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

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Watching the Threshling princess depart, the foci let out a sigh of annoyance. "........fool.....at least they lived to learn their lesson......weak as they may be. Its the strongest who need fear that lesson the most."

"If you think I cannot hear you, then you are sadly mistaken," replied Nevanlinna from out in the hall. Her hearing was, as one would expect, quite acute, even without physically modifying herself. "Would it not be such a shame if some tragedy were to befall your creator's oh-so-lovely homeworld once we return?"

Her tone made it... unclear whether she was serious or not. Even Neva herself wasn't sure, but... if she did decide to destroy the Earth, she would simply do it, rather than give its defenders time to rally and mount resistance. She, after all, was not a brazen idiot like her deceased half-brother.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"If you think I cannot hear you, then you are sadly mistaken," replied Nevanlinna from out in the hall. Her hearing was, as one would expect, quite acute, even without physically modifying herself. "And it would be a damn shame if something were to happen to your creator's nice little homeworld once we return."

Her tone made it... unclear whether she was serious or not. Even Neva herself wasn't sure, but... if she did decide to destroy the Earth, she would simply do it, rather than give its defenders time to rally and mount resistance. She, after all, was not a brazen idiot like her deceased half-brother.

Ishtar paused, and turned from her looking into of the information provided by Wilhelm, and appraised Nevanlinna a moment before turning back to her studies with a word.

"As it stands, I would leave you here with Sasheem, or kill you, should I feel such a threat was ... worth anything. Yet here we are." The Oni tapped the data pad held between her claws, and frowned as the display shifted ever so slightly.

"So please. Save the bickering for later, or at the very least, take it out of earshot."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Ishtar paused, and turned from her looking into of the information provided by Wilhelm, and appraised Nevanlinna a moment before turning back to her studies with a word.

"As it stands, I would leave you here with Sasheem, or kill you, should I feel such a threat was ... worth anything. Yet here we are." The Oni tapped the data pad held between her claws, and frowned as the display shifted ever so slightly.

"So please. Save the bickering for later, or at the very least, take it out of earshot."

"The former would but delay me, and the latter... you are not capable of it, despite your increased power," said Neva. Well, if she herself hadn't been working on a way to increase her power, then Ishtar, as she was now, would certainly be capable of ending her life, but... she had not been resting on her laurels the past half-year, b any means. The main issue is that she'd be outnumbered.

Of course, she wouldn't be stupid enough to fight them all at once. If she desired to kill them, she'd simply destroy the planet and be done with it. Reverse-engineering that gate spell would take time, but she was certain she could do it, eventually. Ishtar... was simply a means to expedite that process.

[MrSandman]

"It's a rather good thing this gun can't burn a city to the ground. Yes, I believe strongly that a weapon that can neutralize ki and magic will save millions. Or, at the very least make my world easier to defend and keep her race," she gestured toward Nevanlinna, "from procuring a taste for imperialism. Three outcomes that I think anyone with a modicum of decency would find satisfactory, and well worth the risk of succumbing to the dark side or whatever mindless dreck you're talking about."

Then, completely contrary to her words, she threw her hands up in defeat. "If you feel that upholding moral decency is of a higher priority that doing what you must to save the countless innocent lives that have recently been in danger at every turn, then by all means, don't mind me."

To show she was serious, she turned her back on the blue Foci and picked up another data pad. "Oh, and by the way, it would be a great shame if your master were to die in an otherwise easily winnable battle due to your overzealous righteousness simply because you wanted to uphold those ironclad morals."

"If you think I cannot hear you, then you are sadly mistaken," replied Nevanlinna from out in the hall. Her hearing was, as one would expect, quite acute, even without physically modifying herself. "And it would be a damn shame if something were to happen to your creator's nice little homeworld once we return."

Her tone made it... unclear whether she was serious or not. Even Neva herself wasn't sure, but... if she did decide to destroy the Earth, she would simply do it, rather than give its defenders time to rally and mount resistance. She, after all, was not a brazen idiot like her deceased half-brother.

