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

[KingofPie]

For a moment, Ishtar simply stared.

It really was strange, the way the Arcosian seemed so ... eager, to get at her mine. From the way he'd set himself up, it sounded like he had a considerable amount of money and a sizable network of associates. So why strive so hard to get more ? Was this Az ... Avarice ? Likely. The golden-eyed Oni recalled faintly that when Blizzar first arrived he'd spoken to Held ...

Hm.

That he also wished to know the contents ? Well ...

Ishtar cracked a smile.

"That would be telling. Suffice to say, I will not be selling any aspect of the mine, or its contents."

Blizzar cicked his head to the side. Curious. Not so much as before. He had at least gathered something. The mine contained some sort of unearthly power. Magic, he would presume. The Arcosian almost wanted scoff. He had no true affinity for the mystic arts, aside from how hard he could punch it back at a caster, but there were many he knew who would pay good money for access to such power. Either for research purposes or more nefarious means, as long as it wasn't too dangerous Blizzar could find a buyer.

The only problem came with the Oni's refusal to sell. Blizzar wasn't particularly worried about that. Everyone had a price, after all. No, the worry came more from who he would aquire payment from. He knew plenty who would pay plenty for the arcane and fantastical...but he only knew of one who truly dealt in such things. Blizzar grimaced inwardly. The less he dealt with her, the better, though he could potentially stomach even dealing with her if it meant increasing his profits.

"Fair enough," Blizzar spoke aloud. "Once this barrier situation is resolved, I may have something that will change your mind. For now...I will simply leave it be..." the Arcosian trailed off, pondering for a moment before he added, "By the by, you must certainly love donuts to purchase so many! How often do you visit the shop?"

[Tami]

"You look pretty good as is," Charco admitted honestly before shoving another piece of steak into his mouth. Of course, he knew that she would still want to get prettied up for such a special occasion, but it was worth saying to him.

"You think so?" Cyanna smiled coyly. Then she grabbed a seat next to him and took a vegetable off his plate. Putting it in her mouth, she chewed and swallowed, "Not bad, did you make this?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

From the other side, footsteps approached her. Dash, seeing Parsley alone, decided to come over. "Meagan told me once of what happened before they made it to Chroma. Did your sister every mention it to you?"

Dash's approach attracted Parsley's attention. Something about something happening before they made it to Chroma. She had no idea what she was talking about, so it was safe to assume Sarada didn't mention it.

To be fair, Sarada hadn't told her much about her adventures on this odd planet.

"No, she didn't," she answered. She raised her eyebrows, beckoning the woman to elaborate.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Blizzar cicked his head to the side. Curious. Not so much as before. He had at least gathered something. The mine contained some sort of unearthly power. Magic, he would presume. The Arcosian almost wanted scoff. He had no true affinity for the mystic arts, aside from how hard he could punch it back at a caster, but there were many he knew who would pay good money for access to such power. Either for research purposes or more nefarious means, as long as it wasn't too dangerous Blizzar could find a buyer.

The only problem came with the Oni's refusal to sell. Blizzar wasn't particularly worried about that. Everyone had a price, after all. No, the worry came more from who he would aquire payment from. He knew plenty who would pay plenty for the arcane and fantastical...but he only knew of one who truly dealt in such things. Blizzar grimaced inwardly. The less he dealt with her, the better, though he could potentially stomach even dealing with her if it meant increasing his profits.

"Fair enough," Blizzar spoke aloud. "Once this barrier situation is resolved, I may have something that will change your mind. For now...I will simply leave it be..." the Arcosian trailed off, pondering for a moment before he added, "By the by, you must certainly love donuts to purchase so many! How often do you visit the shop?"

Ishtar quirked an eyebrow but remained silent until Blizzar finished.

He certainly was a persistent one.

Whatever it was he wished to offer up to try and win her to his side however must have been good. After all, it was [Redacted] she was talking about ... nothing short of [Redacted] would be enough to get her to even consider it.

