Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Were there stronger races than the Saiyans? Conceivably. Asha'rah was not in any position to know. She had been asleep for a very long time.

"There are many paths to strength. Knowledge will teach you efficiency and revolutionary methods. Culture will shape your frame of thinking, opening up paths you might not otherwise even conceive of. Personal bonds will push you beyond what a love of fighting alone can do. Meditation will improve your focus and reaction time. All these convey strength as one of their many benefits, and in balance they can fuel one another. Each of those gathered here maintain a difference balance from yourself. If you make the effort to try to see them for what they are, what they seek to be, then perhaps you will not judge them so harshly for what you believe they should be."

"The line between dedication and tunnel vision is a fine one. Past a certain point, complete devotion to any one field yields diminishing returns." She said, then clasped her hands together, palm over fist, and extended Sarada her well wishes.

"I hope you find inspiration. And should you wish to cross fists in the future, I would be happy to oblige."

Different kinds of strength? She had only had any use for the physical kind, as that was the kind of strength that was lauded the most on Vocado. But, there were some on her home world -- not many, but enough that their ideas were starting to gain some traction -- who held strength of the mind in a higher light. King Mato was one of these. It was him who pushed for Saiyan youths to keep learning even while in combat training so they could have the mental fortitude to go hand in hand with their physical might. Sarada was one of those youths who kept up her studies while training.

She had to admit, while she didn't see the use for it, it was fun to surprise people every once in a while with how much more intelligent than previous generations she was.

Rather than dwell on things such as alternative forms of strength too much right then, she fell upon a familiar offer. "Yes, I would like to fight you. If you can tap into that giant form again, that would make a nice training partner for my great ape form." A beat passed as the thought ran through her head. "We may need to go outside, though."

For once, Zaofan grit his teeth and his eyebrows curled down. "That... sadistic... bloodthirsty... greedy MONSTER! Giving us nomads a bad name and killing anyone who gets in his way...! And all for his own gain?!"

But it wasn't just that Battersea massacred holy sects and pillaged as much as he could. But moreso, the fact that, as The Champ, with persistent sports coverage and enough celebrity to make him the hero of millions... "He gets away with it because he's loved! People cheer him! Children look up to him! And as much as his crimes are kept in the dark, he has handlers and enablers to put their own brand of spin on it, so that the public never knows his TRUE misdeeds! They are complicit! Battersea MUST be held accountable! He must be brought to justice!"

The killing, the thefts, the lack of accountability, and worse yet, the deception, the ego, the megalomania; all the lies and conspiracies to protect Battersea's image, ensured Zaofan's role. "My friends, not only do we have to get the dragon ball, but we must expose him to the world. We need to make him pay for all he's done. He owes the world that much, at least."

With grim determination and his humor gone, Zaofan looked at Totoma, Sarada, Chuan, Charco, Ochazuke, Karine, Jack, Midori, and Mr. Pantaloon for moral support. "If anyone can do it, it's us. Power levels be damned."

She smirked. This was quite the farcry from his usually, she assumed, carefree and jovial attitude. This was the fire that burned deep within every true warrior when confronted with something that went contrary to his beliefs. This was the determination of a warrior about to set out to right what he believed to be a gross wrong. It was something that she could certainly get behind, even if she didn't understand what was so bad about killing to get what one wanted.

To keep from starting another argument, she kept that to herself, opting to observe to see if she could glean why such was a taboo on this planet.

"It happens that our personal goals as far as Battersea goes run parallel to another." She wanted to fight him, and he wanted to bring him to justice. If she beat him badly enough, her goal would lead directly to the means through Zaofan's goal would be realized.

She initially assumed that by 'justice', he meant killing him, then again, she learned early on not to assume anything.

"Through what means do you plan on bringing him to justice? Imprisonment? Death? Some sort of reparations?"

A series of questions simply to help her better gauge his... morality she guessed the proper word would be.

"Fear is the death of pride," he nodded in return, "it is in that desperation that one reaches deep within to seize the instinct and will to...survive. A potent force."

The strength of unchecked pride he'd seen far too many times in his journey. It was like a foundation of sand; Hold your gaze upward and you won't notice how far you've sunk until it's too late.

"If left unchecked, it enslaves the mind."

That was a nice philosophy on the strengths and weaknesses of fear, but it had nothing to do with what she was talking about. At least, at first glance it didn't.

There was some hidden nugget of wisdom. A Saiyan who was too weak to fight face to face abandoned her pride and fought in the shadows, stealthily attacking blindspots and using diversions to hide her true intentions until her enemy was slain. If a Saiyan was too weak to fight face to face, but too proud to admit it to herself, died before she knew the battle had begun. It was a quandary that many found themselves in more times than many wished to admit. While it had its uses, subterfuge went wholly against Saiyan culture.