"Why do you think I said it out loud." Blue Etrina rubbed its temple. ".......If your not going to heed my warnings, the least you can do is save your threats. You know where to go if you want the pad restored." The foci huffed, then turned and floated off towards the exit. "And make sure to bring all of the pieces..."

[Tami]

Stepping outside, Dash quickly 'Leaped' [flew] up to the top of the Bunker, landing on it and looking out to survey the land around them. She was curious about this place.

After a while, she found herself laying down on the roof and staring up at the strange, unfamiliar sky, hands behind her head. It wasn't that she wasn't interetsed in this world, or the secrets it may hold. It was just that she was worried about her own world.

It wasn't hard to work out why they were jettisoned like space trash. Without there there, the Earth was left vulnerable. Perhaps not entirely vulnerable, but more than before.

She wondered of Earth could end up like this world? So many threats all fighting over whatever perceived or real treasures it might possess. "The Damn thing is," Dash thought to herself, "All they gotta do is ask. It's not like the Earth's against sharing." She wondered if that was what happened here. Too much fighting, not enough sharing.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"The former would but delay me, and the latter... you are not capable of it, despite your increased power," said Neva. Well, if she herself hadn't been working on a way to increase her power, then Ishtar, as she was now, would certainly be capable of ending her life, but... she had not been resting on her laurels the past half-year, b any means. The main issue is that she'd be outnumbered.

Of course, she wouldn't be stupid enough to fight them all at once. If she desired to kill them, she'd simply destroy the planet and be done with it. Reverse-engineering that gate spell would take time, but she was certain she could do it, eventually. Ishtar... was simply a means to expedite that process.

Ishtar chuckled, before flicking to yet another 'page' on the data pad. "I could care less what you think at the moment, Exiled Princess; and that you speak without knowing, simply emphasizes how hollow your threats are."

Ishtar had learned a great many things about herself, in the weeks and months on Vocado. Particularly during her long hours of practice mastering the Wrath that had previously stripped from her reason, and a will go live -- beyond the instinctual desire to to fight, and bleed. This was just a part of the whole, a stepping stone. Nevanlinna would be able to sense it too, should she look, that hidden strength, and untapped Hakai.

That she was stronger was in no way a fact, or at the least would not be for very long.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat replies saying " it's a name of a ancient race." " in my home world's text that name is mention to refer to my the deities on my home world Zykona and Demjir. " " that name is all I know about the race and that they have to be ancient." " I don't think anyone knows about the Konatsians or what even planet they live on. "


" yeah much is not know about that race." " so my theory is that race was nearly wipe out a really long time ago I estimate proximally thousand years or more. " "so you're princess is alive well that's good." " well if she's under some kind of spell than magic is going to be the only option as much as I don't like it."

"the two deities on my home world are a female and a male. " "looks over at Neva saying " the kind of resemble Neva there." "they pretty much have similar features to her." " they have pointy ears like hers expect theirs are wider and the point more upwards at angle ."


" their skin color is lighter then hers." " in fact their skin color is rather pale." " Zykona and Demjir have a skin tone so pale that it's nearly absence of any color." " the skin is pretty much is nearly as white as a sheet of paper."

Praxat pauses for a moment and looks at Meagan " saying hey Megan I supposed you haven't heard ancient race call Konatsians before?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Why do you think I said it out loud." Blue Etrina rubbed its temple. ".......If your not going to heed my warnings, the least you can do is save your threats. You know where to go if you want the pad restored." The foci huffed, then turned and floated off towards the exit. "And make sure to bring all of the pieces..."

Parsley watched the small, unimportant, unimpressive thing float away. She shook her head. "What a complete waste of time. You could have very easily made the same pointless spiel without the shameless destruction of this poor man's property."

[Tami]

Praxat pauses for a moment and looks at Meagan " saying hey Megan I supposed you haven't heard ancient race call Konatsians before?"