"We will see, I suppose. Let us hope it is more than just money." The golden-eyed Oni finally responded with. As for the matter of the donuts ?

"I have never had donuts before today," Ishtar explained. "For the longest time I required only water to survive ... but I find myself far more fond of actual food, in recent months."

Potentially due to Sarada's influence ... or at the very least a side effect of her changing body, and the drain her surging power level exacted. Water simply wasn't enough anymore.

[Yun Lao]

"You think so?" Cyanna smiled coyly. Then she grabbed a seat next to him and took a vegetable off his plate. Putting it in her mouth, she chewed and swallowed, "Not bad, did you make this?"

Of course I think so," Charco said with a smile as Cyanna sat down next to him.

Upon her compliment of his cooking, he replied "Yeah. Probably not as good as Zaofan, but you pick up a few things when you hunt and scavenge for meals. Speaking of which..." Picking up the bowl of soup he had been eying before, "I wonder if he made this. Something seems different about it."

He wanted to try it, but there was little bit of reluctance one got when it came to consuming food they had no idea what it was. Curiosity won out in the end as Charco downed the entire bowl in one-shot, hoping he wouldn't regret his decision.

[Tami]

Dash's approach attracted Parsley's attention. Something about something happening before they made it to Chroma. She had no idea what she was talking about, so it was safe to assume Sarada didn't mention it.

To be fair, Sarada hadn't told her much about her adventures on this odd planet.

"No, she didn't," she answered. She raised her eyebrows, beckoning the woman to elaborate.

"They were abducted by slavers, the same slavers who went after your people and Meagan's. It was not just the fighters, Jinzi over there got taken too. The rest you can ask your sister about. What ah do know is that it still hunts her, and ah heard it even gave Jinzi nightmares for a while. An now she finds out her beau has a doppelganger who is hell bent on destroying everything."

Dash turned slightly and looked back briefly at Meagan and Jinzi before continuing, "Ah know what they are doing makes no sense to us, but it does to her. She's trying to change bleak a future for the better. To hang on to what she has. She's strong, they both are, but they are terrified of losing each other. Terrified of being alone. Losen' a loved one is a pain that can never be erased. Dying alone, is a fear that can never be forgotten."

"Sorry if ah sound cryptic. Sarada can tell you more than ah can 'bout what happened. All I know is that it hit them hard."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"They were abducted by slavers, the same slavers who went after your people and Meagan's. It was not just the fighters, Jinzi over there got taken too. The rest you can ask your sister about. What ah do know is that it still hunts her, and ah heard it even gave Jinzi nightmares for a while. An now she finds out her beau has a doppelganger who is hell bent on destroying everything."

Dash turned slightly and looked back briefly at Meagan and Jinzi before continuing, "Ah know what they are doing makes no sense to us, but it does to her. She's trying to change bleak a future for the better. To hang on to what she has. She's strong, they both are, but they are terrified of losing each other. Terrified of being alone. Losen' a loved one is a pain that can never be erased. Dying alone, is a fear that can never be forgotten."

"Sorry if ah sound cryptic. Sarada can tell you more than ah can 'bout what happened. All I know is that it hit them hard."

Parsley raised an eyebrow as she listened. She knew of the Junjo and how the Saiyans did work with them in the past, until Mato put a stop to it in his efforts to reform their image. In fact, Parsley herself had done a deal or two with them. To hear that they kidnapped and tried to sell Sarada and the others was... not all that surprising. They'd sell their own parents if they knew they could make money off it.

Beyond that, hearing that the experience was harrowing to Jinzi - who was also captured - and Meagan wasn't surprising, either. Losing loved ones - especially lovers - was enough to make people do stupid, ill-thought out things. Like getting paired - or married, or whatever.

She knew this was an important moment for the two of them, which was why she kept her apathy to herself. Far be it for her to ruin their happy moment by announcing to the assembly that she didn't care.

"I see. I can understand why they're getting this out of the way then, especially with Jinzi's life constantly at stake."

[Miburo]

It had been a scant few hours since....Zaofan, as far as Held could tell, had turned Capsule Corp into rubble.

It was a curious thing to Held. The signature was unmistakably that of his longtime friend, but the sheer depths of the power was enough to rouse even Held from his dazed state of mind. It had eclipsed not only his own power, but even that of the Saiyans, perhaps even combined. It grew more vast in its power, so much so that Held had saw fit to turn his attention to it, and his blood instantly ran cold, as he realized this was not a training movement, but an attack meant to destroy, aimed specifically at Capsule Corps.

Thankfully, the Nevadian traveled light. His ship--and most of his equipment--was worlds away, and Held rarely stayed at Jinzi's. Not out of any particular dislike of Jinzi or his abode, so much as the fact that The Lookout seemed to be where the heart of the operations to save this planet lay. So, despite frantically gathering what little necessities he did have, it was plenty time to escape the blast unscathed.

The slight charring of his clothing, and now soot covered outfit non-withstanding.

He was now of two minds. The first, quite reasonable instinct, was to go to Zaofan and ask him if he had lost his mind, to so recklessly wield his power for what seemed to be unnecessary reasons. He quickly thought better of it, lacking the energy to even shout at his friend for such pristine recklessness. His exhaustion seemed to be such that he picked up the signature of his friend twice, slightly different, but unmistakably the same being.

It barely mattered, either way.

He had no interest in even his closest of allies at this time. Exhaustion, guilt, and confusion, was all that had clouded his mind. Property damage was of little concern to Held, and probably even less to Jinzi, who owned the property to begin with.

And so, the Nevadian mentally made of a note of where his allies seemed to be heading, before procuring a map from his rucksack, heading towards a place in search of something he had not entirely bothered to commit to memory.

That trek went well, for the most part.

The Nevadian stood at an intersection, map still in hand. It was not the most glamorous city, even with the dead of night gently massaging away the soon to be decrepit exterior of the buildings that, once glorious, were now past their prime, fading away. Dust coated the windows that had managed to avoid being savaged during the invasion, trash blew along the street in the harsh winds, their path only halted when intercepted by the piles of debris that still lingered.

Even at this late hour, people still traveled, slowly, cautiously. Very rarely alone. Sometimes with a partner, almost always with a group.

Had the Nevadian not been so focused on gaining his bearings, he might have noticed how they looked upon him, a foreigner, a longer. One could only imagine how they would react if he were of a race that were so clearly inhuman.

"Good grief..." He muttered glumly under his breath, "I really have lost my touch here...Where the hell was it....?"

[Tami]

Parsley raised an eyebrow as she listened. She knew of the Junjo and how the Saiyans did work with them in the past, until Mato put a stop to it in his efforts to reform their image. In fact, Parsley herself had done a deal or two with them. To hear that they kidnapped and tried to sell Sarada and the others was... not all that surprising. They'd sell their own parents if they knew they could make money off it.

Beyond that, hearing that the experience was harrowing to Jinzi - who was also captured - and Meagan wasn't surprising, either. Losing loved ones - especially lovers - was enough to make people do stupid, ill-thought out things. Like getting paired - or married, or whatever.

She knew this was an important moment for the two of them, which was why she kept her apathy to herself. Far be it for her to ruin their happy moment by announcing to the assembly that she didn't care.

"I see. I can understand why they're getting this out of the way then, especially with Jinzi's life constantly at stake."

"Ah think there's more to it than just that, but yeah. Just thought you should know, considern' how what we do now might change the future, or somethin' like that. At least that's what ah heard."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Ah think there's more to it than just that, but yeah. Just thought you should know, considern' how what we do now might change the future. At least that's what ah heard."

