Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Energy barrier. Skilled in weapon's based hand to hand. Expected of a member of the Galaxy Police.

Sarada's bid to hang back -- as much as doing so pained her and scratched against her instincts like claws against metal -- was a good idea as it gave her a chance to see how her opponent fought. Totoma was dispatched with ease, while Slak managed to divert her attention for a moment.

That was as good a chance as any to strike. She erupted forward, her ki charging around her fist as it had many times before.

Crimson Fist!

As the last second, she disappeared, leaving behind an afterimage that appeared to be swinging a quick jab for her unprotected flank. The real Sarada appeared on near her sword hand, spinning around to deliver a Scarlet Fever enhanced elbow in her kidney's.

"..."

Okay, he hadn't expected that many threads to be overcome so effortlessly. It wasn't really a defensive ability, but still...

He wasn't really the type to dodge. Hadn't really needed it back when he was stronger, because most of his opponents had stood no chance against him. So he stood there, taking their best attacks, and then, after their spirit had been broken, he broke their bodies as well.

But now that he was weak, he couldn't really do such a thing, now could he? Even a more proactive measure like that trick he'd just pulled wouldn't work. He would... he would have to...

Dodge.

He dropped back into the Saiyan-Do defensive stance. When the Namek charged in with his staff and Sarada with her Crimson fist, Totoma too charged in, jumping into the air and trying to cut off the vertical rout of escape with an axe-kick.

The officer seemed to shimmer, than there was suddenly two of them, back to back. The new one, sold and real but without a sword, palm blocks the kidney blow and grabs the hand. Jerking Sarada forward, she knees the Saiyan hard in the stomach, hard enough even to cause her to spit up blood. A second blow sends Sarada flying backwards, gasping for air.

The main Miras puts her hands up and blocks Totoma's kick downward. Her wrist turns, grabs his ankle, and then slams him bodily into the ground twice before tosses him away.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Still invisible and seeing an opening, Meagan takes to the air and hovers some distance above the Agent. Once in position, she becomes visible again while creating what seems a hundred spinning Ki discs, each one sharp like a diamond saw, then sends them raining down on her, following the Agent if she moves to ensure non of her teammates gets in the way.

So she is versatile. It seems. As he noted the barrier and now the sword. He made two blade halos. One to attack her sword. Second around him in defense spiral. Does not want to pull a Charco with friendly fire. Has tontouchbherbto make his serious stuff work.:

Well...if a fight's starting, this training can't be TOO disinteresting. Sasheem figured he'd launch an attack of his own as he sinks into the ground...only to shoot up a moment later near Miras, attempting to his her in the chin with a kick....or whatever you'd call the bottom of a toilet hitting someone's chin.

A half barrier springs up and blocks most of the ki discs, though Meagan would notice that several did sneak past and cut the two Miras', drawing artificial blood. The one with the sword parries away Chou's blade, but stumbles back a bit as Sasheem lands a hit to her chin. She doesn't fall, but the sword bearing one does spit a bit of blood out after the blow.

Asha'rah took a dynamic martial stance, lowering her center of gravity as she transitioned into hand to hand combat. Her orbs drew back around her, creating a whirling defensive screen. Then she was but a blur, thrusting herself forward at impossible speed, clearly intent on getting past the sword into hand to hand range, where its long blade would become unwieldy. In an instant, she was before the blade and then, made a fatal mistake. One misplaced read, one misplaced step at full speed, and she impaled herself neck-first upon Miras' sword. Metal screamed on metal, and in one inadvertent blow Miras' blade sheared Asha'rah's head clean from her shoulders. Her body crumpled lifelessly to the ground, and her impassive head clanged as it fell, rolling to a stop before the light died from her eyes.



Metal limbs encircled Miras as she was preoccupied with the terrible accident, and Asha'rah dropped the illusion as she trapped the officer's weapon arm in her legs, and the other arm with both of her own. With her odd horizontal grapple, she also positioned her body away from the attacks her teammates were aiming at their opponent's kidneys and head. The body on the ground dissipated, revealing naught but a smattering of orbs. Two lay where the neck stump had been, to simulate the feeling of cutting into her real metal body. As one, the seven of them flew up and hammered into Miras's stomach. Asha'rah's eighth orb, formerly surrounded by the image of a disembodied head to create the convincing sound of a metal head hitting the ground and rolling to a stop, whirled in from the side, taking aim at Miras's knees.