Looking a little tired, she smiled slightly then shook her head, "No, I haven't. From what I understand, your people, your planet is pretty isolated." Meagan then had a thought, "When we get back, when we're not fighting any new threats, I'll invite you back to my home world. We have one of the Galaxy's best Library and Archive. If there isn't anything in it on your people, maybe you could contribute some information to the collection."

She then became serious, "I know you are new to this. I never expected to drag you into something like this so soon, but right now we have to focus on what is important. Helping Wilhelm and his Princess, and finding a way back to Earth before there is no Earth to return to."

[Cyke]

The small kitchen is connected to the commissary. It’s easy enough to find. Fairly spartan though.

Zaofan puts his hands on his waist. "Well, it's not ideal, but it'll have to do. A good chef never blames the tools, after all. Let's get to work."

On the counter, the chef he lays out his leather bag of ancient kitchen knives from the Lookout. He looks through various cabinets and shelves for pots, pans, utensils, containers -- anything that can assist him and Totoma. "So, just like how it was on the Slaver's world, it seems that, universe or not, some cooking tools are ... multiversal, I guess."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Looking a little tired, she smiled slightly then shook her head, "No, I haven't. From what I understand, your people, your planet is pretty isolated." Meagan then had a thought, "When we get back, when we're not fighting any new threats, I'll invite you back to my home world. We have one of the Galaxy's best Library and Archive. If there isn't anything in it on your people, maybe you could contribute some information to the collection."

She then became serious, "I know you are new to this. I never expected to drag you into something like this so soon, but right now we have to focus on what is important. Helping Wilhelm and his Princess, and finding a way back to Earth before there is no Earth to return to."

Praxat replies to this saying " remember my people are called the Toadians, and the other race on my planet Qacriea are the Replitas." "then there are the two deities on my planet Zykona and Demjir who are neither Toadian or Replita." " it is written in text on my planet in both my race and the Replitas." " that these two beings once refer to themselves as Konatsians."


my race the Toadians are seekers of knowledge and technology but we know next to nothing about who these Konatsians are or even what planet they originate from. of course my people have made theory's that this race called Konatsian suffer a catastrophic event that lead to their near Extinction and the death of their planet with only Zykona and Demjir being the only two members left of this race.


"yeah I know it just rattles my brain that there's these two brings on my home world Qacriea that are neither Toadian or Replita and I don't even know where the hell they originate from." " Neva kind of resembles them, but I doubt there's a connection." Paraxt pasues for a moment saying " I known we need to get back to earth. " " if I had acess to this world's technology ."

" I may be able to build a portal to get us back to Earth ." " the only problem though is such a portal would a asburd amount of energy ." " I 'm talking energy equivalent to that of a freaking black hole!" " such device if any went wrong could result in a mini black hole that sucks this planet and everything that's on it inside of it , and subject them to immeasurable gravtional forces"

" Forces that a doubt any creature could survive." " technically this earth we are on right now." " well it's not are Earth , but technically is the Earth of whatever universe this is." "Whielm called this Planet Terra and from research i did back on our Earth when I first arrived there ." " That Terra is Latin for Earth ."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Zaofan puts his hands on his waist. "Well, it's not ideal, but it'll have to do. A good chef never blames the tools, after all. Let's get to work."

On the counter, the chef he lays out his leather bag of ancient kitchen knives from the Lookout. He looks through various cabinets and shelves for pots, pans, utensils, containers -- anything that can assist him and Totoma. "So, just like how it was on the Slaver's world, it seems that, universe or not, some cooking tools are ... multiversal, I guess."

Totoma begins de-capsuling and laying out the ingredients he'd been carrying around. Meats, veggies, fruits... he had it all. Certainly enough for a group of hungry travelers and... uh... one hermit. Even if there were some saiyans and Erosa--wherever she was right now--in the group. "Well, what works... works. Every species is gonna stumble upon the same basic cooking tools through trial and error. Unless they don't cook their food, I... guess."

