Dragonball M, Chapter 4: Kidnapping! Invasion! A new Threat Strikes First!

[Sub-Zero MKA]

A day passed. By her estimation, which she had been keeping track of by making etch marks on the walls of her humble abode, she had been on that world for nearly two months. Her mind couldn't help but wander back to the Saiyans and wonder who they were making out without her. Likely getting along well enough; the Council as made up of former rulers for a reason. So long a nothing happened to them, they would be fine. Besides, she wouldn't be any good to anyone in the state she was in weeks ago. The odds of her snapping at someone for some innocuous thing would have been high, and that wasn't what she was about. Even if it took her more time than she hoped, in the long run, staying away was the best call. Besides, everyone would understand. Who hadn’t needed to take time away after losing their mate, even if they knew they would be back eventually? That initial pain wasn’t any less heart-wrenching than it would have been if Inanna was never coming back.

Dozens, if not hundreds of bones of slain and devoured animals littered her living area. She set some of them up in macabre shapes, like scarecrows, to scare away the predators who were still stupid enough to try and poach her kills. Those that still didn’t get the memo were slain in quick order and added to the menu.

Living off nature and actually being one with it brought her to a new understanding of the Sadalans. At first, she was bored out of her mind without modern technology to keep her busy and occupied, but after a while, that boredom faded away. There was plenty to see and experience on that strange new world; so much so that she was always seeing new things every day as she ventured further and further away from her camp. She bore witness to animals the likes of which she had never witnessed before. A part of her wanted to bring that world into the Empire, just so she could have it in case she ever needed to get away. Then again, it may very well have already been in their catalogue of spare planets.

“I guess I’ve procrastinated long enough,” she said with a deep sigh. She wasn’t looking forward to analyzing the next part of the argument, but for her sake and the sake of her relationship with the others, it was a necessary thing. With that in mind, she swiftly returned to her camp with fresh kills to make for dinner. A large fire was started after she reassembled her multi-tiered spit roast - constructed of spare bones from her previous kills - after which she set about skinning and stripping away the fat from the animals. The fat was tossed into the fire to keep it going, while the meat was stuck onto the bones. As she tended to the fire, she started thinking.

"What...book..."

"It hardly would require any sort of True Magic to deceive you," he grumbled, "You've parlayed with the Dragon, but have you seen beyond his shroud? He'll obfuscate everything in cursed smoke and show you only what he wants. Why would a creature born of impossibility be limited to visage alone?"

“So that's it. Our lot in this universe is determined by what is deemed necessary for us to know."

"Tell me, Oni. When did you start taking after your father?"

"A diary of sorts. Auroc's." Inanna explained.

"I'd only just translated it, before we departed to deal with Remnant and recover Maiz."

"He considered Ishtar a peer," Inanna replied dryly. "Deigned to speak with her on that level, for as briefly as she'd attained it; and while still in possession of Mother's blessing, the gift of being able to sense the truth of the heart... she found that half of him was speaking honestly."

"Even Sarada can attest to this, she was there... if not bored by the conversation."

"You speak as if that knowledge is some manner of game changer." Inanna replied. "When have we not had our lot determined in that fashion?"

"Since the moment we were first drawn together we've been fed breadcrumb after breadcrumb, slowly learning more of the Universes and how fucked we all are. It literally broke Ishtar."

"Taking after my father though, mm?" She fell silent awhile, then. Seeming to consider this question far more than the others posed so far, before she eventually responded.

"Despite my best efforts... I suppose I have, haven't I?" What a bitter pill, that was.

"..."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Listen to you, resigned to the state of things as they are."

"What purpose does the knowledge serve, if there were only the slightest chance to affect the outcome? Everything is fixed as they shall be by some fickle design, left to chance."

"You most of all know circumstance is not static. Things are always in flux, subject to change for those who possess the will to act and a purpose to fight for. It broke Ishtar because she would not bend."

"For you to espouse this ignorance as some act of charity, even as you collect and consume knowledge on a whim, or withhold, aloft in a solitary sphere of self-indulgence..."

"Cheh, perhaps we've all misjudged you, Oni," he said. "In the face of all of you've learned, for months now, perhaps you've decided that mortal concerns are immaterial where they no longer serve you. It rather hearkens back to a Remnant of the Godly way of doing things."

"For all your talk, you don't seem to understand who Ishtar even was." ... "In the beginning she believed this unwaveringly: that time was inevitable and would always lead to a singular outcome. Her ascension as Destroyer, and the execution of her given task.

"In time, she would have even come for that which you hold most dear... Earth. A nexus point of cosmic instability: a threat to balance. Could you have stopped her then, like you did all those years ago beneath Capsule Corp? I wager not." ... "Of course, due to the 'intervention' of Evangeline, and her falling in with the 'M-Fighters'; she began to question the inevitability of time considering the various trials you'd overcome collectively; and of course... her second love. This is where the cracks began. Hope is dangerous, makes you believe there's something to be done... but Zurvan had seen to that."

"Ishtar's life... My life. All of it. From birth, to her being 'plucked from Fate' by Evangeline; had been planned. Even Sarada, to an extent had been fit into Zurvan's grand designs; after an unplanned 'Divine' intervention had caused a deviation. And for Ishtar to learn that Sekhmet's death- and the destruction it caused- had been planned? That her love for Sarada was a thing to be manipulated... ended on a whim by someone she cared for?" the woman trailed off. "That is why Ishtar broke, Ochazuke. Why she died. In her desperate attempt to salvage what little remained of her sanity; she would have done the work assigned her. Taking Sarada, and then all of you down in a bid to purge the Universe of the suffering brought on by stagnation, and fashion a clean and balanced slate... Only for Zurvan to put her down like a feral beast, after she had done her 'life's work'."
"In a way..." Inanna started. "There is a particular satisfaction to be found, yes. In knowing that the burden of salvaging what's left of our, and five other universes; sits... sat, squarely upon my shoulders." She stated. "That my life, after nigh one-hundred thousand years of suffering within a prison forged of my own body, might be worth something. Is it wrong to wish to hold onto that feeling, however briefly?"