Parsley sighed. This time travel nonsense was far too complicated for her liking. The sooner it was over with, the better. "I know nothing of time travel, so I'll just take your word for it." She sighed again and turned to find her sister. She found her talking with the alternate Zaofan, undoubtedly getting answers from him. "Suppose I'll take your advice and get the full story from Sarada. Maybe there's some detail to be gleaned that will help with our current predicament."

All this talk of time travel made her believe that there was more to this story than them being kidnapped by the Junjo and nearly sold into slavery. She wasn't sure what, but she figured if Dash bothered to come over to her to tell her, there was something else there.

[Yun Lao]

Of course I think so," Charco said with a smile as Cyanna sat down next to him.

Upon her compliment of his cooking, he replied "Yeah. Probably not as good as Zaofan, but you pick up a few things when you hunt and scavenge for meals. Speaking of which..." Picking up the bowl of soup he had been eying before, "I wonder if he made this. Something seems different about it."

He wanted to try it, but there was little bit of reluctance one got when it came to consuming food they had no idea what it was. Curiosity won out in the end as Charco downed the entire bowl in one-shot, hoping he wouldn't regret his decision.

With the soup coursing through his system Charco felt... the exact same. To be fair, he was wondering just what he expected from it. "I think someone left their chicken noodle soup in the fridge..." He replied with a shrug before finishing off his meal. Letting out a sigh of relief, Charco was halfway tempted to loosen his belt but decided against it with Cyanna around.

"So marriage, huh?" He said, mostly to himself. It felt weird knowing that a major milestone was coming in such odds times, or at least odd from his persepective.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Finally. Sarada stepped forward to start the round of questioning. "For those absent the initial meeting, can you explain how this evil Jinzi manages to travel through time? A time machine? Did he make a wish for the power to do so? What?"

“Time stones. Bits and pieces of condensed time.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Meagan wasn't sure how much information they could get from him, there were some questions she wanted to ask. Especially as to what drove the other Jinzi over the edge and what motivate him, but she wasn't sure that the Sheriff would have those answers. Instead, she asked, "Can you give us any details as to what the Doctor's Lab looked like? Or if you saw him carrying any objects, tools, weapons, anything like that might help us figure out what he is doing or how he is doing it."

“The lab? Nah, was in a holding cell most of the time. What little I saw was some sort of ancient hangar. Bunch of old ships. Only thing I ever saw him carry was his cane and the time stones when he’d use them.”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Of course I think so," Charco said with a smile as Cyanna sat down next to him.

Upon her compliment of his cooking, he replied "Yeah. Probably not as good as Zaofan, but you pick up a few things when you hunt and scavenge for meals. Speaking of which..." Picking up the bowl of soup he had been eying before, "I wonder if he made this. Something seems different about it."

He wanted to try it, but there was little bit of reluctance one got when it came to consuming food they had no idea what it was. Curiosity won out in the end as Charco downed the entire bowl in one-shot, hoping he wouldn't regret his decision.

Charco, you feel suddenly more energetic and powerful. The soup is also delicious, though you can’t quite identify the taste.

[Yun Lao]

With the soup coursing through his system Charco felt... the exact same. To be fair, he was wondering just what he expected from it. "I think someone left their chicken noodle soup in the fridge..." He replied with a shrug before finishing off his meal. Letting out a sigh of relief, Charco was halfway tempted to loosen his belt but decided against it with Cyanna around.

"So marriage, huh?" He said, mostly to himself. It felt weird knowing that a major milestone was coming in such odds times, or at least odd from his persepective.

Charco, you feel suddenly more energetic and powerful. The soup is also delicious, though you can’t quite identify the taste.

After some time, despite everything else he ate, he could still taste that soup. After a while, he was no longer convinced it had simply been chicken noodle soup. There was something strange, but not unpleasant to the taste. Then came the sudden course of power that began to surge, causing him to lean too far back in surprise and crash onto the floor.

"Oof! The hell was that?!"