During his travels as a kid, he'd happened upon a species that didn't cook their food. Real primitive, but... also real nice folk. As a Saiyan, he could eat a raw diet, but he'd found their cuisine kind of... bland, really. Meat, especially, tasted waaaay better when cooked. Something about the heat breaking down proteins, giving it flavor or something.

Still, he'd given them some cooking lessons, and it'd been... like twelve, thirteen years since then? Who knows, maybe he'd started some sort of gourmet revolution on that planet.

"So... how're things going with you and Etrina?" asked Totoma as he meticulously arranged the ingredients. After a moment, though, he stopped, as his father's face flashed into his mind. He'd... forgotten the first rule of the kitchen.


Always wash your hands!


He quickly walked over to a nearby sink and began washing his hands. The soap dispenser was long-dry, so he de-capsuled some soap he'd been carrying about for just such an occasion. "Whew, sorry dad, almost blew it..."

[Cyke]

Totoma begins de-capsuling and laying out the ingredients he'd been carrying around. Meats, veggies, fruits... he had it all. Certainly enough for a group of hungry travelers and... uh... one hermit. Even if there were some saiyans and Erosa--wherever she was right now--in the group. "Well, what works... works. Every species is gonna stumble upon the same basic cooking tools through trial and error. Unless they don't cook their food, I... guess."

During his travels as a kid, he'd happened upon a species that didn't cook their food. Real primitive, but... also real nice folk. As a Saiyan, he could eat a raw diet, but he'd found their cuisine kind of... bland, really. Meat, especially, tasted waaaay better when cooked. Something about the heat breaking down proteins, giving it flavor or something.

Still, he'd given them some cooking lessons, and it'd been... like twelve, thirteen years since then? Who knows, maybe he'd started some sort of gourmet revolution on that planet.

"So... how're things going with you and Etrina?" asked Totoma as he meticulously arranged the ingredients. After a moment, though, he stopped, as his father's face flashed into his mind. He'd... forgotten the first rule of the kitchen.


Always wash your hands!


He quickly walked over to a nearby sink and began washing his hands. The soap dispenser was long-dry, so he de-capsuled some soap he'd been carrying about for just such an occasion. "Whew, sorry dad, almost blew it..."

Drying his own hands on an apron after a nice, thorough wash, Zaofan puts the apron on and picks three or four vegetables from Totoma's pile and sets them aside.

"Etrina and I... well... woooboy."

He puts the vegetables in a strainer to wash them as well. "We're doing okay, I think, but the things we did last night -- well...heh. heh. heh." Zaofan smiles wryly, then shakes it off to get back to work. "...it hasn't been the easiest thing. We're probably the only couple that sees each other once every six months, and that's only when the Earth is in danger. So, there's a lot of catching up to do."

Zaofan shuts off the water and gives the strainer a few vigorous shakes to let the water drip, and then brings it over to his station, by a cutting board and his knives. He grabs a larger knife and starts chopping up the veggies. "And it's getting to the point where I don't know if I *can* catch up to her. She's amazing, no doubt, but the breadth of her powers seem to grow exponentially each time." As he chops, he pauses during certain phrases, pointing the knife side to side to enunciate each point. "And I don't mean keep up with her power-wise, as if she were a Saiyan. I mean, the things she can do exceed my imagination, my ability to comprehend the possible. And I'm worried that, well, like the uncooked meat you brought up earlier, that I might become too bland or too ordinary for her. Did you know she can splitform now? Sure, the possibilities are endless there -- if you catch my drift, heh-heh -- but I had no idea that that was within her magic to do! And I try to keep an open mind, but for someone who fashions himself an adventurer and explorer, I'm a little disappointed in myself that I can't seem to keep up with all her surprises and new abilities."