"So please. Save that bit of this at least, for someone more deserving... We all know my other missteps today have been far worse."

Inanna smiles again sadly.

"Ishtar is who Zurvan wanted me to be, not who I am. Who's fault is it then, that I've been misjudged, and compared time and again to her?"

"Yet I've only truly learned one thing, in recent months. That more than anything, the only ones who suffer the 'Godly way of doing things' are mortals. Something I doubt you would disagree with, would you Ochazuke?"

"Regardless of how you see it... I meant well."

"Yet you mentioned matters I sat upon for months and months, of which there are... only two. Neither are a burden I found satisfaction- self-indulgence- in carrying. One merely fills me with dread." Her gaze fell away, then.

"So... I suppose at the end of it, despite all I've said, well meaning or not. I can't... refute it."

""You're wounded."

"As if it is your life to lose alone, Oni. One hundred thousand years, yet you fail to see beyond your own reach."

"Two is already far too many matters to keep sequestered. If they yet need to be tended to by a Destroyer...If they remain threaten the universe we live in...!"

"If you've already decided nobody else can change the path they have set us upon, that it should be hidden from those you know will fight, then wear the habit of suffering if you wish. But if this is your lowly appraisal of us, even after all we have been through, then that, Oni, will be the last insult I will tolerate."

"If the time to act has not already passed us by, at the very least see that you explain this to your Queen if you reserve your honest demeanor for anybody."

"I suppose I am."

"Now... save your bluster. If I was truly so self-absorbed, I would have simply abandoned everyone; and if I thought it was all truly set in stone I'd merely... change sides." ... "Or did you simply not realize this, in your mad scramble for a scapegoat?"

"Spare me your contempt, boy." Inanna cut back, sharply. "The matters I kept sequestered would do nothing but put unnecessary risk to your lives, my Queen's life. Yet you so eagerly decry my decision to keep silent without bothering to consider why I chose to? What an opinion you must have of me, child. To think me so self-centered to not have what I felt was good reason to keep secrets from the woman I love?"

"... You've spoken of my appraisal of you, perhaps it's time you hear it; instead of your continued assumptions." ... "It is, simply: that you are already pushing your limits, Ochazuke. You. The others. Any more weight, and you're liable to snap like a frayed rope; and a broken man is worthless."

"... Am I wrong?"

"Scapegoat? Cheh."

"For what the Ulthan did at the Forger's command, I blame them. You, however..."

"...until today, I'd thought we'd had a common goal. That it fell to us to remedy this fractured universe. To find another way outside of the foundations built on the blood of trammeled ancients and resolve the matters they could not."

"No, as ever, I wanted the truth, and it seems I've found a measure of it."

"You call me 'boy'," he chuckled. "There it is. Your contempt for the concerns of mortals below your station."

"Are you the advocate for those who wish to live? It's plain you see nothing but weakness around you. Even among present company, all the flawed potential of victims and nothing more, fit not even to be counselled when these, your burdens, effect us all."

"The only reason I'm out here is for the sake of those who are cannot defend themselves. Even if we remain caught in the snare of one ill-intended scheme after another, if there remains belligerence, it falls to us to find a way out."

"To assume to take it upon yourself to protect us from these enemies, a danger that materialized from what you've kept hidden by omission-"

Inanna turned away from Ochazuke, "I don't want their h-" only to pay for it in her own way a moment later.

"Like Parsley, you saw what you wanted to; and burned the strawman it made of me to ashes. Bravo." Nothing more to say, Inanna turned, intent to leave this group behind her.

A spark, then an sky-splitting explosion of golden power, accompanied by a roar of absolute fury and pent up resentment. Sarada’s rage ripped through the ground, tearing up mountain-sized chunks of the planet and tossing them into the air like dandelion seeds trapped in a stiff breeze. The golden pillar of power pierced through the planet’s core, sealing the fates of both it and every living creature on it.



When the dust settled, there was nothing but cosmic debris left. In the center of it all floated Sarada, unharmed thanks to a thin green barrier she erected at the last moment. The Super Saiyan 2 scowled, both out of anger and regret. Goddamn it.

Reconciling that particular part was going to take longer than even Parsley’s half. At least she was willing to admit she was wrong. She seriously doubted Ochazuke would ever admit to that, even if he was pressed. He was too proud, even if he didn’t want to admit it. When a Saiyan could show more humility than a “modest monk”, there was a problem that needed to be sorted out.

Was that where her rage stemmed? Or, was it remembering hearing the truth about Ishtar?

She shook her head and started quickly flying toward the next planet. Her senses spread out, confirming that it, too, was without an sapient life. Once she was set up there, she could think more critically - and hopefully, calmly - until she could reach an accord with herself.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The next memory plays, and you (Banespell) is staring at the sky, flat on his back and breathing harshly. Blood spittles into the air a bit from his rasping breathing, and his eyes struggle to focus.



Above, slamming a massive club into the side of a dragonesque humanoid, about the size of a building, is Vocado. His aura burns golden and his shouts of fury as the club shatters against the beast echoes across the sky. Vocado suddenly shimmers and is TK’ed through a portal, appearing through dozens as he picks up speed before slamming into the ground near Banespell, cratering and causing the darkling to slide down near his ally.

Meanwhile, a black bullet slams into the creature, a black hole forming as it attempts to suck the thing in.



Standing atop a cliff side, wielding ancient First Race tech is Haden. The male First Race is shorter than the female example once seen, though the grayish skin and longish limbs with smooth texture to them remains the same. Haden reloads from his strange rifle and fires again, this time a small spherical sun blasts into the air and a flash of light blinds the creature, giving Zxu’ro time to swoop down and pick Banespell and Vocado up.