Chou jumps at the chance to connect with Mira as his awesome team mate does grappling. It takes but one touch as he attempts a flurry of blows at the opponents back.:

The second Miras takes the brunt of this as the sword wielder seems to vanish from sight. Chou further grapples the wounded and winded second Miras as the main one reappears a few feet away.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Excellent! Perhaps there was an opening. Though, Zaofan was hesitant to use an optic blast, partially because it would be unsporting, but also out of hesitance to repeat the previous day's unfortunate blasting.
Following the others' lead, Zaofan charged into battle. He went toe to toe with Miras, firing fist and kick and jab at her, to which she parried almost rhythmically. 1-2-3-4, her timing was precise, almost like a dance. She was playing with them, it became evidently clear.



With only a split second to react, Zaofan summoned the training he received from Meagan the day before, leaping high into the air and then thrusting his ki downward to keep him aloft, with just enough boost and speed to keep him away from touching the barrier. While still in the air, he pulled out a capsule, and *BOM!* his trusty Katchin bo staff appeared.

"BOOOOOJACK!"



Zaofan's two hands grabbed Bojack and he went to work, but the jabs and slices came so fast that all he could do was remain on the defensive, even though she was holding the other weapon fighters at bay simultaneously. He blocked up, parried left, right, parried with the end of the staff, blocked with the middle, forced her sword down but swung back up thanks to her sheer speed. His footwork matched the beat and rhythm of her attacks. He twirled to create momentum for a swinging blow but forced to switch to a block once more. But she kept moving forward, causing him to take equally rhythmic steps back. He couldn't keep this pace up. He blocked with the staff's right end, lifted both staff and sword over to his left for better position, but she adapted, her blade coming *this* close to cutting his hair. Too close for comfort, he swung wild again, but this time to create some distance so that he could leap in reverse.

"What a workout!" Zaofan exclaimed. But he yelled out, "She's treating us like rank amateurs! We need a plan here."

Zaofan resumed a defensive stance, keeping Bojack pointed upwards and ready.

"Ehwaht?"

He barely had time to register the blade before it was inches from his face. Astonished at the sudden change of pace, he jerked back, using his Ki reflexively to keep himself from falling over in surprise.

If it had not been for the split second warning he had from woman's intent flaring into something entirely aggressive, Kabuto would surely have been hit by the blade.

As it was, his brain was entirely focused on the struggle with his uncooperative device, so he stood there for a moment wondering what was happening.

Oh right. The training.

Steeling himself, he waited for the woman's next attack and swept in low, aiming to catch her from an odd angle.

The sword user abandons her twin, the word licking at at Zoafan and, as they get closer, Kabuto too. The two are pushed back as her sword continues nicking away at them with deadly accuracy. Wit ha flurry, she knocks Zaofan's sword away and kicks Kabuto away. Her sword swings up and stops at Zaofan's heart.

"Dead"

Then she twirls and vanishes and the blade rests on Kabuto's neck from behind.

"Decapitated."

When it's attacks hit a barrier, Adam changes tactics, pressing at the point of impact, taking her energy from her. When the barrier pushes, it pushes back, taking as much as it can get. The sword is different. Unknown qualities and abilities. But battle was never a sure thing, there was always risk, and permanent damage was unlikely during training. When her sword pauses at Totoma's throat, Adam pounces, snapping tendrils around her arm, drawing his entire body in to engulf the blade. More tentacles anchor it to the floor, trying to hold her arm still while it takes what energy it can from her weapon.

Adam, having readjusted, attacks the sword when it rests towards Kabuto instead of Totoma. As he tries to absorb energy from it, he finds it is not easy. Whether because the nature of Jinzi's construction, or something about the alien nature of Miras, he only gets a tiny bit of it before the sword vibrates and hums. The sound and vibration shakes Adam off of her and then a ki pulse flings him backwards and away from her.

[The Chou Lives]

“ Ha! Gotcha!” After touching the wounded Mira he then thinks. Using tk blades to distract the other. As the one he grapples glows. Glows tk glow.:

“ Locked In. Bitch.” As he then sends that one into the sky via tk. It got stronger with his ol. At 50 he lifted the golem as a base. With this his speaks.:

“ Anyone who can nuke. Aim high!”

This is his definition of team work. Make a opening. As he worked to counter miss space cop. He then was working hand gestures. He was charging a Construct. Just, what though?