He sets aside the chopped veggies in a large bowl, and grabs more veggies to wash by the sink. "And then... there's the culture clash, too. On our way here, to this very base, she said we were betrothed. Then, I dunno, she said she didn't know what the proper term was, or for all I know, she could've been playing it off. But I got scared, man. Again, that whole adventurer and explorer gimmick? I'm a vagabond because I'm not a fan of commitments, really. I travel because I'm not tied down. And committing myself to a person for life? I want to take it one step at a time, but hey, we can fly, sooo..."

Zaofan examines a large radish, and his stomach begins to grumble just a bit. As long as it's not bloody meat, he'll come back to his normal appetite, eventually. "Don't get me wrong, I feel deeply for her, I really do. But I guess she moves fast for me in more ways than one. Hell, I pride myself on my speed, but this is something else entirely. Even if she didn't know what the word really meant, the idea itself really caught me off-guard. Like full-stop. And I think I feel a little ashamed that I hesitate around her. Magic and culture have all these variables, and for as much as I think I can handle variables, I feel like a hypocrite getting overwhelmed by her sometimes. She deserves better. A freer mind."

He continues examining the radish, looking even closer. "This is a good pick, Totoma. Real good. I can't wait to see what we can do with it!" Putting it down with the rest of the veggies, he gets to work on the cutting. "So, what do you think? Am I overthinking this? How do you get along with Karine? How did you two grow together?"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Drying his own hands on an apron after a nice, thorough wash, Zaofan puts the apron on and picks three or four vegetables from Totoma's pile and sets them aside.

"Etrina and I... well... woooboy."

He puts the vegetables in a strainer to wash them as well. "We're doing okay, I think, but the things we did last night -- well...heh. heh. heh." Zaofan smiles wryly, then shakes it off to get back to work. "...it hasn't been the easiest thing. We're probably the only couple that sees each other once every six months, and that's only when the Earth is in danger. So, there's a lot of catching up to do."

Zaofan shuts off the water and gives the strainer a few vigorous shakes to let the water drip, and then brings it over to his station, by a cutting board and his knives. He grabs a larger knife and starts chopping up the veggies. "And it's getting to the point where I don't know if I *can* catch up to her. She's amazing, no doubt, but the breadth of her powers seem to grow exponentially each time." As he chops, he pauses during certain phrases, pointing the knife side to side to enunciate each point. "And I don't mean keep up with her power-wise, as if she were a Saiyan. I mean, the things she can do exceed my imagination, my ability to comprehend the possible. And I'm worried that, well, like the uncooked meat you brought up earlier, that I might become too bland or too ordinary for her. Did you know she can splitform now? Sure, the possibilities are endless there -- if you catch my drift, heh-heh -- but I had no idea that that was within her magic to do! And I try to keep an open mind, but for someone who fashions himself an adventurer and explorer, I'm a little disappointed in myself that I can't seem to keep up with all her surprises and new abilities."

He sets aside the chopped veggies in a large bowl, and grabs more veggies to wash by the sink. "And then... there's the culture clash, too. On our way here, to this very base, she said we were betrothed. Then, I dunno, she said she didn't know what the proper term was, or for all I know, she could've been playing it off. But I got scared, man. Again, that whole adventurer and explorer gimmick? I'm a vagabond because I'm not a fan of commitments, really. I travel because I'm not tied down. And committing myself to a person for life? I want to take it one step at a time, but hey, we can fly, sooo..."

Zaofan examines a large radish, and his stomach begins to grumble just a bit. As long as it's not bloody meat, he'll come back to his normal appetite, eventually. "Don't get me wrong, I feel deeply for her, I really do. But I guess she moves fast for me in more ways than one. Hell, I pride myself on my speed, but this is something else entirely. Even if she didn't know what the word really meant, the idea itself really caught me off-guard. Like full-stop. And I think I feel a little ashamed that I hesitate around her. Magic and culture have all these variables, and for as much as I think I can handle variables, I feel like a hypocrite getting overwhelmed by her sometimes. She deserves better. A freer mind."

He continues examining the radish, looking even closer. "This is a good pick, Totoma. Real good. I can't wait to see what we can do with it!" Putting it down with the rest of the veggies, he gets to work on the cutting. "So, what do you think? Am I overthinking this? How do you get along with Karine? How did you two grow together?"