She had used it herself in her fight with Jack, to a lesser extent, so she saw the benefit.

To that end, she nodded in agreement, now seeing where he was coming from.

"There are a many who would claim that our pride is our biggest weakness." Be that as it may, it was also their biggest strength. Through sheer pride, that refusal to surrender simply because of what they were, a Saiyan could achieve great heights normally never before seen.

She left it at that. She knew what question he was going to ask as a followup.

[Eternal Torment]

Karine tilted her head slightly, noting the last part. "Ah. So you mean you're not used to fighting up front? Is it more a style thing or personal choice? If its the later, I'm sure it can be amended. If I can get competent then so can you. I've already grown a lot year alone on my journey then what I was."

"A little bit of both." Chuan admitted, his gaze wavering slightly. "It's not like I want to chicken out, but I also don't like losing, especially if my life's on the line. So I go with what works, even if it makes me look really bad. I like living more than anything else!"

He gave it a few moments before mumbling something under his breath.

"Well, you guys are third place, since friends are no substitute for family. Don't take it personally, though. That makes you and the others a lot more valuable to me than just about most people in this world!"

[Cyke]

"It happens that our personal goals as far as Battersea goes run parallel to another." She wanted to fight him, and he wanted to bring him to justice. If she beat him badly enough, her goal would lead directly to the means through Zaofan's goal would be realized.

She initially assumed that by 'justice', he meant killing him, then again, she learned early on not to assume anything.

"Through what means do you plan on bringing him to justice? Imprisonment? Death? Some sort of reparations?"

A series of questions simply to help her better gauge his... morality she guessed the proper word would be.

The question was enough to disarm Zaofan from his flash of righteous anger. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. No prison can hold him, obviously. Maybe we could exile him to an island, which would be punishment enough for a nomad. Maybe we can turn the world against him, deprive him of his resources. He is essentially a giant, powermad... bully. And bullies stand down when the bullied stand up. Even scaring him into making sure he never causes trouble again, and if he returns his spoils to those whom he had wronged -- that would go along way."

But he put hand to chin to ponder, "But unless it can't be avoided, I cannot say that death should be the first resort. That's execution, when there's so much more productive good that can come from him atoning to the world."

Zaofan snapped out of it. "In any case, if you and Totoma are up to the challenge of defeating him, I can focus on retrieving the dragon ball. And, Kami willing, maybe documentation or footage of his evil ways to share with the world."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The other form Totoma mentioned was something she forgot about at times; sure she had a younger adopted sister who was an Sayain but a lot of her traits were subdued to being pretty much gone save for the tail. Most would of written them off as some strange hybrid, how they looked and acted didn't help either. Though it did raise an question that had been in the back of her mind. "Hm..since I don't believe the form is controlled to begin with at first, wouldn't that spell trouble for Vacado? If I recall, one only needs a power level in the low hundreds to devastate a standard city. This transformation not only multiplies by a factor of ten, but they're consumed instincs. Just a few would do a lot of damage to the planet itself, so a bit surprised assuming the moon works the same way anyway.

"Saiyan parents on Vocado train their children to control their great ape form. By the time they get start combat training, they have almost complete control over it," Sarada answered. She didn't remember it, but that was one of the few times she had trained with her mother, who was too busy with other endeavors to train with her children.

She couldn't help but think that was the reason why she washed out of the CTC. Without that higher baseline, she had a much steeper mountain to climb.

"We have a lunar cycle so that a full moon rises for one week out of every two months. During that time, it's mandated that we're inside before sundown. Our buildings are equipped with windows that block out the bluntz waves the full moon produces."

There were close calls and, of course, young ones who thought they knew better. They didn't, and they were punished by having their tails snipped. Not all the way off, but enough to knock some sense into their heads.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The question was enough to disarm Zaofan from his flash of righteous anger. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. No prison can hold him, obviously. Maybe we could exile him to an island, which would be punishment enough for a nomad. Maybe we can turn the world against him, deprive him of his resources. He is essentially a giant, powermad... bully. And bullies stand down when the bullied stand up. Even scaring him into making sure he never causes trouble again, and if he returns his spoils to those whom he had wronged -- that would go along way."

But put hand to chin to ponder, "But unless it can be avoided, I cannot say that death should be the first resort. That's execution, when there's so much more productive good that can come from him atoning to the world."

Zaofan snapped out of it. "In any case, if you and Totoma are up to the challenge of defeating him, I can focus on retrieving the dragon ball. And, Kami willing, maybe documentation or footage of his evil ways to share with the world."