Meanwhile, a massive fox like creature body checks the dragon thing and blasts off into the ground, dropping massive amounts of energy into it to keep it pinned. All the while the dragon-thing laughs and cackles, smoke like energy swirling towards the Fox. Durga, Ishtar’s brother, appears near and bats the smoke away.



Zxu’ro, the Master of Masters, places Banespell and Vocado near Cleos, the older women looking haggard and barely standing. Zxu’ro nods and speaks, voice young and full of hope.

“We can do this. Please, see if you can help get Caladash back on his feet. I’ve got Vocy.”

He grabs the Saiyan’s hand and energy surges between them, bringing him back up as he grins.

“Another round, ‘Ro?”

The human nods.

“Help them buy some time, I’m going to use the Genki-Dama.”

Vocado nods, cracks his head, then screams as he goes Super Saiyan 3 and rips towards where Durga and Kyuubi are keeping Alakazah in place. Zxu’ro pauses, than looks at Cleos who has at least stabilized Banespell.

“You were right. Might of arms isn’t enough, Cleos. Your plan……are you certain?”

She nods, smiling a bit.

“Yes. Caladash and I can do it, just gather the energy necessary. And remember, ‘Ro: this is my choice, and if it means binding that giant lizard, it’s worth it. Now go.”

He nods, floats up and holds his arms out. Energy starts gathering at a massive rate, much the same as when Ochazuke does it. However, with Zxu’ro, it goes much, much faster and a massive city sized Genki Dama soon starts forming over head.

Meanwhile, Durga, Kyuubi, and Vocado dance and fight Alakazah like people possessed. The dragon keeps teleporting them away, or animating the very air and ground and buildings to fight them in golem shapes. He puts them to sleep, shrouds their senses and minds and even at various times seems to summon ancient machinery to attack and harm them. But the three are relentless, and keep his attention enough that he misses the giant Spirit Bomb.

Banespell (you) stand up and start to say something, but Cleos stops you with a smile.

“It’s ok. I was never going to make it, and the fact I survived this long is a small miracle to thank the Goddess for. Let me put him down for good, Caladash. It’s the only way, and only you and your hammer can do it.”

She starts glowing, even as Banespell (you) heft the hammer with a bitter taste in your mouth. She lays a hand on your hammer and smiles, even as her entire body glows and starts flaking apart.

“My body, to you. My life, to you. My soul, to you. My Creation, to you. In Creations Fire I lay my Heka upon your weapon, Banespell. Use it………”

Cleos falls apart into a spiral of golden Heka, the power pouring into Banespell’s Hammer. Tears leak down his (your) face even as the hammer glows golden. You look up and see the completed Spirit Bomb, and with al your might you cast the weapon toward it. Zxu’ro grabs the weapon, nods even as tears threaten to drop from his eyes too, and quickly slams the spirit bomb’s energy into the hammer. A massive flash of light happens as the weapon absorbs the Spirit Bomb, the golden light imbued with a pulsing silver. Zxu’ro’s eyes and aura flare silver, he grips the hammer and nods.

“Clear out! Now, take the galaxies hope, foul beast!! Creation’s Hammer Fall!”

He appears in front of Alakazah and swings the hammer, the blow shaking the actual world as the body is flung backwards, it’s size reduced. He slams it again and again, beating the dragon back and shrinking it until the hammer is tk’ed away. It flies from his hands upwards, only to be blasted back down towards Alakazah as Vocado fires everything he has at it.

“Beam Burst Blast!!!!!!”

Pulses of energy blasts slam the hammer into Alakazah again and again, each strike reducing his size. Vocado drops out of SSJ3 as Durga appears, in front of a now twenty foot tall Alakazah, hammer sparking as it absorbs power from the Oni.

“In Truth, the Death of Lies. I smite you in all of Truth’s name. Begone!”

The hammer rings with pure Truth as it cracks into Alakazah and rips an arm off, the limb disappearing in a puff of smoke. Again and again the hammer rises and falls, chunks ripped off until Durga is surrounded by a faint energy and teleported away. Alakazah gets up, eyes flashing as he points and starts to say something, only for Kana the Kyuubi, in her humanoid form, to appear behind him and slam him over the head, shattering it into smoke as she hefts the hammer which has the faint ghostly image of her massive form surrounding it.

“By blood and soul we rend you, beast. By Cleos’s name and power we strike your form, shatter and die, King of Liars!.”

She hefts the thing and golf swings it into Alakazah’s pine, flinging him up into the air. She staggers and falls, kneeling as it slips from her fingers. A grapple latches onto it, reels it towards Haden who turns his masked eyes towards the airborne Alakazah and nods. He swiftly jams the hammer end into the barrel, aims, and allows his energy to flow from him into the barrel, from the barrel into the hammer, which now pulses a mixture of grey energy too.

“Final Shot Matrix: Infinite Strike!”

The gun fires the hammer like a missile, the hammer going through Alakazah’s back and shattering his entire form into smoke. It clatters down and the Palantine all stagger to the ground, wounded and breathing hard. Caladash Banespell limps over to a small crater, where a now human sized dragon resides. The beast looks up, in bewilderment, as Banespell holds his hand out, the hammer flying back into it.

“I’m going to stamp you into this world, old serpent. You’ll never leave this world again, and I may not be able to kill you, but I’m going to make sure you don’t wake up for a long time.”

He hefts the Hammer, binding runes flared with all their combined energies, Heka Flow and Creation pulsing around it, and he swings it down. Again. And again. And again. Each blow shattering Alakazah’s body and binding his essence into the world, trapping him from leaving unless unbound by one of his own level. Hundreds of blows land, the Darkling working ceaselessly until only a tiny wisp of smoke remains. He (you) stagger back, utterly drained.


Eldfen, called Alakazah, was bound and gone.

Oddly, as that last whisp of smoke drifts away, a thin whisper seems to go missed by Banespell, though Ochazuke and Parsley and Zaofan and the Judge do seem to hear it.

‘I shall be a…..grinning thorn…..in your sides, Palantine, for even as I am bound and reduced I have struck a parting blow. I will unravel you to my curse: you will never know peace. You will Fear. You will Isolate. You will Wander. You will Forget. You will never…..know……peace……again……..’

