We took out about fifteen of his guards. They are unconscious and bound by their own Ki binders upstairs.” Samson tells him.

"You...manipulated temporal rifts?" Blizzar inquired of Chronal, the knowledge of where Chris and Samson had been and how many guards they had defeated gave him quite the interesting idea. "This concept is quite far beyond my understanding, but...how and why would you do such a thing?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Meanwhile, Incenio, watching what just happened, actually seems....aroused? Interested? Something in his eye is...hungry.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"You...manipulated temporal rifts?" Blizzar inquired. "This concept is quite far beyond my understanding, but...how and why would you do such a thing?"

“Because it was the only thing that survived my homeworld’s destruction and I was studying how and why. Incenio found out.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Meanwhile, Incenio, watching what just happened, actually seems....aroused? Interested? Something in his eye is...hungry.

Sarada was highly disturbed when she saw Incenio's face. It looked like, for a brief second, that he was creaming his shorts, or perhaps was eyeing the last pot roast that had just been taken out of the oven and was dripping with so many succulent juices and delectable sauces...

Mmm

Focus!

What the hell?

She turned around. The damage was undone thanks to Kenbo, but the memory of that explosion was seared onto her memory.

I have no idea what the fuck is going on with that thing, she thought, utterly confused by what Cthylla was all about. I guess I need to talk to her. Great.

[Tami]

Sorry about the delay, all.


IC:

Group trapped in the underground lab:

Eventually, after several minutes, the elevator door ‘pings’ open and Chris and Samson walk out. Chris looks battered and bruised up, but Samson seems perfectly fine as die from a small cut on his cheek.


“Well, we can access all three levels now. Improvements, all. I gather the scattered bits over there is Incenio?” Chris asks.

———

Time jump, tournament floor, speeding things up for everyone (as I did before hand):

Cthylla and Kenbo are called to stage. The samurai looks her over and nods.

“This will be....testing.”

He draws his blade.

———

Incenio smiles from a distance, keeping an eye on Meagan and Sarada while also watching the fights.

———

Under the mountain:

Dash and Cyanna eventually find a blue meterorite, pulsing quietly with energy.

———

On the Lookout, Zurvan and Jinzi are observing the tournament fights in the other Timeline. Alt Zaofan, Pike, and Anula are quietly speaking together while Kai and Eva are quickly repairing any damage to the Lookout from the previous battle.

Nunlil and Jack appear to have disappeared off together to spar, and Chuan is meditating over a data pad he found on Alien anatomy.

"So, uh, what do we do now?" Cyanna asked Dash.

Shrugging her shoulders, "Dunno, guess we need to let Jinzi know." Dash then pulls out a communication device and turns it on, "Mr. Pantaloon, can you read me? It's Dash, ah think we found what you were looking for."

[KingofPie]

“Because it was the only thing that survived my homeworld’s destruction and I was studying how and why. Incenio found out.”

Blizzar sighed. "My kinsman appears to be more trouble than he's worth," Blizzar sighed. Incenio having any sort of knowledge on temporal anomalies was troubling. Any misstep in dealing with him could lead to Incenio ceasing to be this timeline's problem and growing into a inter-temporal menace. How fortuitous they arrived when they did. The sooner they could put an end to him the better.

Blizzar turned back to Chris and Balon. "Do you happen to know where Incenio's office is located?" He asked.

[MrSandman]

Kenbo’s eyes glow.

“I see. Life has little meaning to you, creature. I suppose the Void cares little.”

A strange thing happens.

A gem, unnoticed up to this point, pulses in the hilt of the blade and time suddenly warps for those in the arena and those in the stands that were just killed. Time reversed back to when he landed the blow against her side, and instead of slicing her he turns the blade flatside and bats her aside. The memory of what happened, however, remains to all.

The gem on his sword goes a bit darker.

He lowers the blade, point towards her.

“Time alone is judge and jury of us all. You cannot defeat it.”

"The Void is empty of such conceptual limitations.....time can no more judge me then any spherian." Cthylla regained her balance and landed gracefully on the ground. "This body however.....I'll not deny has posed its limitation. Limitations can be bypassed however....that is your goal is it not."

With a casual glance at the restored crowd, she continued. ".....you are correct however, the void cares little......that does not mean however, that I do not. You speak me of me as if I am but the sum of my creation, but I am not......and neither should you, Spawn of the Doctor."

The voidling gaze never breaks, but high overhead....the pole star vortex blast she had fried before the time loop had returned to its prior position and was close to impacting the barrier wall. Instead, the voidling redirected in with a narrow void hole to focus fire i up from the ground...directly below Kenbos sword hand.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"An Incenio, I guess." Held said with a sigh. He had managed to recover a fair bit, but the fatigue was deep. "It's going to be a long day if we really decide to bother with three of them."

Or if this Char woman is more than just an egotist....




"Now that I think about it, I do have to ask...What's everyone's plan here?" He inquired, looking to all those assembled, "Chris, technically this is the end of your mandate, isn't it? You wanted to find the missing, and we've found them."

He looked at Eonoki, before glancing at the dismembered Namekian and Nevadian, "One way or another, at least....I can guess Eonoki is pissed, and Tanaki probably has this kind of thing in her job description."

He paused, before looking at the Promethean, "How do you know Incenio again? I can't entirely figure out what your role in all this was, aside from being next on his meal course."

...For that matter, do we really have to push it this far? I dislike Incenio as much as I've disliked anyone in ages...But killing two of him, and his whole crew, to get to the jewel? Assuming it's even that easy, it seems exhausting....Then again....He's already done so much damage to this universe I couldn't sleep well knowing we didn't do something more....

Althena remains calm and stands by her monk like beliefs ," Yes and his karma lead to that. karma is all around us , it is the sum of our actions. It is a law of nature, and one's own fate is the result of one's own karma. Our mission is to get the gem , but we must remain calm and steadfast," Althena said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Blizzar sighed. "My kinsman appears to be more trouble than he's worth," Blizzar sighed. Incenio having any sort of knowledge on temporal anomalies was troubling. Any misstep in dealing with him could lead to Incenio ceasing to be this timeline's problem and growing into a inter-temporal menace. How fortuitous they arrived when they did. The sooner they could put an end to him the better.

Blizzar turned back to Chris and Balon. "Do you happen to know where Incenio's office is located?" He asked.

“In the casino proper. I can get you there if we can get out of this l.....”

Tanaki had walked over to the elevator and was tapping at the controls. She pulls out some sort of device and after attaching it to the controls, backs away with a satisfied grin. Some sort of countdown was happening with the device.

“Be ready. We’ll be out of here in five seconds. Hold on to your lunch.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"The Void is empty of such conceptual limitations.....time can no more judge me then any spherian." Cthylla regained her balance and landed gracefully on the ground. "This body however.....I'll not deny has posed its limitation. Limitations can be bypassed however....that is your goal is it not."

With a casual glance at the restored crowd, she continued. ".....you are correct however, the void cares little......that does not mean however, that I do not. You speak me of me as if I am but the sum of my creation, but I am not......and neither should you, Spawn of the Doctor."

The voidling gaze never breaks, but high overhead....the pole star vortex blast she had fried before the time loop had returned to its prior position and was close to impacting the barrier wall. Instead, the voidling redirected in with a narrow void hole to focus fire i up from the ground...directly below Kenbos sword hand.

Kenbo reacts preternaturally fast, hand moving just out of the way enough that the blasts miss.

“I seek to be more, yes, but even I accept the limitations of reality. You fight a match you cannot win.”

He plunges the sword tip into the arena and carves a mark into it.

“Time consumes all, and when the light fades from the last star and Time has had its fill, the Void will have nothing left to lust and seek after. And without us, the Void has no meaning. Without us, you are nothing, voidling.”

He then pops the sword out if the arena ground and tosses it into the floor outside the arena, point down, where it plants itself firmly.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"So, uh, what do we do now?" Cyanna asked Dash.

Shrugging her shoulders, "Dunno, guess we need to let Jinzi know." Dash then pulls out a communication device and turns it on, "Mr. Pantaloon, can you read me? It's Dash, ah think we found what you were looking for."

Afte a moment he responds.

“Excellent! What did you find?”