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

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"That sounds an awful lot like my Clan. Ah once heard that the founders had a connection of some kind to another animal clan." Dash smirked slightly, "It'd be a hoot if that connection was with Bear somehow."



She looks at the others, "Guess this leaves me out." as she leans back against a tree to stay out of the way while they meditate. Being a third wheel was never fun, but she was learning a lot anyway.

The man smiles.

“Horse and Bear DO have a connection. Come, try and meditate by the trees.”

[Tami]

The man smiles.

“Horse and Bear DO have a connection. Come, try and meditate by the trees.”

The surprise on her face, that he knew she was Horse even though she was sure it hadn't come up, was clearly evident. Then she smiled, shrugged, and took a seat by the trees. Assuming a meditative position, she began breathing deeply, using the techniques taught to her as part of her training to begin calming her mind and body, and to focus. First inward, then outward to the land around her.

[grampagen]

The large lumberjack nods.

“The Bear endures in a fashion. Within this forest it’s lands remain, it’s memory, though the traitors tore away our scrolls and slew or tempted away our students. Still, I am but a humble descendant of the last Bear Grand Master. I have tried to keep the grounds a special, sacred place, awaiting the arrival of Zxu’ro’s chosen, as my father did before me. It seems you have arrived indeed.”

He gestures to the forest around.

“I have no techniques to give, though an essence can be granted by the Forest. Come, sit by the trees and meditate.”

"A steward of the land," Ochazuke remarked. "There is strength enough in continence. Not all victories come from battlefield glories, yet we would not be here were the Hidden Hand needed once more. There is another war approaching, and we must be ready."

The last survivor of a legacy tarnished. It was a story that cut him deeply, from memory to the scar that welled over his heart. "More than you know, I understand. If we would walk the path to rebuild the way with you, I would know the name of our lineage ancestor and yours."

"That sounds an awful lot like my Clan. Ah once heard that the founders had a connection of some kind to another animal clan." Dash smirked slightly, "It'd be a hoot if that connection was with Bear somehow."


She looks at the others, "Guess this leaves me out." as she leans back against a tree to stay out of the way while they meditate. Being a third wheel was never fun, but she was learning a lot anyway.

Ochazuke turned his glance from the woodman to Dash who set herself apart. Amid the matter of the blooded history that had befallen them, he had silently questioned what Zaofan sought in bringing her along. Hers was a lineage unrelated to theirs. Capable as she was, as he observed her there seemed to be a fundamental disconnect between their aims; the one odd beast out perhaps sought to prove its quality and ambitiously claim its place among storied houses.

"If you willingly separate yourself, you will be left out." he said simply. "What is it you hope to gain here?"

[grampagen]

[ignore this post; formatting to keep sidestory novels contained]

[KingofPie]

The large lumberjack nods.

“The Bear endures in a fashion. Within this forest it’s lands remain, it’s memory, though the traitors tore away our scrolls and slew or tempted away our students. Still, I am but a humble descendant of the last Bear Grand Master. I have tried to keep the grounds a special, sacred place, awaiting the arrival of Zxu’ro’s chosen, as my father did before me. It seems you have arrived indeed.”

He gestures to the forest around.

“I have no techniques to give, though an essence can be granted by the Forest. Come, sit by the trees and meditate.”

"Meditate, huh," Sasheem noted. What he'd much rather do is set this place ablaze...that'd be funny. But he couldn't now. It'd cost him fsr, fsr too much right now. Perhaps meditation would ease this urge to spread chaos...or perhaps it would only be kindling to the fire that was the Majin's ever volatile mindset.

"What are we supposed to be meditating on, exactly?" Sasheem asked.

[grampagen]

The four white lights swelled in the four walls, a mild glow cutting through the dull white room. Solitary darkness parted, exposing the ruination of the cell laid bare under the view of a mechanical eye, struck blind and deaf by twisted steel of a destroyed bedframe. Someone upstairs decided it was time to start a new day.