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Zxu’ro is the first to move again, finishing off the created golems and underlings with finesse and power, speed and precision unlike anything they had ever seen. Within a few moments, the battle was truly over and the six remaining Palantine stand over the hole Alakazah and been hammered into. None see the whisper of smoke that seems to gently caress them, repeating Alakazah’s last curse.

In the aftermath, they travel to Namek and beg an audience with their Elder, and using the Dragonballs there try to fix some of what Alakazah wrought. They wipe as much of his influence and the memory of him from the universe as they can, and go about repairing as best they are able. But they all seems to drift and go apart, each taking a Dragonball of Alakazah’s (Banespell takes Cleos’ to her planet and present it to the new Queen.



Eventually, that small little curse of Fear and Paranoia of a possible worse entity starts to weed its way into his brain, and the final part of the memory is Banespell laying Caladash down and dawning the mantle of Lord Forger as he prepares for a new threat.

And you all awaken from the memory.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The new world was considerably less picturesque than the one she destroyed, making her even more regretful for her destructive outburst. She frown and slumped to the ground. The vibrant green grass was tall and hid over half her body when she kneeled down. The sky above her was a strange mixture of violet and green, yet the sun was in at its highest point. Peculiar cries emanated from the forests in the distance. Bird-like creatures flitted out from the tree line and into the sky until they disappeared over the horizon.

She sighed and rose to her feet. She had spent a lot of time on that world training and making an effort to use Super Saiyan 3 without much stamina drain. It was arduous work, but she has at least made some headway.

At some point, she would have to consider things again. The sooner she did and got it over with, the sooner she could go home and sleep in an actual bed and see her baby again. Unless she was mistaken, she missed her birthday.

Or did she?

After doing the math, she hadn’t. Vaikuntha really made things confusing.

Anyway...

The problem between those two idiots was a simple misunderstanding. The two claimed, arrogantly, to understand the other, yet couldn't possibly be more wrong.

Ochazuke claimed Inanna had taken after her “father”. Admittedly, he was right. She had. The aloofness that could only have been born from having lived for thousands upon thousands of years. It was difficult to not take on the habits and mannerisms of some else when they're were your only source of companionship for so long. Not when your purpose for traveling with them was the watch civilizations rise, flourish, fall, then perish over and over again.

For all his insistence on calling a Destroyer, it seemed he didn't understand what a Destroyer was, or the detached, cold, and chaotic mindset that was required to be one. To destroy entire civilizations of innocent that were deemed unfit, that was her purpose, the purpose Zurvan foisted on her by force. That was the purpose Indar'en fulfilled before he was callously slain by his so-called “friend”.

How different would the universe be if Asha'rah wasn't an idiot? How much better off would everyone's life be if she used her brain and actually thought instead of succumbing to that win at all costs attitude that prevailed throughout the cosmos?

Certainly, she doubted she would have met Inanna and fallen in love with her twice. But, if that meant she would be alive and happy in Otherworld, unmolested by Zurvan's manipulations, so be it. That was a sacrifice she would happily make.

A lack of understanding was at the root of it all. If they just sat down and spoke, allowing the other to speak freely without judgement, then how much could they learn about each other?

Would they even be willing?

Both were proud and set in their ways, to an asinine and irritating degree. While it was admirable in battle, to be that stubborn, being that inflexible in nearly every other aspect was annoying. How could anyone operate in society without compromising one inch? Even Sarada, known for her bullheaded stubbornness, had to learn to compromise.

As for Inanna, it was that she was ignorant of why Ochazuke was the way that he was. They all were, except for maybe Zaofan. For all his talk of secrets and his hatred of them, it appeared he had a closet full of them. Which was fine; she herself had ones she had no intention of telling anyone outside of the people who already knew. She would never press or force anyone to spill what they were hiding it it was something personal.

Still, the man was a mystery. There had to be something in his past that happened that was the key to understanding the man and why he held the beliefs he did. Sarada felt that once he opened up to them, a lot of the animosity and tension between them, and between him and Inanna, would vanish. Or, at the very least, diminish to the point that they could have a somewhat workable relationship again.

She had to admit, she was curious. She was curious about all of them, but him in particular. The ten martial arts schools founded by Zxu’ro - or one school founded by him that then splintered into ten, or however it went - were an interesting bit of Earth’s history she was excited to hear the entire story about.

Regardless, time needed to be taken out so everyone could clear the air. She missed the trip to Ruco - assuming they still took her up on that offer in her absence - so she would have to do her part when she returned and saw them again.

There was one thing she did agree with him about, even though she didn’t want to admit it: it didn’t seem Inanna was too bothered by mortal concerns. Why would she be? She was over one hundred thousand years old, and even though she spent much of that sealed away in her own body, that kind of age put things into perspective. Even if that was true, Sarada didn’t like it. It showed she had either never developed a shred of empathy or had lost it in her own troubles. She was so pained and troubled that it seemed she forgot how to care about other people's issues. Which couldn't be the case because she cared deeply about Sarada and her family, and presumably their concerns.

What could it be, then?

In short, they were two flawed individuals who thought they knew better than the other but, in reality, didn't. They knew nothing of each other and didn't appear to want. They had formed their opinions of the other and she doubted anything would change their minds. Both were two stubborn to admit it, even to themselves, and neither would be the first to approach the other.

It was stupid how two grown adults could act with less emotional maturity than literal children, but it was what it was.

Sarada rose to her feet and looked off into the horizon. She had spent a great deal of time rolling those thoughts around in her head until they made sense and she could reach the above conclusion. Reconciliation was possible, but would take a great deal of humility. In other words, it wasn’t possible.

She wasn’t sure if Inanna’s charge that Ochazuke was simply looking for a scapegoat to vent his frustrations on was true or not. It seemed that way at the time, but she knew that looks could be deceiving and a situation wasn’t always what it seemed. Either way, he wasn’t at fault for her leaving the team either.