Good. She was afraid his righteousness was so powerful he would seen this justice at any costs. Luckily, he mentioned death shouldn't be a first resort. To that, they were in agreement.

What would a man like Battersea's fear the most? Bring shackled to one place, which, as a nomad, would go against what he believed in? Being exposed as a power hungry killer? On this world, killing was apparently taboo, so his loss of a good reputation might be punishment enough.

Exiling him to a stationary life seemed a porous solution. Most people as strong as him could fly, thus an island posed no threat to him. Unless maiming would badly enough that he should think twice about leaving.

Hm.

"Of course I'm up to it! I won't be leaving until I fight Battersea. Whatever happens to him after that is up to you, if you're up to the challenge of punishing him for his wrongs."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Unbridled at last, for preference," he smirked, "An unshakable step can only move forward."

The grip in his blackened hand softened somewhat, worn from the expenditure. His intention was present in his ki, but it had been bolstered to meet the oni through lingering threads she might know from times past.

The force of life itself.

"And that will require one's whole being. The true self."

For a moment he stared into the ancient golden eyes, breathing heavily to restore the flicker of his soul.

"You are injured," he said plainly, "can you make it to the recovery facility? Or will you suffer me to bear you up and share your path for a moment more?"

Eyes locked, in silent understanding, Ishtar could not deny it.

"Brother." In arms, in burden ? It did not matter in the end; there was a resonance. The man's path ran parallel to her own, and in so doing was one in the same. And while she knew Ochazuke could have no inkling of the Sons, or the Father ... she knew that he might ultimately understand them.

His grip lessened, and gaze softened then.

Did she need help?

She had poured all of her energy into her reply; and in so doing opened herself up to Ochazuke. She had experienced pain enough to know when something was broken; and she could say for certain hat most of her was. Collarbone, legs ... ribs. It was a wonder the woman was conscious at all.

The Oni smiled, and nodded weakly.

"I will need help."

The Oni fainted then, and then there was darkness.

[Ptrvc]

The question was enough to disarm Zaofan from his flash of righteous anger. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. No prison can hold him, obviously. Maybe we could exile him to an island, which would be punishment enough for a nomad. Maybe we can turn the world against him, deprive him of his resources. He is essentially a giant, powermad... bully. And bullies stand down when the bullied stand up. Even scaring him into making sure he never causes trouble again, and if he returns his spoils to those whom he had wronged -- that would go along way."

But he put hand to chin to ponder, "But unless it can't be avoided, I cannot say that death should be the first resort. That's execution, when there's so much more productive good that can come from him atoning to the world."

Zaofan snapped out of it. "In any case, if you and Totoma are up to the challenge of defeating him, I can focus on retrieving the dragon ball. And, Kami willing, maybe documentation or footage of his evil ways to share with the world."

"I don't know man, kind of seems, overreaching to try and decide some kind of punishment for the guy, or making how he'll atone," Jack shrugged, "Or even if he should." Battersea did not seem like the nicest guy you would ever meet, but Jack would be hard pressed to come up with some kind of moral authority from which he could sentence Battersea, or anyone else for that matter. Hurting, maiming, or even killing someone in the moment was all part of life. Not a pleasant part, but part of it.

But trying to decide someone else's fate? "If you want to turn Battersea in for a crime to some sort of governing body that might be one thing. Or maybe Kami, but don't get ahead of yourself Zaofan. That's the kind of stuff that leads you to be Raider."

Besides, you'd have to punish me afterwards.

When Zaofan mentioned Totoma and Sarada taking Battersea out, Jack was honestly a bit shocked, "Really, you don't want a crack at the Champ yourself?"

[MrSandman]

The question was enough to disarm Zaofan from his flash of righteous anger. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. No prison can hold him, obviously. Maybe we could exile him to an island, which would be punishment enough for a nomad. Maybe we can turn the world against him, deprive him of his resources. He is essentially a giant, powermad... bully. And bullies stand down when the bullied stand up. Even scaring him into making sure he never causes trouble again, and if he returns his spoils to those whom he had wronged -- that would go along way."

But he put hand to chin to ponder, "But unless it can't be avoided, I cannot say that death should be the first resort. That's execution, when there's so much more productive good that can come from him atoning to the world."

Zaofan snapped out of it. "In any case, if you and Totoma are up to the challenge of defeating him, I can focus on retrieving the dragon ball. And, Kami willing, maybe documentation or footage of his evil ways to share with the world."

