Dragon Ball: After the End

[PoptartProdigy]

Alright! With the vote closed, writing is commencing. Head on over to the Discord if you want previews. As always, no bringing them back over here.

 

[PoptartProdigy]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[x] Take these last moments to do something before proceeding to the plan as established.
-[x] "Wait, where's Jaron?"

Turnabout
​

Around you, Senzus drop to their knees. Head Raditz takes a step forward before going down to a knee. "Scion Jaffur," he says, bowing his head. "I'm glad to see you free again."

Jaffur looks at his uncle, and the smirk flickers. "...Uncle Raditz." He steps forward. "...please, stand up." He looks around. "Everybody, stand up! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be free." He reaches out to his uncle. "Today, you don't have to bow."

Raditz looks up at his nephew, surprised. Then he nods, takes Jaffur's hand, and stands. The two embrace, and Raditz lets out a shaky sigh. "We've missed you, Jaffur." He steps back and waves. "Betarel!"

Betarel steps forward. Unlike Jaffur and you, the Senzu Heir hasn't yet hit his growth spurt. He's a little taller than he was on the day of the Sealing, but not by much. As such, as he approaches, his cousin towers over him.

It doesn't stop Jaffur, though. He steps forward and kneels down, giving Betarel a fierce hug. "I'm missed you, Betarel."

"Missed you too, Jaffur," says Betarel, smiling.

Standing back and away from this, you smile. You take a look around, tallying heads. All the Senzus are present, save the doubles, of course. Dandelor is slowly pushing himself up from his knees, looking exhausted. You step forward and help him stand.

"Thanks," he pants. "That was...quite a bit of work. Jaffur has a lot of strength to spare."

"I get it," you say, nodding. Then you blink, tallying heads one more time. "I...where's Jaron?" You look around again; sure enough, your friend's not there. The memory of his facade splintering apart springs back into your mind, and you panic. "What happened to him?"

"He's alright," says Dandelor, straightening. "But it turns out that simply breaking the Seal did nothing to give him a body of his own. He's in Jaffur's head now. We'll have to figure out how that works for sure later, but right now I suspect that they'll be able to switch back and forth in some way."

You let out a relieved sigh. "Okay. Okay, good. I was worried for a second."

"To be honest, so was I," admits Dandelor, leaning on you slightly out of exhaustion. "Jaffur is powerful. For a moment, I worried that it'd come to a clash."

You look up at him in confusion. "A clash? Wasn't that already happening?"

He shakes his head. "I wouldn't have dared. Remember what I've taught you: when it comes to direct confrontations, ki trumps. A spell supercharged trumps just a spell. It's all about finding the right leverage. In this case, my work was hiding Jaron; sealing him away from the space Jaffur was purging."

You frown. "But Jaron was the space Jaffur was purging."

"Not once I was through with him," says the sorcerer, smirking. "Not in that moment, anyway. Damn exhausting it was, too."

"Are you going to be in good shape for our confrontation with Dandeer?" you ask, eyeing him up and down. "That looks like it really took the wind out of you."

"My name is Dandelor Senzu, if you'd forgotten," he says, raising an eyebrow at you. "I'll have a quick meal and be right as rain for our confrontation with the faithless whore. And on that topic..." His fingers graze the back of your neck, and you feel a surge of magic.
Breach detected.
Dandelor sags in place, fumbling a bean out of a pouch at his waist with numb fingers.
Not resolved.
You stand, stiff and unmoving. You don't think you could make yourself move if your life depended on it.
Breach detected.
Dandeer, striding atop a carpet of bodies.
Not resolved.
Dandelor shrieking in an agony that is quite literally soul-deep.
Breach detected.
There are only two Vegetan sorcerers, and there used to be thousands. Something happened to them, and it was Dandeer.
Not resolved.
"She will notice that, eventually," says Dandelor, slipping the bean into his mouth and crunching down. A moment later, he straightens, renewed. "We'll need to move quickly."

You grit your teeth as your memories come flooding back, held in their place by whatever it is that Dandelor's done. Breath hisses through your teeth. "Oh, yes," you say, stalking over to Jaffur. "That's the plan."

Jaffur glances up at you as you approach, then does a double-take at the look on your face. He immediately turns away from the Senzus and faces you. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain later, but right now, we really need to get this started," you say, reaching out to him.