Without a word, Totoma listens to Zaofan... well, pour out his worries to him. He could sympathize on a lot of points, actually. Compared to Karine, he... was uncultured, and he didn't really pay much mind to magic. Yeah, he knew a bit about that stuff, but, really, he preferred to stick with what he was best at. Ki and punching things. But yeah, he could definitely sympathize with feeling... overwhelmed and out-of-his-element.

After a long pause, he finally spoke up: "Uh, Zao-san, I'm, uh... probably not the best person to go to for relationship advice. I mean, I accidentally confessed to her while... trying not to do just that. But... really, yeah, I think you're overthinking things. The way I see it, Etrina's surrounded by weirdness... probably a lot, so a relatively normal, down-to-earth guy like you would a... hm... an anchor, I guess. Something to keep her grounded in, uh, what most people consider reality. And, well, if you ever think you're getting stale, just work within your strengths... cooking. Find a new recipe--heck, create one yourself--to surprise and delight her. Or maybe find a way to combine your passions somehow. Like... magicooking."

What the hell was he even saying right now. After a brief, awkward pause, he continued. "Uh, as for me and Kari... ah, well, we get along great. Knowing each other for so long--over 15 years--has helped a lot. I'm... I'm still not sure what she sees in me, but for me, she's a source of peace and comfort. After my battle with Jagam, I... suffered from nightmares, ever night. Fighting that battle again and again. Being tortured all over again. Dying. Every single night. Except when she was near me."

Another pause, this time to focus on preparing some ingredients just right. He'd practiced his cooking a bit in the past year, but he was still nowhere near his father or Zaofan's level. Probably never would be, since he was focused on martial arts. Not that a Zhu focusing on that was weird or anything--not ever Zhu was a top-class chef... just a lot of 'em.

"Ya know, Karine and I actually have a sort of... metaphysical bond. It's that Kizuna thing I do, but way... way deeper. Like, if we're near each other, we can actually feel each other's emotions and... physical sensations, too. And let me tell you, that last part is really fun when it comes to sex. Though... the first time was kind of overwhelming, especially for me. I'd closed myself off for so long and having that undeniable proof that she loved me just..."

He trailed off. Back then, he'd actually been so overwhelmed that he'd broken down in tears. Yeah, not the most manly or saiyan-like thing to do, but... seriously, he'd been so isolated for so long and to finally feel loved again? How could he not?

"...ahh, well, it was a good feeling. Once we get back and things have calmed down, I think I'm gonna ask her to marry me. Figure it'll be a year or two before that happens, since we've still gotta track down her father, though. Now that Jagam's dead, I..."

He stopped and let that sink in. "Huh... he's dead. Jagam's really dead, isn't he? I won't have his shadow hanging over me from now on. What a... weird feeling. I've been working towards that goal for a long time, so... now what?"

Well, there was marrying Kari, raising a family... but, as a fighter, what was his goal? He was strong enough to handle just about any threat likely to pop up on Earth, so... maybe he'd just train to test his limits? See how far he could push himself, and then go beyond that. Or maybe he could figure all that out later and just focus on getting home.

Yeah, was probably better to just focus on the here and now for the time being.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Shallow pretense to claim dominion," Ochazuke replied. The matters of earthbound and galactic politics appeared to be much the same; and yet it mattered little who seized power, only ruin was spread.

So directed Ochazuke stole towards the Datapads. Though the history and motifs girdled much what he saw in distant, alien sensibility, thankfully the words remained common and legible.

Silently he began to consume knowledge of dead days at a swift pace. Perhaps toward the hidden enemy this Threshling spell had sent us. Reaching through the history, he searched for a connection in the distant hope that the knowledge of one world's fate could spare their Earth, and further within that, something to assist their way home.

After several minutes, Ochazuke found a single data pad of historic stories that mention the First Race.