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Shitshitshitshit!" Jack cried out as he struggled to stay out of of range the sword. The answer to your enemy pulling a weapon was, of course, pull another, preferably larger, weapon. Jack did not have a weapon however. This made things much more complicated.

Keeping track of his measure and timing Jack tried to keep just out of range of every cut and thrust thrown in his direction. Luckily his allies began to engage Miras, giving Jack some breathing room. Not as much as he would like, but some.

Against an armed opponent, when you were unarmed, you had to close distance to grapple, and control the weapon. Hopefully you could disarm your opponent, or break their arm. Which was just another disarm if you thought about it. This often resulted in just getting shanked however. Which was why the preferred method of dealing with a weapon, was another weapon.

But again, Jack didn't have a weapon.

Shit!

As his allies attacked Jack took a few false steps to sneakily close distance with Miras. Jack would wait until he saw an opening, clear from both Miras attention, and from getting in the way of any of his allies attacks. When the moment was right Jack lunged forward to wrap his hands around the wrist and elbow of Miras's sword arm, and cranked it as hard as he could behind her, in the hope of forcing Miras to drop the blade, or at least enable him to neutralize her ability to use it.

With Jack and Adam both latching onto Miras' arms at full strength, Zaofan leapt into action. He faded from view and reappeared in a whirl behind Miras, grappling so that his arms folded under her arms and bent up around her shoulders, using Bojack behind her neck and on her spine to hold her torso still, while his left leg wrapped around hers to prevent any mobility. He pulled his weight back to further ground her into place.

But her pull was mighty, and Zaofan tightened both his grip and the clench of his jaw. Hopefully that will keep her in place, at least long enough for someone to do something about it...!

With the sudden addition of another grappler Jack decided his services were no longer needed at this juncture.

Also he did not want to get cut by Ishtar's blade. Which was probably going to happen if he stuck around. Unlike Adam, Jack could not flow back together.

Jack released his hold on Miras arm and istead delivered a powerful kick to the side of her knee, hoping to collapse the structure of her stance.

He then sprung out of the way before one of his allies coul hit him. Jack's back still had tooth marks.

Thanks Charco.

The Nevadian advanced to meet the challenge.

Quickly, cautiously, he advanced, darting forth towards his opponent. The point of his spear rotated in a counter clockwise direction as he bounded forwards.

In this scenario, my weapon holds the advantage in range. Even with her skills, I imagine it would be difficult for her to take the offensive so easily...Well, assuming I'm not completely out of my depth....

Suddenly, like the strike of a viper, the point sprang forth.

Just as quickly, the point retracted, barely moving from where it had started, an elaborate feint.

The Nevadian bent his legs into his stance, inhaling deeply.

Ki flowed from the body of The Nevadian, into his weapon, the faintest glow of an aura enveloping it. Teeth gritted, eyes narrow, he exhaled, and began his attack.

Piercing Horn!

A barrage of thrusts and stabs erupted, ki streaming behind each blow as it sought to overwhelm and overtake the more half hearted attacks of his opponent. The Barrage seemed endless, strikes launching one after the next. Striking at the entirety of her, from various angles.

He sought to pierce not only through her defenses, but through her very being, as false as it was.

As she dodges and feints away from their grappling attempts, she turns and raises her sword to meet Held's barrageing attacks. For each he thrusts, she matches, and the two dance back and forth like a ballet of death.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Erosa have question!" Erosa screamed. "Exactly how long was pantsman underpants snake and why you not come in person and beat badguys for us.....oh wait, that two questions." Erosa turned back to Etrina, who was now reclining just off the arena floor with a book in hand and looking generally unconcerned with proceedings. "Sister need to come up and train!"

"...Ughh.....Its just mock fighting. I'm an intellectual....we don't get stronger by getting punched in the face." Etrina groaned. "Your the muscle, you handle the combat. I'm the brains..I handle the thinking." Etrina shoed Erosa forward absentmindedly with her hand, eyes not leaving her book. "...Go on.....make your master proud...."

"No fair sis! Combat training for team....We all team! There no Erosa in Team!" She paused. "....Wait.....Erosa must have mistaken saying somewhere."

"No..No I'm just gonna observe for the moment and determine the most appropriate stratagem for victory." Etrina said, eyes still stuck in her book. "I'm at a good part...so I'll be....right behind you..."

"Oh! So this IS team! Ok! Erosa soften up huge boobed police girl!" Erosa turned back the the fight, already underway. "C'mere! Erosa wanna get piece of action!" With the tact of a 5 year old, she turned and tauntingly slapped her butt in the Miras direction.