"......Correct me if I'm wrong....." Etrina finally spoke up after a long silence. "But at no point during this mission briefing was purposely targeting battersea ever included as a required objective to our job on the island. Your suggesting we waste valuable time and energy beyond securing the dragonball for the purpose of satisfying your sudden urge to met out justice on a greedy idiot?" There was an air of condescension in her voice.

"Settle for wounding his pride when we take the ball and don't waste time on foolish ventures."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"......Correct me if I'm wrong....." Etrina finally spoke up after a long silence. "But at no point during this mission briefing was purposely targeting battersea ever included as a required objective to our job on the island. Your suggesting we waste valuable time and energy beyond securing the dragonball for the purpose of satisfying your sudden urge to met out justice on a greedy idiot?" There was an air of condescension in her voice.

"Settle for wounding his pride when we take the ball and don't waste time on foolish ventures."

"You seem fairly intelligent," Sarada commented to the girl she recalled having the outburst earlier. "So, answer this: do you believe Battersea will just let us walk away with the ball, even if we win it fair and square? What if we don't win it and end up having to steal it? Do you think he'll brush that off and move on?"

[Tami]

"You seem fairly intelligent," Sarada commented to the girl she recalled having the outburst earlier. "So, answer this: do you believe Battersea will just let us walk away with the ball, even if we win it fair and square? What if we don't win it and end up having to steal it? Do you think he'll brush that off and move on?"

Overhearing this, Meagan mused out loud, "I wonder what's his Ki range? If he can't fly, then a flyer with the Dragon Ball stands a better chance of escaping with it before Battersea can do anything."

[MrSandman]

"You seem fairly intelligent," Sarada commented to the girl she recalled having the outburst earlier. "So, answer this: do you believe Battersea will just let us walk away with the ball, even if we win it fair and square? What if we don't win it and end up having to steal it? Do you think he'll brush that off and move on?"

Etrina seemed to pause for a moment, thinking. "....Of course not.....But his personal feelings on the matter are honestly not my concern. Our job is to get his ball off the island and to a safe location. Impede and misdirect if you must....but the mission is first and foremost. If he doesnt want to give up......then at the very least we won't be fighting on his terms the next time."

[Cyke]

"I don't know man, kind of seems, overreaching to try and decide some kind of punishment for the guy, or making how he'll atone," Jack shrugged, "Or even if he should."

"If you want to turn Battersea in for a crime to some sort of governing body that might be one thing. Or maybe Kami, but don't get ahead of yourself Zaofan. That's the kind of stuff that leads you to be Raider."

Zaofan took a deep breath to calm himself down. His fist unclenched, his stance relaxed a bit more. "I honestly do believe that he should face justice. There is a reason why he picked an island outside of the World Government's jurisdiction, after all. All that death and destruction, he must answer for them. His victims must be avenged. Better still, it would also be preventative -- this would keep him from committing further harm and mayhem."

Zaofan then inhaled deeply. "But you are right. We can stand up to him because we have the power to. But we mustn't overstep -- we're not beholden to any authorities either aside from Kami. We can ask wise Kami or Mr. Pantaloon for help. We can deliver him to a court or to the towns and cities he's harmed. And they can determine the proper course of action. It was their fight, after all. I fight for them. But if there's anything that riles me up, it's a monster abusing his power and getting away with it."

When Zaofan mentioned Totoma and Sarada taking Battersea out, Jack was honestly a bit shocked, "Really, you don't want a crack at the Champ yourself?"

He gave a slight smirk to Jack. "If it comes to that, I would *love* a shot at him. But the mission comes first. We get the dragon ball. If we can take down Battersea along the way, so be it. If we don't, I'll go back when this is all over. But I doubt I can beat him myself. The Saiyans have a better shot, and I trust them. "

"......Correct me if I'm wrong....." Etrina finally spoke up after a long silence. "But at no point during this mission briefing was purposely targeting battersea ever included as a required objective to our job on the island. Your suggesting we waste valuable time and energy beyond securing the dragonball for the purpose of satisfying your sudden urge to met out justice on a greedy idiot?" There was an air of condescension in her voice.

"Settle for wounding his pride when we take the ball and don't waste time on foolish ventures."

Zaofan folded his hands behind his back. He had to remember he was with friends. "Consider. Why are we gathering the dragon balls? So that villains do not get them. Think of it as harm reduction. But even before the dragon balls ever came into play, they were already villains in their own right, destroying anyone they saw fit. This is no petty grudge against Battersea, but to avenge the hundreds he's killed and the thousands of lives he ruined, laughing his way to the top of fame and fortune."