For Kenshiko, rest would not find her. She had been awake and training for two hours already, and when the light scattered itself off the mirror, there was nothing before the fallen Tiger but an inverted world. Lowering herself to the ground, her low, patient breath eased with the negative
as she raised herself up, supported on one arm, slowly and precariously balanced. In moments like these, it was as if she pushed back against the weight of the entire world.

Righting herself with a forward turn to her heels, she snatched the previous day's newspaper from off the sink, She separated the crossword from the spine, set it to dangle between her fingertips. She released it, and before it could fall she threw her opposite hand forward. Sheet split into two. She caught the halved paper, and raised it a gain. Two became three. Three became scraps of countless litter that bundled at the edges of her feet in tattered piles.

All the easier for her to trace her footwork later when the old forms needed to be tested. She eyed the worn folio in the corner of her cell. She was wary that she was quickly running out of modifications to outline and notes to make, either her insight had failed, or else there was little left to examine in so ancient a thing. Still he promised her that he would return. It was all riding on this. Even if her war was over, the training would continue for his sake. And so for more than three-hundred days she had a structure to her isolation. She'd beaten the springs and stuffings out of her mattress long ago, so now she resolved to test, if not power, then sharpness.

Tiger's kicks, plantain trees.

Tiger's claws, plantain leaves.

Soon enough she found herself at the front page: Red Verdict reached, Willa Rautt to face justice.

The deposed Colonel's face, a mask of impenitence, split where she struck it. Those proud, still lips split where her fingers swiped through the paper. Lifting the halved scrap before her, she was about to take in the idea emblazoned in bold when the silence of her reverie was interrupted by a sound she had not heard in a long, long time.

“SR-06010 you've got a visitor. Behave yourself and we'll let you see him.”

Somewhere in this facility a guard sat behind a console; through a monitor he keyed in actions to one of Capsule Corp's little floater-drones, and so maintained their moral and physical distance from those they locked away down here. There was no companion to that disembodied, warped, yet unmistakably human voice but her own hard breathing. She felt her heartbeat course through her throat and temples.

One small moment of human contact and she lost both words and wits. How long had it been? One-hundred days for the first visit. By now it had been more than a year, the only stimulation the day's news and the facsimile legacy. The heat of her soul had wound so tight Kenshiko felt herself entirely unprepared for when it dissipated through the course of sweat on her skin. Her heart swelled, loosing a well of relief through her and she felt a profound sense of ease she could not explain.

But she knew. He promised he would be back for her. For all she'd done, Ochazuke still remembered her, still saw something, someone, that had died four years ago. She did all she could, now it was his turn.

“Security team, prep the restraints. Red, you know the drill.”

The legs that squared up against countless opponents that wished her death or worse and stood firm released and she fell upon relaxed knees. Soon, she could leave this world without regrets, and the name of the Tiger, her family, could live on without her dishonour. Strange, that life acquires its greatest clarity at the end.
___

The vault hydraulics loosed from the electromagnetic pull within the wall frame. As it released a faint vacuum sound swept out, so like air-drop depressurization she leapt out from into the sky below. Through the cell the airs carried with it tatters of bloody linens and fine newspaper scrap. She didn't fight them this time, the weight of the chains a cold comfort worn gladly. Waist, wrists, angles, she bore them silently as two armoured escorts led her across the walkway.

Cobalt-iron bars rolled back on their rails with a stiff clack-clack-clack-clack. When the grating stilled, a hollow boom echoed through the halls of Capital City penitentiary K-Wing. Jinzi Pantaloon's experimental prison for the super-human, she wondered if it was truly a mercy, or if Grinthorn just wanted to gloat. She walked across the cold floor, casting a short glance behind her. Five sublevels carrying row upon row of stacked identical cells. Not a human hand in sight to man the pulse of energy or the pneumatic hiss. No names here, only codified numbers here in the lowest sub-levels of the wing. The dull hum beneath a hollow chamber flooding an awful mechanical force. With laboured steps she made it to the lift, called from the depths to enjoy a brief view of the world above for a portion of ten minutes.

