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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Dash mutters and concentrates, Earth Armor flowing over her form. For the brief time their attacker is visible, she commands the ground below to reach up and grab hold as a massive earthen hand grabs him.

At the same time, Ochazuke’s lightning threads wrap and overlap around, holding the creature further in place.

While this holds the figure in place and it cannot track you with its head, Ochazuke you see Koorimaru’s familiar Void tunnels open up in front of its face as it fires blast after blast into them.

Voyovado, you see appearing in front of the ship out of suddenly nowhere beams of amber and golden energy, seeking to destroy the ship.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"As it stands now, we're all just waiting to die as is." Inanna said with a shrug. "Now, where's Lampton? Still in his hovel?"

She nods.

“He hasn’t moved. He seemed...eager.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Parsley gave a thumbs up. "Excellent. I'll make sure the other mage in our group knows of this arrangement so she can be ready to depart whenever you summon us."

“Any other spell caster if you like. When you’re ready just call me. I’ll find you lot.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"I am inclined to agree," said Voyavoda, who was busy working the controls. "However, until we clear the planet's gravity well, that monster will be able to out-pace us. Perhaps not enough to make escape impossible, but..."

He sighed. "All of you, please run interference as best you can. Anyone who can do so remotely, do so... and man the turrets." His hands running over the console, several nearby terminals sprang to life, displaying the view below them. He could have relied on auto-targeting, but that would likely prove... insufficient.

"I will be making liberal use of Ma-Tobashii, so I warn you... keeping a bead on him might prove difficult. Please bear with me," he said, his eyes flaring red as he activated his Shingan and began mentally prepping himself to take evasive maneuvers.

The sudden lurch in the Nevadian vessel was disorienting, but the manner in which the torrent issued from the faceless Arcosian's maw and carried its deathly intent with such abandon as it swept across the horizon, despite all appearances it could only be described as cold in the totality of its lifelessness.

"I've seen Hakai before, but nothing on this level," Ochazuke said. What judgement fell from demonic gates had at least been calculated devastation, but this horrid display, in accordance to its faceless wielder, could hardly be said to be rational despite its four, distinct consciousnesses.

Nothing remaining there but a vision of death and inevitability.

Ochazuke cursed as he drew a slow breath and concentrated. Even before this chaotic thing, they needed their wits about them if they were to survive.

"Not only are we outmatched..." he said as cold sweat wicked from his headband, "it seems we've lost even before coming here. Cheh, were we ever dealing with a rational actor?"

A fragment of Asha'rah, Koorimaru's soul, both swallowed by their own ambition. None of this makes sense.

Still established with his connection to the spirit of the planet, Ochazuke used it to reinforce his influence, the thousand lightning-threads of Saifa Kensaku erupting from the crust of Cortis II to hold Remnant in this position. Perhaps it would be in vain, but even a few seconds would make all the difference.

As he concentrated on the output at the distal end of his meditation field, it was like staring into the creature's gestalt spirit; he would commit this presence to memory.

If its manifestation is not yet total...there may be something we can do...

But that was contingent on escaping its pursuit.

That creature, Remnant, needed her to complete its plan and draw the rest of its power from wherever it was being held. With that in mind, she knew it was foolish to venture out of the ship to try and buy some time. And, other than enhancing her ki blasts with Creational energy, she didn't have much in the way of offensive firepower. She had some tricks up her sleeve, but nothing that she felt confident would hold him for more than a second.

"Tch." She quickly moved to one of the terminals and manned the controls. Her eyes filled with a pure white power, the godly energy bestowed to by ancient Guardians enhancing her vision to help her aim. He hadn't moved yet, but she wasn't taking any chances. She placed him in her crosshairs, and opened fire. Ghostly images that closely resembled her appeared within several of the other terminals and quickly opened fire on Remnant.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Dash mutters and concentrates, Earth Armor flowing over her form. For the brief time their attacker is visible, she commands the ground below to reach up and grab hold as a massive earthen hand grabs him.

At the same time, Ochazuke’s lightning threads wrap and overlap around, holding the creature further in place.

While this holds the figure in place and it cannot track you with its head, Ochazuke you see Koorimaru’s familiar Void tunnels open up in front of its face as it fires blast after blast into them.

Voyovado, you see appearing in front of the ship out of suddenly nowhere beams of amber and golden energy, seeking to destroy the ship.