Finally, she had made up her mind and cleared her heart of the resentment she had been holding on to since Darkle. It felt good to finally have all that off her shoulders. In fact, she felt like she was light as a feather. They had enough troubles to worry about without being at each other’s throats. The truth was they were going to need each other, all of them, to win. Sakin, Genesis, Alakazah, and whatever else was lurking in the Way Between Worlds, they were waiting and they were immensely powerful. Any infighting needed to be dealt with before they went up against the first enemy, or they were going to get slaughtered.

The universe was depending on them - whether it knew it or not - to save it from those threats. There was no time for any distractions or grudges or any of that.

If they fell, all was lost.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Eventually, that small little curse of Fear and Paranoia of a possible worse entity starts to weed its way into his brain, and the final part of the memory is Banespell laying Caladash down and dawning the mantle of Lord Forger as he prepares for a new threat.

And you all awaken from the memory.

Wait, that's what Zxu'ro looks like? I... was expecting more. She supposed he was still young at that point, but still.

Parsley watched as the final battle with Alakazah took place on what she quickly learned was Earth. All the Palantines displayed the full might and breadth of their powers in a desperate attempt to slay the Elder Dragon once and for all. Most shocking was that Vocado had achieved Super Saiyan 3. Nowhere in his journals had he mentioned or even hinted at possessing that level of power at any point of his life. Regardless, they gave their all for a common cause; yet, it appeared to not be enough. Cleos, Queen and Guardian of her world, sacrificed her life to give the rest of them the chance they needed. With Banespell's hammer, they all attacked him in turn until his very body and spirit was bound to that world by Banespell himself.

With that, the battle was over. The threat of Alakazah, the King of Liars, appeared to be over.

Each Palantine took a ball and went their separate ways after using the Namekian balls to restore some of the damage caused by Alakazah's conquest. That much Parsley had already figured. Sarada told her in private that she found one of the balls in Vocado's personal effects after taking the throne.

There were a few things that stood out to her when the vision ended and she could process what she saw. The first was that from what she saw and could tell, the M-Fighters were about as powerful as the Palantine were back then, but had more room to grow. Knowledge of the Lampton's god ritual, Fusion, and the myriad of techniques and abilities they had at their disposal gave her a fair bit of confidence in their chances against a fully unbound Alakazah. Seeing the vision and gaining a glimpse of what he was capable of was a great boon. It would help them prepare for their upcoming conflict and form strategies based on what she saw. She made a mental note to record what she saw in her guide book so that all their allies could have the same opportunity.

Second, Banespell was the one who bound Alakazah to Earth. Further, it didn't appear that the people of Earth had a say in the matter. It was par for the course, naturally. Those with power imposed their wills on those without it. Even with the greater good of the entire universe at stake, it did little to alleviate the bad taste in her mouth when she reflected on the countless years of oppressive rule by "President Grinthorn" under the guise of benevolence. The human race had stagnated for so long, and was only just then able to begin catching up to the rest of the galaxy. She supposed, in the end, there was no choice. Still, the results left much to be desired in regards to that choice.

Third, and it appeared Banespell missed it, Alakazah ended up getting the last laugh. With his final breaths after defeat, he cast a curse on the Palantine. Fear. Wander. Isolate. Forget. They would never peace again. With those words, Parsley finally understood how Caladash Banespell became Lord Forger, a man obsessed with preventing Inanna from wreaking havoc. Only twenty of the fifty actually trustworthy soothsayers he relied on confirmed his fears, yet he persisted and engaged in a bloody and fatal preventative war that resulted in countless innocent lives being lost, The Judge losing his humanity, and Ishtar being set loose and given the ability to join Sakin and Alakazah for her own ends. All to sate the paranoia and fear of a greater threat than the Elder Dragon, even if that threat hadn't technically done anything wrong yet.

She understood, and looked at the Darkling with a small frown. "I understand now. Alakazah cursed you to a life of fear and paranoia, and those led you to where you are today." It didn't absolve him of his actions, but she at least understood then what drove him to make them. "You've helped us a great deal. We'll compile what we learned and inform our allies, and use these memories to form a strategy to destroy Alakazah for good."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It seems clear that Banespell doesn’t understand.

“Curse? What do you mean?”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

It seems clear that Banespell doesn’t understand.

“Curse? What do you mean?”

Parsley raised an eyebrow. It seemed he was completely unaware that he was cursed to begin with. "When he was bound, Alakazah said one last thing, though it appears you missed it. ‘I shall be a…..grinning thorn…..in your sides, Palantine, for even as I am bound and reduced I have struck a parting blow. I will unravel you to my curse: you will never know peace. You will Fear. You will Isolate. You will Wander. You will Forget. You will never…..know……peace……again……..’ That fear he cursed you with led to you committing unspeakable acts in your pursuit of Inanna."

As she spoke, she gazed closely at Banespell, attempting to seek out the curse Alakazah placed on him with Toki Yo Tomare.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley raised an eyebrow. It seemed he was completely unaware that he was cursed to begin with. "When he was bound, Alakazah said one last thing, though it appears you missed it. ‘I shall be a…..grinning thorn…..in your sides, Palantine, for even as I am bound and reduced I have struck a parting blow. I will unravel you to my curse: you will never know peace. You will Fear. You will Isolate. You will Wander. You will Forget. You will never…..know……peace……again……..’ That fear he cursed you with led to you committing unspeakable acts in your pursuit of Inanna."

As she spoke, she gazed closely at Banespell, attempting to seek out the curse Alakazah placed on him with Toki Yo Tomare.

Like a cancer, she finally spots it after some time. It is a sickly thing of twisted smoke, corded through his brain, his heart, his mind and Ki. Untold years has it had to spread and sicken the person from within.

All the Palantine would be similar than, most likely, save Cleos who died before the curse was laid down.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Like a cancer, she finally spots it after some time. It is a sickly thing of twisted smoke, corded through his brain, his heart, his mind and Ki. Untold years has it had to spread and sicken the person from within.