Zaofan quickly flashed back to his days as a teenager in the Hokuto Shinken school, where he thought he would go to gain much needed discipline and focus, away from his unstructured, nomadic ways. But the school lied to him -- it wasn't just a school, but a training ground for assassins, with techniques and philosophies that Zaofan found unnecessarily brutal, gory, and unforgiving. No second chances for the opponent. He saw the older students abuse that power of assassins, to carry out their own mafias, shape local politics, intimidate citizens into submission.

He then thought back to Master Tamoh Gah at his iteration of the Crane School -- for such a wise and learned elder, the master did not stop older students from bullying newer students such as himself; and master seemed to willfully encourage disdain for other, similar animal styles as well. Master seemed more concerned with accounting books than ancient scrolls; all that power and knowledge, worthy to teach the next generation of Crane students, and instead he spent too much time in the back office. Nothing but a phony.

He couldn't trust the ones he looked up to for guidance in life and spirituality. His faith shattered, his optimism dulled by disappointment. On the other side, in all his travels around the world, Zaofan saw first hand the misfortune and poverty that one attack could bring. There was only so much he could do before moving from one town to the next. But now, with these fantastic circumstances, Zaofan knew that he could do some good, even if he needed to be reigned in a bit.

"I cannot say that I've seen as many horrors and atrocities and injustice as any of you. That much is sure. But I also know, deep down, that injustice must be answered. Even if they don't get the dragon balls, they'll continue harming and killing people who just want to live their lives. I am not saying we should kill him, but we have the power and the opportunity to hold him accountable, to deliver him to everyone he's hurt, and to help ensure that he doesn't harm anyone ever again. It is a step towards healing, and itself further harm prevention, pure and simple."

Zaofan nodded, though. "The dragon ball should be the number 1 priority, yes. That much is obvious. But allow me the chance to dig up anything I can find with him. As a side mission. The guards should be no problem. I'll as quiet and gentle as a summer breeze. It won't take long. If I fail to find any documentation within a time limit, then I will escape as quickly as possible. And if our training is up to snuff, there will be plenty of opportunities to wound his pride -- but I'd rather that he not take it out on innocent civilians."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Etrina seemed to pause for a moment, thinking. "....Of course not.....But his personal feelings on the matter are honestly not my concern. Our job is to get his ball off the island and to a safe location. Impede and misdirect if you must....but the mission is first and foremost. If he doesnt want to give up......then at the very least we won't be fighting on his terms the next time."

"Nor are they mine. But, we have an opportunity to take him off the playing field right away. That's not an opportunity we should let slip through our fingers."

She paused briefly and clasped her hands together. "I can't say I understand Zaofan's reasons for wanting to bring him to justice. To me, it's a matter of those he's wronged being too afraid to bring him to justice themselves.

"As for me, I want to try and look at the big picture. We take his ball, he'll come for it. That's another enemy we'll have to contend with, along with the Red Raiders and Old Kami. That's another enemy we'll have to divide our attention to.

"Taking him off the map as early as possible is an action that will benefit us in the long run."

[MrSandman]

Zaofan folded his hands behind his back. He had to remember he was with friends. "Consider. Why are we gathering the dragon balls? So that villains do not get them. Think of it as harm reduction. But even before the dragon balls ever came into play, they were already villains in their own right, destroying anyone they saw fit. This is no petty grudge against Battersea, but to avenge the hundreds he's killed and the thousands of lives he ruined, laughing his way to the top of fame and fortune."

"......Avenge......." Etrina folder her fingers, a sour look crossing her face. "The dead are dead...and the lives he ruined will remain ruined. Vengeance is pointless. Its the worlds oldest placebo. Your effort is better spend to the people he has yet to harm then the ones he has already harmed...." Etrina let out a sigh.

"...If you really believe you can perform the mission without giving too much distracted over to battersea...I won't impede your plans. Just remember that we're on a tight enough timetable as it is without giving way to such side tracking."

[rhyvurg]

"Saiyan parents on Vocado train their children to control their great ape form. By the time they get start combat training, they have almost complete control over it," Sarada answered. She didn't remember it, but that was one of the few times she had trained with her mother, who was too busy with other endeavors to train with her children.

She couldn't help but think that was the reason why she washed out of the CTC. Without that higher baseline, she had a much steeper mountain to climb.

"We have a lunar cycle so that a full moon rises for one week out of every two months. During that time, it's mandated that we're inside before sundown. Our buildings are equipped with windows that block out the bluntz waves the full moon produces."

There were close calls and, of course, young ones who thought they knew better. They didn't, and they were punished by having their tails snipped. Not all the way off, but enough to knock some sense into their heads.

"Pardon, what are 'bluntz waves?' I have no record of such emissions from the moon or anywhere else."