Now, he was not the best pilot among his kind. There were certainly Nevadians out there that put him to shame as far as piloting skill went. However, he was still far better than the average. Still, a pilot was... limited by his ship, to some extent.

Thankfully, this ship was one that would be considered a blockade runner. Fast, decent cargo space, and, most importantly... maneuverable. With this ship and Ma-Tobashii, their chances of escaping were decent. Not guaranteed--nothing in life was--but decent was still better than 'nonexistent'.

When the void tunnels appear, he banked hard to the right, keeping track of the trajectories of energy. Whenever one would clip a protruding part of the ship, he would Ma-tobashii it slightly. After all, a near-miss had the same effect as a wide miss, but used less energy on his part. And while he had long since mastered Ma-tobashii and could use it liberally... using it to 'nudge' something this large would tire him out much faster.

Sweat coated his creased brow as he continued focusing on dodging the incoming fire without making Maiz's attempts to return fire unnecessarily annoying. Heh, in a lot of ways, this was... fun. The most excitement he'd had in years. Perhaps he'd lend his assistance to these people in the future, if they needed it... and they survived. He knew he would survive, in one form or another, but most did not have his... self-preservation abilities. That made him all the more determined to get these people home safely to their friends & loved ones.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She nods.

“He hasn’t moved. He seemed...eager.”

"Well, when we wrap up here, that's where I'll head." Inanna said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Well, when we wrap up here, that's where I'll head." Inanna said.

“I think we’re about wrapped up. We’ll get patched up and take Stine to his new....accommodations.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Eventually, between their efforts, Voyavado pilots the ship out of atmosphere and back into space.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley let out a sigh. "Thank you, Sihn. The sooner I get this deal from over my head, the better."

The worst part was, in hindsight, she could think of several other things she could have given him instead of... whatever it was. She could have used her Blood Magic to conjure something, perhaps an exact replica of her eyes since he seemed to be so fond of them. As it stood, she was trapped. Only trapped for a short while, but trapped nonetheless. Time was not on her side. She only hoped she didn't choose some difficult to obtain object. The easier, the better.



"Perfect! That will give me enough time to handle a few things before our training. Will you come to us, or will we go to U16?" She hoped it was the latter. She would have loved to have the chance to explore that new and unfamiliar universe.



Parsley narrowed her eyes as her gaze cut to the Majin. She was about to say something scathing when she recalled something. He was there at the meeting/confrontation with Night, as well. She couldn't remember anything about it, but she knew it was there.

She grimaced and repressed a disgusted groan. What she was about to say was, without doubt, about to induced instant nausea, but it needed to be done.

"Sasheem, you were there with Inanna and me on Night's planet. That means you heard what it was I promised to give him. Tell me what it was and... and I'll owe you a favor."

OOC: For KingofPie in case this was missed

[KingofPie]

Parsley narrowed her eyes as her gaze cut to the Majin. She was about to say something scathing when she recalled something. He was there at the meeting/confrontation with Night, as well. She couldn't remember anything about it, but she knew it was there.

She grimaced and repressed a disgusted groan. What she was about to say was, without doubt, about to induced instant nausea, but it needed to be done.

"Sasheem, you were there with Inanna and me on Night's planet. That means you heard what it was I promised to give him. Tell me what it was and... and I'll owe you a favor."

The Majin snorted. He'd be more inclined to see the Saiyan and her uppity attitude suffer. But...perhaps, in a way, owing him a favor would be even more hilarious. "You're a bigger doofus than Sasheem thought if you can't even remember! But...ao long as he gets to decide when and where you lend him a favor...he figures he'll remind your lackluster mind. Night gave ya the stoopid amulet. You're the one that promised to return it to him!"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

“I think we’re about wrapped up. We’ll get patched up and take Stine to his new....accommodations.”

"Delightful. I'd still recommend killing him though." Inanna noted dryly. "Hey Parsley, wanna meet my mentor after you uh, figure out how to keep your eyeballs?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The Majin snorted. He'd be more inclined to see the Saiyan and her uppity attitude suffer. But...perhaps, in a way, owing him a favor would be even more hilarious. "You're a bigger doofus than Sasheem thought if you can't even remember! But...ao long as he gets to decide when and where you lend him a favor...he figures he'll remind your lackluster mind. Night gave ya the stoopid amulet. You're the one that promised to return it to him!"