All the Palantine would be similar than, most likely, save Cleos who died before the curse was laid down.

There! After a bit of searching, Parsley found what she was looking for. There was no mistaking it; that was the curse beset upon Banespell and the other Palantines by Alakazah. It was a sick, pulsating mass of smoky magic that twisted through every facet of his being. It was intertwined around his brain, his heart, his mind, and even his Ki. She had never seen a curse so thorough; it, along with Banespell's ignorance of its very existence spoke volumes of Alakazah's magical prowess. Removing it would take every bit of skill she had, and even with the strides she had taken, she wasn't sure she was capable of doing it alone.

"Can you see it?" she asked Ochazuke. "It's infected every facet of his being. We'll have to work together if we're to remove it." Remove it without killing him was left unsaid, but strongly implied. There was no telling what other properties the curse would have on them once Alakazah was fully unbound. Removing it from all of them while they still had the chance was the best course of action.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

There! After a bit of searching, Parsley found what she was looking for. There was no mistaking it; that was the curse beset upon Banespell and the other Palantines by Alakazah. It was a sick, pulsating mass of smoky magic that twisted through every facet of his being. It was intertwined around his brain, his heart, his mind, and even his Ki. She had never seen a curse so thorough; it, along with Banespell's ignorance of its very existence spoke volumes of Alakazah's magical prowess. Removing it would take every bit of skill she had, and even with the strides she had taken, she wasn't sure she was capable of doing it alone.

"Can you see it?" she asked Ochazuke. "It's infected every facet of his being. We'll have to work together if we're to remove it." Remove it without killing him was left unsaid, but strongly implied. There was no telling what other properties the curse would have on them once Alakazah was fully unbound. Removing it from all of them while they still had the chance was the best course of action.

Actually, there stands a very good chance that removing it improperly could kill Banespell.

At best, Parsley figure their odds are 50/50 due to how long it’s had to set itself into his being. The only, 100% way to remove it would be to either kill Alakazah or have him remove it himself.

Banespell, meanwhile, seems to still not understand. Almost like he can’t even acknowledge the curse in his system, which you would imagine was part of the curse itself.

[grampagen]

Having laid their hands upon the head of Caladash Banespell, the Darkling Lord Forger initiated some strange means to convey a vision, as if it had been drawn directly from the ancient flesh that had encased his mind. Whether it was a result of this direct, physical contact or the matter of Darklings - they had remained much a mystery to them for all the violence that fell upon their world - though the way the vision was conveyed before Ochazuke and Zaofan's eyes was quite familiar, this shared memory, produced with its complete sensory fidelity into a vicarious experienc

As they were plucked into the vision, Zaofan's first impression was that the view was brought low. Before he could come up with something clever about the change of vantage point, that was soon stilled by the sheer scope of the battle. What was familiar to their host was an anomaly to them, everything from this alien world that served as the battlefield to the shape of the allied host in a clash of armies. For Ochazuke, the rushing in behind Banespell's eyes made the stifling course of the memory particularly pronounced, but for the view locked beneath familiarly obsidian vessels exploding into chaff in the atmosphere. Amid the company of the burning ankhs, Foxes and Jackals were on the prowl.

The Kitani had a Palatine?! Zaofan was beside himself, and Ochazuke was filled with a brooding silence. Of the several worlds in the wider galaxy they'd visited, the subject was never broached. They had a name, but they didn't wish to assume...though the Guardian of the world seemed rather agreeable at the time, however, but until now neither of them had any idea how deep her connection went.

All of this fell to the wayside the moment Banespell cast his view upon Alakazah in his true form. Then as now, the monstrosity that would become Grinthorn leveraged his power; though the Palatine and those that resisted with them appeared to be stronger man for man, Alakazah threw throngs of expendable lives against them endlessly, gloating as he beheld his cruel victory. The First Dragon commanded from the rear, and by his roar threw the enslaved legions bound by his covenant across countless worlds forward on a whim to meet their doom, and worse, he was winning. The nameless First Race, the Armada of Ankhs, and the Darklings - when had they become a spacefaring race? - drove forward to their doom and side by side with the Mistress of Heka, they had work to do.

It was around this time that the realized just what planet they were on. Was this the Temple of Old Vermillion? They knew it as a subterranean ruin, but there it was, Arthur's former seat of power among the mountains, and there the Dragonballs, dark stars upon a dark verdant field, were separated from him. A Dragon's power drawn from its artifacts; yet they knew even separated from the source of his power he was unable to die.

The second point of remembrance came from a man fighting to stave off death, and from the ambitious hope riding on the sacrifice of millions everything seemed to shrink, empty behind the Forger's eyes. Nothing but pain and exhaustion, darkness creeping at the edge of the vision, Ochazuke straining to see secondhand through him paled to the echo filled with helplessness, desperation, and frustration. When the sky parted and King Vocado struck down one of the Children of the Dragon, hope slowly rekindled. Haden of the First Race, a long, thin shadow, drew upon his strange devices and fired. A survivor, like Wilhelm. Meanwhile the Kitani shift her form and struck against the seeping smoke, and the Oni moved to cover her.

Banespell's eyes followed comrades across the universe, each so near, yet as strange as their names as they had been written, but for another phantom of the Master. He was far more complete and realized than the ghost impressed upon the Leylines, this Zxu'ro who, for all of his bearing of an aimless youthful flaneur proved himself quite swiftly as the world responded to his rallying, the Earth loaning its power to the Genki Dama in an instant.

A technique that shares power...cannot be taken ungratefully or with ego.

The Dragon now without his artifacts was, perhaps, isolated now, but far from helpless, for reality was its plaything: True Magic to unmake and remake it as he desired. Small, petty wishes, turning the world itself into an enemy, to combat such a foe, they needed nothing short of a miracle...which the instrument held in the Forger's hand, holding the essence of Creation, the will of the World, and the sacrifice of the enigmatic Cleos' own life, they could feel that Caladash Banespell was driven by something far deeper than the need for a weapon. Vocado and Durga lashed out in tandem, Alakazah's power and form withering until the Forger, holding the collected strength of those fighting against the First Dragon he could at last bring it down upon him...