The rattle of irons bound her arms as she sat behind the glassed pane. After a gruellingly long minute the buzz released the door. She lift her face up and peered through the tangles before her face toward the light. Her heart sank.

A bespectacled man stood across the way, his lean frame immaculately straight under a drab, grey trench. The reflections in the glass filled the mirror-shrouds of his shaded eyes and there was something unsettling about his unreadable expression. But she could see, clear as the artificially confined day, it was not Ochazuke.

[grampagen]

A lengthy pause passed between them. Soon he folded his arms before him, and his face twisted into a small smirk.

It was enough to goad Kenshiko into speaking first. She nearly tore the receiver off the wall.

“Who the hell are you?”

He moved his chair forward, answering her onlu by lifting the line on his end. Yet he remained silent, a twisting sneer curling before him. Kenshiko peered through the frayed fringe before her eyes, visibly shuddering enough to rattle her bonds.

“Answer me!”

“Heh.” The man leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table before him and netting his fingers together. “You're a hard one to track down. But I have clearance for ten minutes. Rest assured I shall enjoy them as I see fit.”

He peered down at her. She leaned forward, hot breath steaming the glass through gritted teeth as they exchanged a long, silent look.

“They said Rama the Tiger King build his great Temple in celebration of earnest victory.” he said, producing a small folio. “Something about enlightenment. Interesting conceit, saffron robes seated in prayer celebrating silently the beating of an elephant to death. The starting stock of the ivory trade. No wonder that I never made the connection before.”

He produced a document and flipped through it, laying it down before the glass.

“That's how the Tiger School began, wasn't it? For a long time, I've sought out their Master. So many contradictions. So many questions I wanted to ask.”

“Hard enough to see anything coming through a dead angle” she snarled. She lift her shackled hands, brushing a hand over her right eye.

The man's lips narrowed bitterly, before settling into a relaxed, cordial smile. He laid the stack of papers down and spread them in a neatly filed row. One was a copy of an old palm-leaf manuscript, by now as worn and tattered as the artifacts. Kenshiko's eyes widened as she recognized those curves of old Abugida writing, slashed through with the legal trace of a bureaucratic pen.

“Alas, what a shame, for to the victor go the spoils. Isn't that right, Sergeant Raider?”

The title deed of the land. Her sister's name, smothered under the WG seal, a proof of legally binding repossession as a World Government sanctioned site. The man chuckled to himself.

“Pathetic lack of foresight with your people. They should have known you don't get high off your own supply. Before you know it you've run out, and, life comes to collect.”

“She never sold the temple grounds. No matter how much she lost, she would never give that up. You have no right-!,” she protested, her words coming in a fitful stammer between breaths. “The monastery is there, and the history of the kingdom-”

“If a tree falls in the middle of a forest, does it make a sound if nobody is there to hear it?”

“You wanted the Tiger Master?” She shouted, desperate vigour fell from her voice in droplets on the glass. “I'm still here!”

“Really? My investigation found there is none. Not since Tiger Master Kaibyo died and her heir disappeared four years ago in Ori City. Maybe she had the answers. I suppose that's all immaterial now. Legally speaking, she's dead.”

Kenshiko slammed her hands down on the desk, and felt only a shock of pain as the ki suppression made her all too aware of a frail weakness that took her crafted limbs. The man rearranged his papers and resumed a tone of a businesslike courtesy.

“Ah, let the past be the past! I'm sure by now even you have heard about the meteor that fell over the Wasteland in the East. The President has come forth with a proposal to prevent an incident like this from happening again. Offworld technology, very sophisticated,” he said. “But you see, it's a two-way street. If we're going to protect ourselves, well, we're going to have to make some sacrifices before we can build.”

“Yet I assure you, this is not personal. Truth be told, I'd be willing stop this now, provided you tell me one thing. I know he has passed through here. So where is Ochazuke?”

Kenshiko fell silent, grit teeth behind snarling lips. The words would not come for there were none, only a helpless, hollow loathing. On the other side of the glass, the man merely shook his head, collected his things, and stood to his feet.