Wait, what?

That was it?

That was what Parsley promised to get him? His own damn amulet? How? Why? Why would she promise something so dull and stupid? Surely there was something else in her possession at the time - besides her eyes - that she could have offered him.

She sighed. At least she already had it. All she had to do was get it to him, then her obligation to him would be done. After that and asking why he was watching Sarada, she would be done with him and could forget she ever met him.

"Thank... you... Sasheem," she said through gritted teeth, partially because of her own stupidity. Also because she then owed him a favor, at a time and place of his choosing. There was no telling what this simpleton wanted from her.

"Delightful. I'd still recommend killing him though." Inanna noted dryly. "Hey Parsley, wanna meet my mentor after you uh, figure out how to keep your eyeballs?"

"Me? Meet an Angel?" Well, Parsley was just racking up highlights of her life that day. "Yes, that would be fine. I just need a ride to Universe 18 whenever you feel like it." Already having the amulet in her pocket completely flipped the script. Time was on her side. It had only been a few days since her last encounter with Night, and he gave her an entire year. She could do it at any point between then and when the year was up, but she would have rather gotten it out of the way as soon as possible. She was in no mood for any trickery or bullshit from him.

"Whenever you're ready."

[grampagen]

Eventually, between their efforts, Voyavado pilots the ship out of atmosphere and back into space.

So much for negotiations in good faith.

As the Remnant took hold of Koorimaru's body, striking its streams of hakai-infused ki through those familiar portals in a wide-sweeping blind frenzy, sure as Ochazuke had held the restraint, so did Maiz return fire, and with the shift in burning space surrounding their craft as Voyavoda's manuevers stole spans between the blasts in micro-instances, before he'd known it, they'd left Cortis II for the inky void.

Pursing his lips, Ochazuke released a terse exhale, and as they escaped the planet's atmosphere, he pulled himself from his seat, moved to the nearest viewing portal that observed the planet through the ship's scanners.

"The warrior, the heretic..." he thought aloud. As he looked over the rear-view of the planet in the distance, a thought suddenly came to the forefront of his mind.

“Not far. We only had Maiz, no other as Eva proved.....resistant to coming along. Though.......hmm, in my moment of death I did feel an....emptying of Remnany’s presence. Since he was currently within me, perhaps Remnant passed on alongside my body. As to who killed me....I don’t know. But my attacker wasn’t on planet. Or close to it. I would have sensed them. Remnant would have sensed them.”

"...the dead, yet living."

Lies put through a mask, he'd expected from the enemy he knew. But having seen the creature's inner nature, he'd noted just how little its gestalt energies had fluctuated.

"I'd say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Inda'ren has been resurrected," he said, "I doubt, however, that this is the manner in which an old Destroyer wished to return."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Caliban puffs again and nods.

“Go ahead. I’m gonna talk to Sheki’hinah and Sihn for a bit. Call me when her ready, missy.”


Sheki’hinah hugs Inanna and Parsley one more time, then the two find themselves in Lampton’s small pocket place in HFIL. Oddly, Sasheem is with you.


—————

Koorimaru does not follow, and the ship leaps into hyper space just fine. Dash sighs heavily, slumping against her seat.

“Well, that was....terrifying.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Caliban puffs again and nods.

“Go ahead. I’m gonna talk to Sheki’hinah and Sihn for a bit. Call me when her ready, missy.”

Sheki’hinah hugs Inanna and Parsley one more time, then the two find themselves in Lampton’s small pocket place in HFIL. Oddly, Sasheem is with you.

"I will, thank you, Caliban."

Parsley grew tense, then relaxed when the Death Goddess embraced her before shunting her, Inanna, and Sasheem to Lampton's location. It was dark and sorrowful. Old, dead trees lined the gravel and dirt pathways that twisted through the personal hell that she found herself in. The centerpiece, as evidenced by the lone ray of light shining down from above on it was the massive sword that was stabbed into the ground just in front of a short mesa. Smaller, normal sized swords surrounded it, like pawns protecting the king when all hope was nearly lost.

Parsley looked around, using Observational Insight to get a better feel of the surroundings, the energies swirling about and if anyone except Lampton was there. "So, this is what a punishment Hell looks like," she commented.