...and bind him to the Earth.

[grampagen]

When the vision from Banespell's mind had parted, receding back into reality from the cruelties of the past was like moving into the dark from a burning light, and the images of those they'd thought to be heroes had been in their minds likewise mottled with a spread of dancing shadows, for the memory was still fresh and would not soon be forgotten.

"...that was Zxu'ro." Zaofan was reeling, obviously starstruck. "The real Zxu'ro! I mean, we've met young 'Ro, kind of, but wow! And did you see Vocado?!" He paused for a moment when he realized they'd probably met Kyuubi. "The Kitani Guardian! She looks exactly like her, no way that's a coincidence, either! I mean, they're shapeshifters, right? I've got half a mind to take the first Stargate back over there..."

And on he went, the chef picking through each and every little thing he saw, sifting through to find the missing ingredient.

"...the level of power being thrown around, that might never be enough, but that's not what it was about, I know that's for sure now! But the cost..."

Parsley raised an eyebrow. It seemed he was completely unaware that he was cursed to begin with. "When he was bound, Alakazah said one last thing, though it appears you missed it. ‘I shall be a…..grinning thorn…..in your sides, Palantine, for even as I am bound and reduced I have struck a parting blow. I will unravel you to my curse: you will never know peace. You will Fear. You will Isolate. You will Wander. You will Forget. You will never…..know……peace……again……..’ That fear he cursed you with led to you committing unspeakable acts in your pursuit of Inanna."

As she spoke, she gazed closely at Banespell, attempting to seek out the curse Alakazah placed on him with Toki Yo Tomare.

Like a cancer, she finally spots it after some time. It is a sickly thing of twisted smoke, corded through his brain, his heart, his mind and Ki. Untold years has it had to spread and sicken the person from within.

All the Palantine would be similar than, most likely, save Cleos who died before the curse was laid down.

There! After a bit of searching, Parsley found what she was looking for. There was no mistaking it; that was the curse beset upon Banespell and the other Palantines by Alakazah. It was a sick, pulsating mass of smoky magic that twisted through every facet of his being. It was intertwined around his brain, his heart, his mind, and even his Ki. She had never seen a curse so thorough; it, along with Banespell's ignorance of its very existence spoke volumes of Alakazah's magical prowess. Removing it would take every bit of skill she had, and even with the strides she had taken, she wasn't sure she was capable of doing it alone.

"Can you see it?" she asked Ochazuke. "It's infected every facet of his being. We'll have to work together if we're to remove it." Remove it without killing him was left unsaid, but strongly implied. There was no telling what other properties the curse would have on them once Alakazah was fully unbound. Removing it from all of them while they still had the chance was the best course of action.

Actually, there stands a very good chance that removing it improperly could kill Banespell.

At best, Parsley figure their odds are 50/50 due to how long it’s had to set itself into his being. The only, 100% way to remove it would be to either kill Alakazah or have him remove it himself.

Banespell, meanwhile, seems to still not understand. Almost like he can’t even acknowledge the curse in his system, which you would imagine was part of the curse itself.

Ochazuke, for his part, had long grown silent, and the moment the shared memory ended Banespell's fall to the withered Forger before him seemed far more apparent. The master craftsman would never hold or touch any aspect of his former craft ever again. He reached for his last masterwork, laid upon the table before him, and when he lift it, it seemed strangely light and hollow.

When Parsley asked if he could see the smoke, he nodded. "However...it may not be able to be removed by any direct means." As it was under the President, it shrouded and obscured something, and yet similarly to his companion, his curiosity had been stoked.

The event had occurred. That could not be hidden, but why would Alakazah let him remember this, but obscure the curse, unless he had something to hide?

Yet he had stood in front of the cursed smoke once himself. Sickly, intoxicating, it clung to everything like fine ash and opium tar, trying to part that veil would be a futile as it would be lethal. For a moment, Ochazuke turned Kyokushin Keihatsu upon the smith's tool he held in his hand; he'd seen a memory of Heka, felt the impression of what it should mean, and sought to see and understand what this strange essence was for himself.


That Man did not levy his curse based on nothing. The smoke is to diffuse his message, it must be contained and adhere to some desire.

To that end, to part the fog that remained in Caladash Banespell's mind, Ochazuke sought to appeal to something that might pull it out.

"Strangely, long before you made your move on those who would use the Dragonballs for good, you'd also caught the eye of one Majin Auroc. He'd heard of the Palatine, by name if not deeds, but was always at a distance," he started, "The First Race, the Kitani, The Oni, Saiyans, Humans, Darklings, in one way or another our group has met them and seen what they'd left behind...save one."

As he examined the hammer, perhaps in vain, for some small remnant of...something, he then spoke her name.

"Tell me about Cleos."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

When the vision from Banespell's mind had parted, receding back into reality from the cruelties of the past was like moving into the dark from a burning light, and the images of those they'd thought to be heroes had been in their minds likewise mottled with a spread of dancing shadows, for the memory was still fresh and would not soon be forgotten.

"...that was Zxu'ro." Zaofan was reeling, obviously starstruck. "The real Zxu'ro! I mean, we've met young 'Ro, kind of, but wow! And did you see Vocado?!" He paused for a moment when he realized they'd probably met Kyuubi. "The Kitani Guardian! She looks exactly like her, no way that's a coincidence, either! I mean, they're shapeshifters, right? I've got half a mind to take the first Stargate back over there..."

And on he went, the chef picking through each and every little thing he saw, sifting through to find the missing ingredient.

"...the level of power being thrown around, that might never be enough, but that's not what it was about, I know that's for sure now! But the cost..."