The two Miras' seem to ignore the taunt.

With the others trying to assault Miras from the front and sides, Chuan decided to take to the skies as he always did. While he hadn't learned to fly as a few others had, he still could leap with the best of them. Trusting the team's attacks to keep her too busy to strike him while he was mid-air and vulnerable, he ran in and did a huge side-flip, hoping that he was high enough to stay at the outskirts of the officer's range as he rained Phantom Needle shots down at her shoulders to try and slow her arms' movements!

The pinned one grimaces and suddenly pops as the phantom needles destroy it. The other, dueling Held, seems to step out of the way of each one as she keeps fighting the Nevadian.

[grampagen]

----redacted----

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

The first melee was repelled by a demonstration of this Galaxy Policewoman's skill. When more members of the team moved in for a greater assault, a barrier manifest as a show of force. Now the officer drew a weapon curious to test their performance.

New toys for their training game, a fresh challenge.



And still more surprises revealed. The sense-awareness of Ochazuke's battle meditation missed nothing, tactile energy bringing to clarity every form, every movement.

Still more withheld. These are indeed trying circumstances if you are forced to reveal your secrets.

Still, Ishtar as he now well knew would not reveal such an action without sufficient reason. Nor would she make a move without sufficient confidence in asserting her will.

He spread the fingers of his right hand to a knife's edge and smirked. How exciting.

You've decided your course in this moment. Very good.

Sharpening his battlefield sense further, he took note of the actions of his comrades on the field. Avoidance. Confrontation. Charging spears. Falling needles. Feints and seizures.

When you're ready, I'll clear the path.

Ochazuke senses it. The women, this Miras, is strong, and easily able to fight them. However, he also senses that the arena has been altered slightly. The gravity is higher than normal, but all of them don't even notice it. Ochazuke woudl guess they are operating at 1.5X Earth's standard gravity, and someone they've all grown enough that they don't even notice it.

Tricky Jinzi.

He also senses that the sword is deadly. Far beyond what a normal sword would be.

"98...99...100..."

It had felt like an eternity for what was essentially a minute and 40 seconds, but seeing the others in action had got his blood pumping.

"...Ready or not, here I come."

It was not because he thought himself better that Charco had given the others a head start, no, but rather he felt it was best he let them get situated in the fight, take their places and more importantly, get ready for his entrance.





If one saw evidence that his presence might have required some extra preparation, it wouldn't take much to confirm that his last excursion on the training field had made an effect. Others occasionally shot glances at him, as if to determine the best direction to jump away or just avoiding the general radius that he occupied. He didn't blame them, but it did hurt, just a small bit, to know of the isolation his methods had placed him. All in all, he hoped their cautiousness would prevail this time around. Would he prove to be a liability this time around as well? Charco didn't know, but what he did know was that he was time to join the fray. Stuffing in his ear buds, he hit play on his streaming app and allowed the music to play.

The beats of the song reverberated through him, calming his excitable nature long enough to take note of the "battlefield" before him. Their instructor, Mira, had presented herself as a skilled swordsman, proving to be more hands-on than Jinzi's elaborate means to keep them all at bay. In commendation of her skills, Charco would reply in kind, pitting her blade against his Terrible Claws. Propelling himself towards here with a Carnotaurus Charge, he slashed out at her, seeking to witness her response and invoke her retaliation.

Fighting Held, Charco charges in and now her speed increases as she begins dueling them both, her sword licking out and blocking both their attacks again and again and again.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“ Ha! Gotcha!” After touching the wounded Mira he then thinks. Using tk blades to distract the other. As the one he grapples glows. Glows tk glow.:

“ Locked In. Bitch.” As he then sends that one into the sky via tk. It got stronger with his ol. At 50 he lifted the golem as a base. With this his speaks.:

“ Anyone who can nuke. Aim high!”

This is his definition of team work. Make a opening. As he worked to counter miss space cop. He then was working hand gestures. He was charging a Construct. Just, what though?

The second Miras fades away under the further assault.

[The Chou Lives]

: He cusses again while he then stomps his foot. From the ground under first Mira’s feet came hands.:

“ Earth Release, Stone Hand Prison!” As he tries to grapple down her arms and legs without hitting team mates. He notes the gravity change but then again like Och and Ishtar. Chou too trained at higher gravity afterwards. Was not bothered really as he glows himself. In defense stance.:

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"A warrior who falls lacks will. The one who stands apart or flees, lacks pride. So the coward and the victim both leave only a legacy of shame," he replied, granting for the moment a font of affirmation to her words.