“For the longerst time, I wanted to see for myself the quality of the Tiger Sisters of Ori City. What a terror they once were. Such a useless, dead thing now,” he said. “But the Crane, we are magnanimous in our victories. The ashes of the Tiger School will fix the foundation for a new age. Think of it as payment for play. Certainly it's worth far more than a living will and deed.”

The buzzer sounded once again. His business concluded, he stood turned, leaving her in the darkness where the guards pulled her listlessly back into the depths of the prison's K-Wing.

Warriors fall on the battlefield, but in the arena of minds and ownership, it is the effortless stroke of a pen that reigns supreme.

One strike. One kill.

Ikken Hissatsu.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

To Sasheem, he responds with “Focus on the land. Find a connection between everything.”

To Ochazuke, he smiles.

“My ancestor was Baltic Bedlam, Grand Master of the Bear Shrine. My name is Barlon Bedlam, his descendant.”

Samson raises an eyebrow.

“Any retaliation to Brutus Bedlam?”

Barlon nods.

“My brother.”

[Tami]

"A steward of the land," Ochazuke remarked. "There is strength enough in continence. Not all victories come from battlefield glories, yet we would not be here were the Hidden Hand needed once more. There is another war approaching, and we must be ready."

The last survivor of a legacy tarnished. It was a story that cut him deeply, from memory to the scar that welled over his heart. "More than you know, I understand. If we would walk the path to rebuild the way with you, I would know the name of our lineage ancestor and yours."



Ochazuke turned his glance from the woodman to Dash who set herself apart. Amid the matter of the blooded history that had befallen them, he had silently questioned what Zaofan sought in bringing her along. Hers was a lineage unrelated to theirs. Capable as she was, as he observed her there seemed to be a fundamental disconnect between their aims; the one odd beast out perhaps sought to prove its quality and ambitiously claim its place among storied houses.

"If you willingly separate yourself, you will be left out." he said simply. "What is it you hope to gain here?"

"Ah figgered this exercise was for you." Dash then looked at him, "Ah hope to gain same as you, as all travelers do. Knowledge, experience, an whatever else comes my way. Ah don't begrudge you gaining more than I do now. Ah may one day gain more'n you, so it evens out. 'sides, we're all in on this together, right? What's gained by one makes us all stronger."

The man smiles.

“Horse and Bear DO have a connection. Come, try and meditate by the trees.”

To Sasheem, he responds with “Focus on the land. Find a connection between everything.”

To Ochazuke, he smiles.

“My ancestor was Baltic Bedlam, Grand Master of the Bear Shrine. My name is Barlon Bedlam, his descendant.”

Samson raises an eyebrow.

“Any retaliation to Brutus Bedlam?”

Barlon nods.

“My brother.”

The surprise on her face, that he knew she was Horse even though she was sure it hadn't come up, was clearly evident. Then she smiled, shrugged, and took a seat by the trees. Assuming a meditative position, she began breathing deeply, using the techniques taught to her as part of her training to begin calming her mind and body, and to focus. First inward, then outward to the land around her.

[Tami]

"Ehehehe....No way some noobie is gonna hit me." The mini Etrina patted her bum with a smirk. "Go ahead....I'm ready for ya." Etrina folded her hands and watched with interest as Cyanna prepared her first attempt.

.....and thus it came to the surprise of both observers when instead of lightning, a blinding flash akin to a solar flare erupted from the fledgling mages hand.

"Nnnnaaaahh! The hell! I can't see!" The Mini Etrina flew around, blinded by the light.

"Gah! Dammit." Etrina, who had been expecting more of a bolt then a intense flash, had been blinded pretty badly as well....rubbing her eyes and blinking furiously. "...that....ugh....that was no lighting bolt......"

"Did I, did I do something wrong? I can try again if you want." Cyanna held out her hand, but waited for word from Etrina.

Putting her hand down, "Are you okay? Was it really that bad? I had my eyes closed, which is kind if dumb, thinking on it now. I'll do better, just please give me another chance. I promise to work harder. Maybe I need to focus more. I know I'm not always so good with that, but I'l keep working on it." Cyanna was beginning to sound worried.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

In an instant they are at the Lookout.

“You may stay in one of the spare rooms. Tomorrow we’ll begin training. Kai, my apprentice, will also be training you.”

Althena replies to this saying " thank you." " also I still can't believe how small my descendant Qaztoh is ." " it's like my bloodline got smaller over the generations and became quite flabby." back at Capsule Corp Qaztoh is trying to pick up Althena's bulky clothing off the ground saying " dammit I can't even budge them."

" how much do this freaking clothing weigh?" Praxat walks towards Qaztoh bends down and slowly picks up the clothing feel it's heavy weight saying " hmm this is weighted clothing and it's very heavy too." "I would say that this clothing is weighs a good 800 kilograms in total." Qaztoh skin turns yellow indicated that she's shock by what Praxat says saying " 800 Kilograms !"

" what the hell my ancestor is crazy strong to be able to move around in clothing that is that heavy." Praxat puts the clothing down and looks in Althena's backpack saying " okay this Lantern is 50 kilograms and this Book is feels like it's a whopping 107 Kilograms ." "so the total amount of weight Althena had on her was more than a ton." " Qaztoh replies to this saying " over a ton that's insane ."

Praxat replies to this saying " well Althena's strength was said to be Legendary in Toadian historical records for a reason." " also you, I Jinzi and everyone here saw how built Althena was." " so there's no doubt that she has incredible physical strength." Praxat then looks at the book and examines it saying " hmm this the book of Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam the official Toadian Fighting style that was abolished 1,000 years ago." Qaztoh replies to this saying " wait that's the book of Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam ? "

" what were Toadian's in ancient times thinking when they made such a insanely heavy book?" Praxat replies to this saying" well mostly likely ancient Toadians were a lot stronger than us modern Toadians. " " so such an heavy book wouldn't have been an issue for them." Praxat opens up the book and starts reading it saying " there's no doubt in my mind that if I fought Althena even if it were just sparring she would most likely wipe the floor with me."


" even if I use Hyper Charge she would still probably beat me in fight. " " just look at the techniques that are in this book." " there's a lot of them in this book and the most notable ones are Rebound Flash Boost Counter and the Power up techniques. " " Rebound Flash Boost Counter is Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam greatest Technique ."

" it's also the hardest technique to master ." " it's a technique that reverse attacks back at the attacker while boost the overall power of the attack that's been sent back at more than double it's original power depend on how powerful the attacker is." timing and reading the nature of an opponent's attacks are required to pull off this technique successfully .


" which is way it's this technique base on what the book says is so difficult to master." " besides that there seems the power up techniques." which listed in this book are 1 Efficiency Mode which gives a 10 x boost in power from base, 2 Boost Mode which gives a 20x boost of power from base but comes with stamina drain, 3 Power Mode which gives a 30x boost of power but comes with significant lost in speed and Stamina, 4 Max Power Mode which gives a 400x boost from base in power but suffers from massive Ki drainage. " finally there's one called Awaken mode.


"the book states it's a theorize power up that heightens reaction time that befits from better Ki control and efficiency over most of the other power ups." " it's theorize that it would give 200x boost in power from base." " it seems that one of my ancestor's Mavivan who live 3,000 years ago came up with this theory." "however so far based on Toadian historical records only 4 power up techniques of Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam have actually be document as being use ."


"the book recommends that if some one masters Rebound Flash Boost Counter to just build up their base and Efficiency Mode forgo the other power up techniques altogether. " " it also states that Max mode should only be use as an last resort, because of it's massive drawback. " " the book pretty much states the power up is an all or nothing technique." yeah Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam is the combat style that was invented by my ancestor Vivian 500,000 years ago."

[MrSandman]

"Ugh....No...You didn't do anything wrong as far as I can tell. Please.....try again." Etrina finally blinked the blindness out of her eyes and made sure she was prepared this time. "Ok, Once more."

"Once what?" The Mini Etrina spun around trying to locate the sound, turning its fuzzy vision back towards Cyanna.

OOC: Fer Tami

[KingofPie]

To Sasheem, he responds with “Focus on the land. Find a connection between everything.”

"A connnection. Right, right..." the Majin nodded. "Sasheem could do that..." He wondered if an intense desire to burn the entire serene forest to ashes qualified as a sort of connection.

To Ochazuke, he smiles.

“My ancestor was Baltic Bedlam, Grand Master of the Bear Shrine. My name is Barlon Bedlam, his descendant.”

Samson raises an eyebrow.

“Any retaliation to Brutus Bedlam?”

Barlon nods.

“My brother.”

"Huh...really? The chef? Small world..." Sasheem shrugged.

[Tami]

Putting her hand down, "Are you okay? Was it really that bad? I had my eyes closed, which is kind if dumb, thinking on it now. I'll do better, just please give me another chance. I promise to work harder. Maybe I need to focus more. I know I'm not always so good with that, but I'l keep working on it." Cyanna was beginning to sound worried.

"Ugh....No...You didn't do anything wrong as far as I can tell. Please.....try again." Etrina finally blinked the blindness out of her eyes and made sure she was prepared this time. "Ok, Once more."

"Once what?" The Mini Etrina spun around trying to locate the sound, turning its fuzzy vision back towards Cyanna.

With a nod, Cyanna once again held out her hand and focused on Mini-E. Repeating what she did before, only this time visualizing lightening, she aimed her 'spell' and released it.



At least there was more 'sparkle' in it this time, even if there wasn't any 'spark'.

[grampagen]

"Ah figgered this exercise was for you." Dash then looked at him, "Ah hope to gain same as you, as all travelers do. Knowledge, experience, an whatever else comes my way.

"...for what reason would you possibly think that? Did Zaofan not tell you anything about what we're doing here?"

A strange conceit, this implicit notion of exclusion. But in the whispers of the Martial world, he had heard some talk of the Horse Clan and the many ambitious colts who sought to run off the plain to take to the skies. Perhaps some were simply born with wings, while others still are denied, he mused. Always somebody searching to ascend upon the backs of others.

"We have, all of us, come to learn," Ochazuke replied, "if it is raw power you seek, you would be better served in one of Pantaloon's chambers or chasing after Parsley to the stars. Yet you are here. Now."

Ah don't begrudge you gaining more than I do now. Ah may one day gain more'n you, so it evens out. 'sides, we're all in on this together, right? What's gained by one makes us all stronger."

As Dash continued, there seemed to be a curious undercurrent to her purpose. Outwardly she wished to get stronger in solidarity to the group, and yet there was

"Your ambitious mind limits your vision," Ochazuke said, "seeking to measure others against yourself is rude folly, Dash, the pursuit of 'gains' as something you crave, as it would 'even out' some arbitrary balance, is a waste of time."

The history of violence which permeated the world of humanity and doomed its keepers to a long chain of shattered memories left far too much broken and sundered throughout history. The hands that would lead them, whose memory Auroc mysteriously shrank from, was no different."

"No, tether yourself to such paltry notions and you will never be satisfied."

"Meditate, huh," Sasheem noted. What he'd much rather do is set this place ablaze...that'd be funny. But he couldn't now. It'd cost him fsr, fsr too much right now. Perhaps meditation would ease this urge to spread chaos...or perhaps it would only be kindling to the fire that was the Majin's ever volatile mindset.

"What are we supposed to be meditating on, exactly?" Sasheem asked.

Setting himself across from Barlon Bedlam, Ochazuke took a seat upon a rooted platform near a mossy trunk. Sheltered by all else, even the rush of wind, by these ancient boughs, there was almost a perfect silence there.

And so, given the task at hand, he slowly expanded the breadth of his sense-awareness into the area, but pulled himself from his focus for a moment with a middling pause.

"...you don't know how to meditate, do you, Sasheem?"