Ochazuke, for his part, had long grown silent, and the moment the shared memory ended Banespell's fall to the withered Forger before him seemed far more apparent. The master craftsman would never hold or touch any aspect of his former craft ever again. He reached for his last masterwork, laid upon the table before him, and when he lift it, it seemed strangely light and hollow.

When Parsley asked if he could see the smoke, he nodded. "However...it may not be able to be removed by any direct means." As it was under the President, it shrouded and obscured something, and yet similarly to his companion, his curiosity had been stoked.

The event had occurred. That could not be hidden, but why would Alakazah let him remember this, but obscure the curse, unless he had something to hide?

Yet he had stood in front of the cursed smoke once himself. Sickly, intoxicating, it clung to everything like fine ash and opium tar, trying to part that veil would be a futile as it would be lethal. For a moment, Ochazuke turned Kyokushin Keihatsu upon the smith's tool he held in his hand; he'd seen a memory of Heka, felt the impression of what it should mean, and sought to see and understand what this strange essence was for himself.


That Man did not levy his curse based on nothing. The smoke is to diffuse his message, it must be contained and adhere to some desire.

To that end, to part the fog that remained in Caladash Banespell's mind, Ochazuke sought to appeal to something that might pull it out.

"Strangely, long before you made your move on those who would use the Dragonballs for good, you'd also caught the eye of one Majin Auroc. He'd heard of the Palatine, by name if not deeds, but was always at a distance," he started, "The First Race, the Kitani, The Oni, Saiyans, Humans, Darklings, in one way or another our group has met them and seen what they'd left behind...save one."

As he examined the hammer, perhaps in vain, for some small remnant of...something, he then spoke her name.

"Tell me about Cleos."

Whatever fugue state Banespell seemed to be in when Paraley mentioned a curse he could not aknowleege, seems to fall away at Cleos’ name. He smiles a tired, bittersweet smile at her name. His eyes grow fond, and he sits back a bit.

“Cleos was the Queen and Guardian of Amonra. Their people, unique among all the stars for their Heka Flow. It is a means to heal people, the more they do so the stronger they become. See, they are not fighters. Fighting can’t increase their strength, like a Saiyan or human, but instead helping people is what does it. And it cannot be done so in selfishness either. You have to want to help and heal them. I even heard then could reverse death with their Heka Flow, if they got powerful enough.”

He grows quiet, eyes far away.

“She was old when Zxu’ro recruited her to his cause, but still beautiful. Wise, but still hopeful. She was kind and the most caring, nurturing, unselfish person I have ever met. She….heh, when we were all together, this group of misfits and outcasts and self-centered fools, she was like our mother or big sister. She cared, she listened.”

He sighs and closes his eyes, lost in memory.


Ochazuke, as you examine the hammer, there is the tiniest trace of an energy you have never seen before. Buried under lines of runes and magic, you are only able to sense it after having seen it in Banespell’s memory. A golden warmth, an ember of a fire: Heka Flow.

[grampagen]

Whatever fugue state Banespell seemed to be in when Paraley mentioned a curse he could not aknowleege, seems to fall away at Cleos’ name. He smiles a tired, bittersweet smile at her name. His eyes grow fond, and he sits back a bit.

“Cleos was the Queen and Guardian of Amonra. Their people, unique among all the stars for their Heka Flow. It is a means to heal people, the more they do so the stronger they become. See, they are not fighters. Fighting can’t increase their strength, like a Saiyan or human, but instead helping people is what does it. And it cannot be done so in selfishness either. You have to want to help and heal them. I even heard then could reverse death with their Heka Flow, if they got powerful enough.”

Ochazuke and Zaofan listened as Banespell spoke about the world of Amonra, one they'd never encountered on their increasingly frequent travels through the wider universe. Strange that they had nothing but a name, but the Dragon, creature of veils and smoke that he was, had a particular gift for making people forget what impeded him.

That was thousands of years ago. If there was a word they could speak, would Banespell had chosen his path?

But the description of Heka, though it seemed as real to the Forger as it had been seen in his memories, seemed rather abstract until Zaofan leaned in near Ochazuke and muttered into his ear.

"...reversing death, huh? Sounds familiar, in a way, doesn't it?" The chef's felt his fingers at once grow icy and aching in the joints already. "Two of the Master's techniques, with one part of Totoma's from the Zhu Clan, the principles sound similar."

Ochazuke turned his head toward his brother, who pursed his lips, lift his arms over, and point his index fingers towards him. Parsley would recognize this as the closing seal of the Fusion Dance.

He grows quiet, eyes far away.

“She was old when Zxu’ro recruited her to his cause, but still beautiful. Wise, but still hopeful. She was kind and the most caring, nurturing, unselfish person I have ever met. She….heh, when we were all together, this group of misfits and outcasts and self-centered fools, she was like our mother or big sister. She cared, she listened.”

He sighs and closes his eyes, lost in memory.


Ochazuke, as you examine the hammer, there is the tiniest trace of an energy you have never seen before. Buried under lines of runes and magic, you are only able to sense it after having seen it in Banespell’s memory. A golden warmth, an ember of a fire: Heka Flow.

It seems Zxu'ro approached Cleos, either by happenstance that had fallen upon the Earth, or by some ancient means of reaching Outer Space. Whatever the case, the Forger remembered it fondly. Ochazuke remained wary, for he knew all to well the dangers of a charismatic with a purpose. The consequences of driving a person to discover power within themselves they had never known, that was a factor the Palatine knew as well as their enemy, for the creature - even before he become Grinthorn - turned that into a weapon, and thereafter twisted it into his all too fickle peace.

Yet there within the hammer, the smallest hint of Heka that remained within it from that day seemed to resonate with Banespell's presence. But it will not become anything on its own...because it cannot. Not without something real to act upon.

So while he was unguarded in his thoughts, he prod the Forger to keep talking, pulling through the myriad of defenses to justify the heinous violence the Ulthan had committed to find something more fundamental to the man.

"But for you, Banespell, it was more than that. You loved her."