"A head held high sees only the full height of the fall before it is brought low. So one who fears weakness is already full of it," Ochazuke chuckled dryly, "Such fickle pride is the source of such shame, the fountainhead of fear. How terrifying to consider, being brought low by enemies all around, unseen and...waiting."

Terrifying? The knowledge that there were people out there that could beat a Saiyan was supposed to be terrifying?

Sarada snorted, then cackled. "That's supposed to something worth fearing? Knowing that there's someone out there who can beat me? Beat even the strongest Saiyan?" Her cackle grew into an outright laugh. "No, no. That's not terrifying. That's exhilarating! Just the thought of fighting someone that strong makes me excited!" Her laughter eventually died down. "If I lose, then I stand up and try again, only that time, I'll be stronger."

It was true, that some Saiyans hated defeat, mainly because they were so strong, they never anticipated it. It wasn't fear, but rather overconfidence.

Ochazuke chuckled darkly to himself at this swerve in the conversation

"Why would it matter to you? Let Kami speak to her intentions," he replied, "But if it will entertain you, Offworlder, I refuse to accept living under the heel of either tyrant or god."

Moreover, that it was revealed to him that Kenshiko still lived after what happened on that day so long ago, a ghost stripped of everything that made her the person he once knew.

"Again, this is my home. Unable to protect her charge from what may come, Kami gave us a choice and a path for us to do something about it. Whatever you can say of this group, she respects our autonomy."

And didn't he ever know that.

She shrugged lazily. "If you think words entertain me, you're mistaken. I just wanted your opinion since it seems you don't like having your actions laid out for you." She assumed that Kami would be calling the shots and dictating where they would be going whenever she saw fit. Ochazuke seemed like the kind of man who would normally take issue with that. Why, she didn't know, nor did she particularly care.

His eventual answer didn't surprise her. He simply didn't want to live under Old Kami's rule. Simple enough.

She didn't bother asking him why he thought Kami felt the need to bring in offworlders to help a planet they had no knowledge of with a situation they had no stake in. Her reason was simple: she was there to fight strong people, including Old Kami. But, what of Meagan, Held, the Namekian, and any others who wondered onto this planet? What stake or reason did they have to help?

"I see. I guess that would be all the reason most anyone would need."

[Sion Reaver]

Ochazuke senses it. The women, this Miras, is strong, and easily able to fight them. However, he also senses that the arena has been altered slightly. The gravity is higher than normal, but all of them don't even notice it. Ochazuke woudl guess they are operating at 1.5X Earth's standard gravity, and someone they've all grown enough that they don't even notice it.

Tricky Jinzi.

He also senses that the sword is deadly. Far beyond what a normal sword would be.



Fighting Held, Charco charges in and now her speed increases as she begins dueling them both, her sword licking out and blocking both their attacks again and again and again.

Karine knew her ranged attacks would effect her allies, so at the given moment she decided to join the fray herself. Instead of hand to hand, she summoned her own lance which she could use to harass, and maybe prod her into a opening for the other fighters. She wasn't as skilled as some and she wouldn't claim to be, but she was at least competent.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

: He cusses again while he then stomps his foot. From the ground under first Mira’s feet came hands.:

“ Earth Release, Stone Hand Prison!” As he tries to grapple down her arms and legs without hitting team mates. He notes the gravity change but then again like Och and Ishtar. Chou too trained at higher gravity afterwards. Was not bothered really as he glows himself. In defense stance.:

Chou manages to grab her, but a swipe of her sword manages to free herself just in time. She floats up a bit, her feet off the ground.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Karine knew her ranged attacks would effect her allies, so at the given moment she decided to join the fray herself. Instead of hand to hand, she summoned her own lance which she could use to harass, and maybe prod her into a opening for the other fighters. She wasn't as skilled as some and she wouldn't claim to be, but she was at least competent.

With Karine added to the mix, Miras finally seems to be on the back foot, her speed just enough to let her keep weaving her sword between the three, fending them off.

[The Chou Lives]

He then floats up and flies to her. Glowing as he speaks.:

“ Guys. Close your eyes!!”

As he then utters one horrid word.:

“ Flash!” With Bane voice. Thanks to mecha mask as he emits intense light. In a attempt to take her off guard and blind her/dizzy her.: