Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[Eternal Torment]

Ishtar had noticed the boy was uncomfortable, and his hand on her shoulder now; she realized that had not changed. One could only guess at the- obvious- reason.

"If you wish it, Chuan." The Oni replied simply.

Chuan closed his eyes and inclined his head.

"Thanks. I'm... The air needs to be cleared. And I do have a few questions."

More than a few, really. But that would come at a more convenient time.

The question had such a simple answer that Sarada felt insulted that Chuan even felt the need to voice it. "It's obvious. We keep training, get stronger, and learn to fight together." And learn how to not kill each other, but that was left unsaid.

"Easy to say, but not everything is power against power. That mind whammy incident with Chou is proof of that. Not all of their attempts at taking us out will be a clear cut fight. Can we even find ways to counter things that we have no idea about?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Zaofan nodded his head, at first as a yes, then as a no, then as a yes again. "That's true, but this place probably isn't big enough for a dozen of us to train on, right? Plus, how long is your list of opponents among us anyway, Sarada?"

And then he offered a sly grin. "And is there room for one more?"

Zaofan caught himself, back to attention "That is, we have four days left before the mission. We should try to maximize our training as much as possible. Yup yup yup."

Sarada looked up at the sky as Zaofan spoke. "Let's see. Jack, Mutt, Team-Killer, Charco, Ishtar, her 'cousin'," and of course, Sarada intended on 'sparring' with Ninlil at another point, "Held, Adam, aaaaaaand I think that's it."

When he offered to add his name to her list, she grinned. "I don't know. Will you be wearing that cape?"

"Easy to say, but not everything is power against power. That mind whammy incident with Chou is proof of that. Not all of their attempts at taking us out will be a clear cut fight. Can we even find ways to counter things that we have no idea about?"

"We don't have a choice," she intoned. Whether it was in a straight-up fight, or by some means of esoteric trickery, whatever assault that befell them would have to be turned away quickly. If they didn't, the fate of this world would fall by the wayside. "Either we do, or your planet dies. This just means we'll have to prepare for every eventuality. Telepathic attacks, abilities that can drain ki, abilities that can bypass our natural defenses and attack our souls, and so on."

[Cyke]

Sarada looked up at the sky as Zaofan spoke. "Let's see. Jack, Mutt, Team-Killer, Charco, Ishtar, her 'cousin'," and of course, Sarada intended on 'sparring' with Ninlil at another point, "Held, Adam, aaaaaaand I think that's it."

When he offered to add his name to her list, she grinned. "I don't know. Will you be wearing that cape?"

Zaofan couldn't help himself but give a coy smirk. "Oh, this little thing?"



"It's a little heavy, I admit. But it stays on. For training purposes."

[The Chou Lives]

: Heard the Team Killer remark, rolls his eyes. As he was listening to all that went down:

[MrSandman]

Sasheem through one last Samehada, aimed directly at the worm's head. Next step was getting out of here...Sasheem had an idea...

He raised his antennae and zapped his Majin Lightning upon the large piles of garbage littered throughout the area, turning them into a large pile of...Poppin' Rock Candy. He then shot a blast at a chunk of worm guts strewn about and turned it into...a large can of cola, about three feet taller than the Majin himself, which he proceeded to shake, open and douse all over the pile of Poppin Rocks.

Leaping back, waiting for the chain reaction to take place Sasheem quickly barricaded himself in his toilet...

Neatly bisected, the worms head split apart just as momentum carried it up to Sasheems toilet. With no other danger in sight beyond the immediate destruction, Sasheem was free now to put his pop rock plan into motion.

Protected neatly in his toilet, the sizzling of pop rocks drowned out the arrival of the man he had met earlier ashe break the mushroom treeline, carrying a box and a bag of supplies. "Gud Gravy what the heck is going on...." Cornelius eyed the toilet slamming shut among the pile of pop rocks, the bisected worm and the village-within-a-villager now attempting to roll its away to safety. "....Hey...HEY! Hold up ya little throne jockey! That's a load bearin monster ya snuffed there! Don't think your gonna cause a mess and leave a guy hangin!"

With the cover closed, Sasheem did not witness the figure rush the distance between them, batting the village ball causally on his way and leaping upon the toilet lid just in time for...

A bunch of pop rocks on the ground to sizzle and pop ineffectually.

Amiss the rumbling there was an awkward silence between the two before Cornelius taps the top of the lid. ".....hey........you know.......I don't think pop rocks are anywhere near as bad as yer thin..

The ground under them erupted before he could finish, throwing both the toilet and cornelius skyward, the latter hanging off by the handle.

Below, the garbage moon split apart....tore apart from the inside by the death throes of a dying worm.

"Yes, but I don't think the others... well, mostly Mr. Pantaloons and Kami, but several others as well, don't exactly like that you put Sasheem in 'time out' the way you did." Midori said.

"Why other judge Erosa....Erosa only did what thought Green bot wanted." Erosa responded, looking at the floor. "Green bot judge Erosa too right....It ok. If you turn around....I make everything way it was. Then you no have to be mad right? Go back to way was before?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Chuan closed his eyes and inclined his head.

"Thanks. I'm... The air needs to be cleared. And I do have a few questions."

More than a few, really. But that would come at a more convenient time.

The Oni was not sure what air there was that needed to be cleared, but Ishtar nodded all the same. "Ask your questions whenever, I will answer them to the best of my ability."

"Easy to say, but not everything is power against power. That mind whammy incident with Chou is proof of that. Not all of their attempts at taking us out will be a clear cut fight. Can we even find ways to counter things that we have no idea about?"

"We don't have a choice," she intoned. Whether it was in a straight-up fight, or by some means of esoteric trickery, whatever assault that befell them would have to be turned away quickly. If they didn't, the fate of this world would fall by the wayside. "Either we do, or your planet dies. This just means we'll have to prepare for every eventuality. Telepathic attacks, abilities that can drain ki, abilities that can bypass our natural defenses and attack our souls, and so on."

"The incident with ... Chou, is proof of what ?" Ishtar asked, casually. "That a weak mind can succumb to the will of another." The Oni answered just as casually. "The course then should be clear; and is as Sarada says. Learn what one can, and prepare for the same. When the time comes it should not matter what they can do, but what you will allow them to do." The will to act, and press forward despite opposition was in a way, stronger than the power itself. A fact that had been proven twice in as many days.

[Eternal Torment]

Sarada looked up at the sky as Zaofan spoke. "Let's see. Jack, Mutt, Team-Killer, Charco, Ishtar, her 'cousin'," and of course, Sarada intended on 'sparring' with Ninlil at another point, "Held, Adam, aaaaaaand I think that's it."

When he offered to add his name to her list, she grinned. "I don't know. Will you be wearing that cape?"

Chuan winced at that earlier remark, looking to Chou for a brief moment before turning back to Sarada.

"Hey, look. It wasn't his fault. I know I had my ill thoughts as well, but I've accepted that the mind whammy was something none of us could've expected. Chou doesn't deserve the hate he's getting."

"We don't have a choice," she intoned. Whether it was in a straight-up fight, or by some means of esoteric trickery, whatever assault that befell them would have to be turned away quickly. If they didn't, the fate of this world would fall by the wayside. "Either we do, or your planet dies. This just means we'll have to prepare for every eventuality. Telepathic attacks, abilities that can drain ki, abilities that can bypass our natural defenses and attack our souls, and so on."

"The incident with ... Chou, is proof of what ?" Ishtar asked, casually. "That a weak mind can succumb to the will of another." The Oni answered just as casually. "The course then should be clear; and is as Sarada says. Learn what one can, and prepare for the same. When the time comes it should not matter what they can do, but what you will allow them to do." The will to act, and press forward despite opposition was in a way, stronger than the power itself. A fact that had been proven twice in as many days.

He did agree with the point about preparation, though. Was there anything they could do about it?

"Who could teach us everything we need to beware of? Kami's still recovering, so she'll be out of business for a while."

[The Chou Lives]

“ Thank you Chuan but it’s okay. Was born a monster, used to the hate.”

: Felt bad about what happened, honestly did. All of it.:

[The Dog]

"Why other judge Erosa....Erosa only did what thought Green bot wanted." Erosa responded, looking at the floor. "Green bot judge Erosa too right....It ok. If you turn around....I make everything way it was. Then you no have to be mad right? Go back to way was before?"

"I'm not mad, Erosa, I promise. I know you did what you thought I wanted, so this is as much my fault as your's, so don't think I'm judging you over this or am mad, because I'm not." Midori said with a comforting smile.

"And that'd be perfect, let's make everything the way it was before. And don't worry, because I'm Sasheem will do something to make everyone forget this happened out of being mad at him for it." she added before turning around to allow Erosa to do whatever it was she was planning.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

He did agree with the point about preparation, though. Was there anything they could do about it?

"Who could teach us everything we need to beware of? Kami's still recovering, so she'll be out of business for a while."

"The group at large is varied in their areas of competence. Of note there is at least one telepath that could teach defense." The Oni replied. Slak, to her knowledge was the one who had freed Chou from Fife's manipulations. Perhaps that could be shared with others.

"What's more, I believe the intent of some of the lessons was to foster relationships between those assembled. Perhaps today would be the day to start?" Ishtar pointed out gently.

[rhyvurg]

Sarada looked up at the sky as Zaofan spoke. "Let's see. Jack, Mutt, Team-Killer, Charco, Ishtar, her 'cousin'," and of course, Sarada intended on 'sparring' with Ninlil at another point, "Held, Adam, aaaaaaand I think that's it."

"You comported yourself admirably on our first encounter, and we have both grown since then. I look forward to another test."

[KingofPie]

Neatly bisected, the worms head split apart just as momentum carried it up to Sasheems toilet. With no other danger in sight beyond the immediate destruction, Sasheem was free now to put his pop rock plan into motion.

Protected neatly in his toilet, the sizzling of pop rocks drowned out the arrival of the man he had met earlier ashe break the mushroom treeline, carrying a box and a bag of supplies. "Gud Gravy what the heck is going on...." Cornelius eyed the toilet slamming shut among the pile of pop rocks, the bisected worm and the village-within-a-villager now attempting to roll its away to safety. "....Hey...HEY! Hold up ya little throne jockey! That's a load bearin monster ya snuffed there! Don't think your gonna cause a mess and leave a guy hangin!"

With the cover closed, Sasheem did not witness the figure rush the distance between them, batting the village ball causally on his way and leaping upon the toilet lid just in time for...

A bunch of pop rocks on the ground to sizzle and pop ineffectually.

Amiss the rumbling there was an awkward silence between the two before Cornelius taps the top of the lid. ".....hey........you know.......I don't think pop rocks are anywhere near as bad as yer thin..

The ground under them erupted before he could finish, throwing both the toilet and cornelius skyward, the latter hanging off by the handle.

Below, the garbage moon split apart....tore apart from the inside by the death throes of a dying worm.

"Grah!" Sasheem muttered, contemplating throwing the old man off, but ultimately deciding not too in case he lose any momentum in doing so.

[MrSandman]

"I'm not mad, Erosa, I promise. I know you did what you thought I wanted, so this is as much my fault as your's, so don't think I'm judging you over this or am mad, because I'm not." Midori said with a comforting smile.

"And that'd be perfect, let's make everything the way it was before. And don't worry, because I'm Sasheem will do something to make everyone forget this happened out of being mad at him for it." she added before turning around to allow Erosa to do whatever it was she was planning.

"Grah!" Sasheem muttered, contemplating throwing the old man off, but ultimately deciding not too in case he lose any momentum in doing so.

"Green bot nice.....stay friend..." Erosa answered and then she did her magic.

-----

Both Sasheem and Cornelius saw a bright light twinkle into existence ahead of them, growing as it approached them. Before either take any action the light enveloped them...

-----

....And both found themselves violently projectile spat back into the interior of the airship. Sasheems toilet bouncing off the floor while the man landed in a head against the far wall. "OH...OW........owowow......that smarts....."

[The Chou Lives]

“ Err what kind of training will we be doing here? We need something more than a random cameo in which we all group on. Like divide us into teams and we build team building that way. Or something else?”

Ooc: I picture Erosas mouth like Pennywise from the remade It with Deadlifhts. Doing mouth magic.

[KamenRaida]

The moment of hubris was a small victory over the grounded Koorimaru, But to Ochazuke it appeared that the damage had been done. As his opponent was brought low in this reversal of fortune, he'd summarily shed all pretensions and revealed his true face, channelling his unrestrained wrath into a full, unrestrained display of his power.

Fear, as ever, was the death of pride.

It was then that Ochazuke realized he had no time to let loose another Dodonpa. His sight had discerned the beams Koorimaru had loosed through the Death Drones were with a modicum of effort, enough to slash a clearing through a forest and emblazen the earth. He wouldn't have the time to counter Koorimaru directly and at this full-charge expanse; he would be at a disadvantage if he'd press his a diminished attack against this extension of violent instinct.

What strength! Is he so eager to seize victory that he'd forgotten...?!

Moreover, if he was unable to quell this escalation, there was no telling where it would end up. The end of the forest? To the wall of the Geofront itself or beyond?

Yet he was the one who brought this madness from his opponent. There was no other choice, he had to stop the Final Death Beam.

In the wake of a violet-tinged glimmer, Ochazuke dashed his hands together, index fingers raised, strength centred in parallel as the Death Beam sped towards him. The root of his sense-awareness fell to the wayside, shed to that self-same survival instinct that fuelled his opponent. No hidden nature or subtle insights could stop this thing, only the focused shape of intent.

Kei'i Ken

He would take it all and show this offworlder so long as he could draw a breath, he would stand between the boundless hunger of his wild ambitions and their realization.

HAAAAAA---!!

Shouting fury at the Death Beam and Ochazuke loosed a great kiai, stopping it scant inches from his face, straining to to freeze it in place as it edged closer, the end flickering into purple tongues of incandescent fire threatening to bore through him. The remnants of ki drawn from deep within were cast before him and manifest as a construct of will clashing head-on with the gathered ki, chipping away slowly as it scattered its cutting edge, then with a thunderous impact that, for a moment, just might have echoed the scope of violence passed hours before.

The remains of the cypress mountain forest of the Capsule Corp Geofront, a calculated arrangement meant by its creator to bring comfort those who he would give refuge, was pulled out from the root, consumed by the violent thrasing energies cast from Koorimaru and Ochazuke's clash of wills. Rampant energies were split, licked the ground and punched fissures into the nanite-earth, and the grass and foliage simply ceased to be as white-hot energies bathed the surface they fought upon. A violent crackle precluded an explosion of upended earth, enveloping the word with ashen ruin.

The ultimate piercing beam pit against a magnified core of unshakable spirit broke each other, embers and kindling blotting out the artificial sun above. The soot and dirt and crisped foliage fell and then...nothing. The peak vista of Jinzi Pantaloon's idyllic dream, erased in an infernal collison of wrath, will and fury.

Sunken in his stance, Ochazuke remained along the burning plain, breathing hard with a wild glimmer in his eye. Diminished, haggard but ever stubbornly resolute, his folded hands shaking on arms falling from maximum tension. He raised a wrist to the edge of his face, wiped away a portion of the grime and ash, then spat on the ground before him.

“Time's up.”

The wrath of his people, despite - or mayhaps, because - of their scarcity was legendary amongst those who had heard whispers of the destruction that inevitably followed. Whether a genetic disorder passed on from their shared ancestor, or simply the natural consequence of a typically level-headed race falling into the depths of an emotional chaos they were unfamiliar with, those of his kind driven to anger and desperation had a habit of forgetting restraint and leaving worlds decimated in their wake.

Young in life as he was for his kind, there had only been one time in his life when Koorimaru had been pushed to such desperation... Until, as it would seem, now. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the Shimyakugan's effects on his body that made him so unaware of just precisely the amount of power he'd charged into the Death Beam. Perhaps the sudden release that came with more of his own power being unlocked had been as a dam unleashing its burden.

Whatever the case, Koorimaru only understood the level of power that he expelled once it had left his body. Eyes widened, Koorimaru strained to relegate the level of power that emerged from it, though he knew nothing was to be done from that which already now pierced through the space between himself and the Earthman.

There was a flash of light that near-blinded Koorimaru, and which perhaps may have been all the extra impetus needed for his hold to break and the last embers of the Charged Death Beam to die.

When his vision was cleared, the rampant destruction that galloped across Jinzi's artificial ground greeted him with accusatory starkness. Charred and stripped by the combination of Koorimaru's power and whatever his foe had used to counter it, the savaged land reminded Koorimaru only too much of the lack of control he'd accused two other Earthers off. Before him stood another Earther, staunch and resolute in his stance.

"Time's up." He said.

Koorimaru did not know if he meant that the destruction of the landscape was the the appropriate endpoint for their bout, or if the exhaustion that both no doubt felt was the signal of the battle's conclusion.

What Koorimaru did know that as drained as they both were, there was still energy enough in both to extend to fight but to do so at this point would be an admittance that this was a battle to the death.... And neither could afford the disappearance of the other in times so tumultuous.

"Indeed. Time is up." Koorimaru repeated the Earther's words back to him.

When he'd thrown the gauntlet to Ochazuke the night before, Koorimaru had done so in the hopes of answering the concerns that haunted him moments before encountering the Earther.

If there should come such a time that he had to face a foe, any foe, by himself, he needed to know that his reliance on the abilities of others to emulate the tactics he had been most familiar with did not hinder his ability to perform should he be at a lack of those advantages.

And despite the combination of exhaustion from unleashing the Charged Death Beam, Ochazuke's own successful unseen strike against him, and his ordeal within the cliffside, it was enough for Koorimaru to know that he'd survived and with whatever dregs were left him after such an ordeal, the option to escape and live to fight another day was always his for the taking.

"We'd best return to Pantaloon's ship." Koorimaru said floating off the ground, "We wouldn't want to keep Mr. Pantaloon waiting. I fear we've ensured that there is nothing left for us here."

With nothing more to say, Koorimaru hovered away, content in the proof of his resilience and estactic of the ability he'd regained... along with a few others, it seemed. No matter, he'd find out what else had been unlocked from within him soon enough.