He has misgivings about your sudden shift in mood, but he still takes your hand. He glances over his shoulder. "Is the House ready to go, Head Raditz?"

"Ready and eager," replies the older man. "We'll begin moving into position once the others get going-"

vip

You transmit the instant he finishes the word, bringing you and Jaffur to a point about a hundred feet away from your Grandma and Yammar, in the forest surrounding the Hall. You immediately release Jaffur's hand and stride towards the Matriarch and Patriarch, silently fuming to yourself.

Jaffur falls into step right away, lowering his voice. "Alright, Kakara, what's going on here? You look like you're going to kill somebody. You look like you're going to kill somebody."

"I can't explain it right now," you snarl, quietly enough that your elders won't hear. "Literally, I can't. I'll be able to tell you once this is all done, okay?"

Jaffur's smart; he figures it out quickly. All the little shifts that normally characterize people's passive body language drop straight off of him. "What did she do?"

"I literally can't tell you," you growl. "Just trust me, okay?!"

"Of course," he replies, instantly. He even looks a little offended.

You blink at that flash of emotion, feeling chagrined. "...thank you. I'm sorry, it's just frustrating-"

"It's fine," he says in a curt voice. "Just let it pass."

You duck your head and do just that.

It's then that you round a tree and come into view of your grandmother and his grandfather. Apra glances at the two of you, glances at Yammar, and steps off to the side. Yammar, meanwhile, freezes, staring at his grandson. His mouth opens. "...Jaffur."

At your side, Jaffur freezes. Then he stalks forward, and punches Yammar in the face.

You and Grandma both wince at the sound of the impact. Yammar just takes it.

Jaffur puts his finger right in Yammar's face. "If you hadn't done what you did, none of this would have happened."

Yammar's jaw works, his face mottling in reflexive fury and what looks interestingly like shame, for the man who's made a lifetime of justifying his decisions with measures up to and including ki blasts. He says nothing, simply meeting his grandson's eyes without flinching.

Jaffur lets out a snort of disgust and turns away, striding over to Grandma. "We'll finish this later," he says, glancing back over his shoulder. Then he turns his attention on your grandmother. "Matriarch Apra. In the name of my Clan, I thank you for your support and aid."

"And in the name of mine, I tell you that no thanks are necessary," she replies, crossing her arms. "Now, if you're finished with these little displays..."

Jaffur's cheeks pink slightly as she straightens. He nods stiffly.

"Then we should get going," you say, stepping forward. "Grandma, is everybody else ready?"

"Trickling into the Hall now," she replies. "Seer Balor tells me that his people are staying vigilant for any possible failure states. The Senzus will begin making their way in shortly. For now, it's time for the four of us to fulfill our part in things."

"Then let's go," you say, lifting your fingers to your forehead. "Jaffur..."

"I know," he says, folding his arms and stepping back. "I can wait. Get your father on our side. Just..." Something flickers in his eyes. He opens his mouth, pauses. The two of you stare at each other. Then he grimaces, and subsides. "...good luck."

You nod as Grandma and Yammar lay hands on your shoulders. "Thanks." You glance at the elders flanking you. "Suppress?"

They nod, and their power levels drop to near-zero in heartbeats.

vip

* * *
​

Sneaking is an interesting experience, for you. Your whole life, you've either been one of the strongest people on the planet, or known that you were due to be one. Thus, suppressing your ki down to nothing, tearing away that effortless edge, and having to resort to stealth, is a uniquely hair-raising endeavor.

That's not to say that it's difficult, mind.

The guards at the gate are attentive, but even suppressed as you are, you and the others have an unparalleled control over your bodies and ki. It's trivial to create a distraction before slipping through. The bustle inside the Hall is more difficult, but Grandma simply takes you by the hand, and melts into the press of saiyans with you in tow. Somehow, nobody looks at you twice.

Slipping into your family apartments is the hardest part, but even that is simply a matter of evading the notice of the warriors hanging around the place while Grandma and you open a hidden side entrance.

The three of you find seats in your deserted living room, and Grandma takes a deep breath before closing her eyes and contacting your father. You squeeze her hand in support. After a moment, her eyes open again. "He's coming," she says, visibly steeling herself.

"Are you alright, Grandma?" you ask.

"This is my son," she whispers, looking at the opposite wall. "This is going to break him."

"He'll survive it," says Yammar, uncharacteristically subdued. "And he wouldn't thank you for leaving him ignorant."

Grandma thins her lips, and doesn't respond.

After a few more moments of silent waiting, the door opens. "Hey, Mom, what did you need to-?"

You stand as the door clicks shut and turn to face your father. "Hey, Dad."

His eyes narrow, flicking from face to face. "...Mom, the scouts are in custody, but we're still on emergency laws. You, Kakara, and I can't all be in the same place."

"This is too important to worry about that now," says Yammar, rising to his feet. "There's something we urgently need to address today."

Your father ignores Yammar, completely. "Kakara, I'm going to need you to step out of the Hall for a few minutes."

"Berra, listen to me," says your grandmother. "This is more important than the emergency."

Dad frowns. "I'm not risking all of us being in one place. Things are tense, Mom. I know you've been sequestered most of the time, lately, but I-"

You start walking towards him. "We don't have time for this."

Grandma tries to catch your arm. "Kakara, I want to-"

You pull free without breaking step. "We do not have time. Both of you are wasting time. I have a better way." You feel your eyes burning, locked on your father's face. Six years. Six years of waiting and scheming and lying. Six years of knowing that Jaffur was trapped in his own head, screaming.

Dad takes a step back as you advance on him. "...Princess, what's going on?"

"You were wrong to Seal Jaffur," you say, nearing arm's reach.

His expression closes off. "We've had this out before. My decision was and remains final. If that's all-"

"You were wrong, and this time I'm going to prove it to you!" you shout, that same dismissal as always finally stoking the anger flaring in your chest up to a building roar. "You think I'm just whining because I lost? It's not that simple! It wasn't a cure!"

You snap your fingers up, digging into the sides of his skull, and push.

* * *
​

You snap your eyes open, and sure enough, there the other Scion is, transformed and raging.

"Jaffur!" you yell, stepping forward.

He doesn't react and Oh, right.

You settle down and watch the vision.

Jaffur has stopped swearing into the sky and is now simply screaming in fury, his aura raging around him. You take the time to look around, because where even are you?

Jaffur is Sealed. So...this must be...inside his mind?

* * *
​

"It wasn't a cure," you say, your fingers dropping away. "It was a prison."

Your father stumbles back, shaking his head. "I...that's not..."

You snarl, thrusting your hand forward. "It made a whole new person, just to cage Jaffur, and then made that person remember and forget, remember and forget, every! Kais-damned! Night!

* * *
​

flash

Your head snaps over as the feeling of Jaron's ki erupts onto your senses in time with a massive explosion from somewhere out in the distance. A moment later, the sound of an anguished and enraged scream echoes over to you on the heels of a rolling shockwave.

Jaffur halts in place and sighs. "Well, Jaron made it over."

"...is he like this every night?" you ask, wide-eyed at the sheer enormity of the rage and hurt you feel from Jaron's presence.

Jaffur gives you a flat look. "Imagine that every night you wake up, suddenly remembering everything that's happened to him and me. Every night it's fresh again. Every night there's more. Every night you can remember spending the last night furious because of what you've remembered, determined to hold onto something, anything, once you wake up, only to lose it all." He lifts off and starts flying in his brother's direction.

You follow. "Is he okay?"

Jaffur snorts. "Would you be?"

* * *
​

Your father slumps back against the wall. "...how did you...what...?"

You sneer, stepping back up into his space. "Oh, didn't you figure it out? I asked." You hiss, fists clenching as you lash out again with telepathy. "And he told me, because he's NOT SICK, AND JARON IS!"

* * *
​

Stepping inside, your eyes track right, to where you felt his ki signature. You open your mouth as you see him sitting on his bed, a pencil and a pad of paper next to him, and you get ready to tease him for laziness-

-knife-

-before you can even think about what you're doing, you lunge, your hand flashing up to hook the pommel of the weapon and tug it away from your friend's throat. His power level begins to spike, his eyes widen, and his aura flickers on the edge of sight.

You ignore him, focusing on twisting his arm around and bringing his hand down to the bed. As soon as it makes contact, your hand flickers up to your forehead-

vip

-and you reappear on an uncharted island in the ocean east of Aramaia. You wrench away the knife and lunge back as his power level finally spikes enough for him to flare.

Jaron doesn't say anything. He just darts towards you, reaching for the knife. You skip back and away, taking to the skies where you know he can't keep up.

You're shaking. You're hot. You're ice. You're numb, too. You point a hand at him -- fingers would take entirely too much dexterity, at the moment -- and try to scream, "What are you doing?!"

Try. In reality, it comes out more as a hoarse whisper.

He scowls up at you, his lips twisting. "...I wasn't gonna do it-"

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING, JARON?!"

He flinches as the sudden burst of noise echoes once around the island before fading away over the waves. The two of you stare at each other. You don't move -- frozen, one hand still held out. He stares back at you.

At length, he looks away. "...deciding."

...

Your fellow Scion is staring up into the sky, hands slack. You remain slumped on the ground, trembling and crying.

"...I never even guessed," he says. He's never sounded more lost.

You manage to push yourself up against a rock, finding the limited dignity of slumping against that far preferable to huddling on the floor. You try, and fail, to reign yourself in.

At length, Jaffur turns and drifts over to you, sliding down next to you. At some point it strikes you that tears are sliding down his face, too. First time you've ever seen him cry. He shudders. His face twists before smoothing back over. "...Kakara, what do we do?"

* * *
​

Your father slides down to the floor, staring at nothing with an expression of blank horror on his face.

You drag yourself back under control. "You know what?" you rasp. "All of that, I could be fine. All of that, I'd just tell you. We'd tear down the Seal tonight and fix this. But there's a reason I'm doing it like this. There's a reason I'm pelting you with these so that you can never tell me again that I'm wrong and you're right on this. There's a reason Jaffur is already free, and waiting for us to tell him that we've convinced you!"

Your Dad doesn't even twitch, for the longest time. Then he whispers, "What?"

You crouch down in front of him. "Because right from the start, she lied."

* * *
​

You see her take a deep breath, eyes fixed on a wall.

"I told him. He went crazy. He attacked me," she says. You can see the skin at her throat fluttering slightly in time with her pulse. She fires up her aura and curls her fingers into fists. Deliberately, she keeps up her power level.

Just as deliberately, you can feel the bits keeping her durable draining away.

"He broke my ribs."

She drives her fist into the left side of her chest.

* * *
​

Your father tears his way out of the memory with a hoarse scream, throwing himself to the side to get out of the path of your beam. "No...no, she wouldn't..."

"She did," you say, standing. "You just saw it, like I Saw it. She did it to herself, and then she pinned it on him."

"Dandeer is dangerously unstable, Berra," says Grandma, pulling you back a step. "We need to remove her from power, today."

"And let me just be clear, this is not a request," says Yammar, folding his arms. "I have evidence that she has unlawfully usurped control of the Clan and imprisoned my Grandson. She has subjected Jaron -- whatever he is to me -- to mental torture for years. I am removing her by my authority as Patriarch, today, with or without your support."

"And what room do you have to talk?" mumbles your father. "If you hadn't-"

Yammar powers up, his ki straining the wards on your apartment walls. "Don't," he snarls. "If Jaffur wants to call me to task for that, then that is his right. You have neither place nor right to criticize me. It was a Vegetan affair and I handled it, as a Lord of Clan Vegeta. As I will handle my insane daughter-in-law. The woman you put in power. The woman whose greatest offense you directly abetted. You do not have even a shred of ground to stand on here."

Your father tears his eyes away from Yammar, seeking you out. "Kakara!" he gasps. "Please tell me...she didn't really..."

You kneel down in front of him, and now you feel nothing but pity. You've never seen your father reduced to this before. You understand why, though. He's been trying to find a way to undo the Sundering ever since it happened. With the Sealing, he thought he had it, and now he learns that it was all a lie; that if anything, it was a step worse than the Sundering in every way.

Your mind flashes back. Your father, constantly staying in touch with Dandeer, more than their stations would require. Approving of your friendship with Jaron with little more than a flicker of half-suppressed pain. A horribly stilted, pained introduction to Valentine as your father remembers the man he once called his brother...
Vote disallowed; course of action locked in by established personality.
With a quiet sigh of regret, you take hold of that lever and turn. "She lied to you. She lied to you, and made you help her imprison an innocent little boy. She Sealed Vegeta." You lean inwards. "And then, she tricked you into helping her get away with it."

Something breaks, in your father's eyes. He bends over, and for a moment you fear that you've pushed too far.

Then his ki burns gold and a croak of despairing fury begins to roll out across the space, and you nod to yourself, forming another strand of telepathy as you step back.

Your father lunges to his feet, his aura blasting out and vaporizing your apartments in a heartbeat. "HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

You let out a quiet sigh, transforming yourself along with Grandma and Yammar to avoid being swept away. In a flash, you dart to the doors. Open the first, close the first to keep leaks down, detransform, open the second, close the second, repeat eight more times, and-

Jaffur, it's done. My dad is on our side. Get in here.

On my way, he replies.

tsew

The guards, already flinching at your sudden presence, outright panic at Jaffur's. It's a moment of startled shouts and raised power levels before somebody pauses and looks again. "Is that...Prince Jaffur?"

Jaffur steps forward in his blue and white gi, coming to a halt just in front of the guard who spoke. "I am free. My Seal is broken. I am here to take control of our Clan back from my madwoman of a mother. Pick your side."

The man immediately drops to his knees. "My prince, I-" He stiffens, surging to his feet and whipping around to face you. He falls into a combat stance. "The Scion is here, my prince!"

You take a moment to marvel at his loyalty as Jaffur steps right around the guard. "I know she is," he says. "She called me here."

"We're all ready to go," you say as Jaffur approaches. "Dad's on-side. Your mom is alone."

His eyes spark with a vicious glee. "Good." He comes to a halt just in front of you, looking down. "Ready?"

You snort. "I've been ready. I just hope you're not too stiff to move, after being stuck that long."

He rolls his eyes. "You wish. Let's go."

The two of you head back down the passage, through all of the doors, and enter the Hall as one.

"DANDEER!"

Jaffur gets a look of faint envy on his face as he beholds your father, flaring bright and gold in the air above the crowd, holding Dandeer by the front of her robes.

Your father hurls her down to the floor. She yelps in pain as she lands, and shrieks in terror as he follows her.

He stalks after her. "You lied to me. You used me!"

"Berra, I don't understand, what's going on?!" cries Dandeer, scrambling backwards. "What are you talking about? What am I supposed to have done?"

And at this, with a fine sense of dramatic timing, Jaffur steps forward and transforms, clearing his throat. "That would be me."

Silence rings in the Hall, eventually, but just plain silence doesn't ring. A ringing silence follows a noise, and so does this. People's heads turn over towards the two of you a great wave. Gasps surge through the mass. A wave of whispers and shouts spread outwards. You transform as well, stepping up beside Jaffur, before the two of your release your auras in a display of mastery over your forms that is as effortless as it is terrifying to a crowd of people who understand how much control that takes. Finally, your father releases his own aura, the quiet hissing petering out as the last voices die.

And then, rich with the echo of the startled gasp of an entire civilization, the silence rings.

"Jaffur," whispers your father, his gaze haunted.

Just like his grandfather, Jaffur ignores your father completely, striding towards his mother. "Mother. You lied to me, too."

She stares back at her son, face white. "No-"

"You used me," he says, a bitter smile on his face. "I never was anything more than a path to a higher position for you, was I? I know. I've seen how you treat Jaron, through the Seal. Oh, didn't you realize? You didn't put me to sleep. You locked me away."

Dandeer freezes, eyes wide. "What?!"

"Your Seal made a whole new person," says Jaffur, coming to a halt at a point right between her and the crowd before starting to pace. "Jaron? He's real. My brother, a pure-blooded human, made as a lock on the cage holding me in. Gotta admit; that was pretty clever. What's the one thing I wouldn't break, to get out?"

Mid-step, he shifts, inches and feet melting off of him, and Jaron stands before the crowd. "And it's just like you, isn't it, Mom? It's just like you to make your family fight so that you can get something."

They shift back, and Jaffur flexes his fingers. "And the whole time, you were lying. I never hurt you. I never laid a finger on you. Father did, sure, but me? Never. I was your tool, and once I was no longer useful, you did whatever it took to throw me away." He comes to a halt. "Well, you didn't throw nearly hard enough." He straightens his shoulders. "My father is sleeping -- his Seal worked right -- and you and I both know that he's not fit to be Lord anyway. And you are a usurper. You are a liar. You are a traitor!"

The accusation rings in the Hall as Dandeer trembles on the floor. Yammar steps out of the crowd, hair in golden spikes, and advances on her. "And we have procedures for treason, in Clan Vegeta." The older saiyan steps right past Jaffur and lifts Dandeer from the floor. "Dandeer, co-Head of House Vegeta, Lady of Clan Vegeta, by my authority as the Patriarch of Clan Vegeta, you are arrested for high treason, against your Lord, against your Scion. You are charged with using sorcery to ensnare their minds and elevate yourself to power over our Clan. You will be tried under the eyes of your son for your crimes, and we shall see how much mercy he has to repay your utter lack of any shown for him!"

Dandeer chokes and scrabbles at Yammar's face as his hand closes around her throat and shoves her back against the wall. Her heels tap frantically on the stone behind her. He ignores her, her fingernails glancing right off of his skin.

"This is the end of your reign," he hisses, drawing his face in close to hers. "And I say that it was far too long."

Things then happen quickly. Her hand plants flat against his forehead. His eyes cross as he looks up at it. And Jaffur, eyes widening, lunges forward in a spray of gold, shouting, "NO!"

A pulse of magic rings out, and when you finish dragging your power level up to parity with Jaffur's, you see that Yammar has released Dandeer. Your eyes widen as he turns, eyes blank, and backhands Jaffur across the face. Time unfreezes as Jaffur hurtles back into the opposite wall, debris flying, and people scream.

"BUTCHER!" howls your father, powering up and charging. Beside him, your grandmother issues a wordless scream, flying for Dandeer. She makes it halfway there before a dark, familiar ki signature flares across your senses, and a golden blur tears her out of the sky. Lord Vegeta, his eyes as blank as his father's, kicks your grandmother into the ground with an earth-rattling bang.

Dandeer, sprawled on the floor where Yammar dropped her, gasps out, "Protect me!" Magic sings out one last time.

Your father, grappling with Yammar, stiffens and then disengages, his eyes blank as well.

Your grandmother lunges up out of the floor and charges Vegeta, only to be intercepted by Yammar. Vegeta and your father phase down into place in guard positions in front of Dandeer.

Then, with a roar of fury, Jaffur blasts his way clear of the wall, hovering in midair.

Exiles flee every which way as Dandeer drags herself to her feet. "Keep them off of me!" she croaks. "While I...I need to work!"

Your father and Vegeta nod in eerie unison. "Yes, Dandeer," they say in chorus.

tsew

Jaffur appears beside you, seething. "Damn it," he snarls. "Damn it, damn it, I thought we had the seers looking for failures!"

"We did," you say, eyeing the Lords. They watch you, apparently content not to interfere if you don't move. "I don't know how they could have possibly missed this!"

"Unless they're subverted too," says Jaffur in a grim tone of voice.

"How?!" you say, looking up at him. "How could she have possibly..." You trail off, realizing that it would be far from the first spectacular thing Dandeer has done. Except...How would the Seers have missed this? Also, Dandelor taught you that those kinds of workings take time, time and resources. Did she really blow all of that on subverting the Seers? When she had a people to run, and angry super saiyans as her political opponents? While helping to develop the ward the sorcerers used during your fight with Dazarel? If she's resorting to mass mind control, why not get the rest of the nobility instead?

"I don't know how she could have done it," says Jaffur. "It doesn't matter. Right now we need to stop her. She's trying to do something. We need to take her out before she can. That means getting past them."

You look between Jaffur and Dandeer's protectors, even as your grandmother and Yammar tear into each other up in the sky. "Jaffur, I'm not a fighter like you are, I can't take them one on one!"

"Well, we need to take them!" he snaps, looking down at you. "I'm open to ideas! Do you have any? We need something brilliant right now!"

You stare up at him, grasping at straws.

"Anything, Kakara!" he says.

Dandeer has subverted Yammar and Berra, and apparently had Vegeta ready to go in the event of a fight. Much is uncertain, and it doesn't seem like she can subvert people arbitrarily, but nevertheless, what was an ultimatum backed by overwhelming force has become a three-on-three fight, with a timer set to an unknown duration in the form of Dandeer, chanting in a corner.

The Unsealing has begun, and gone sideways in horrifying manner. The time to act is now.

---

What do you do?

[ ][FIGHT] You'll take Vegeta. Your flight abilities will let you evade his ki blasts and stay in the fight. Jaffur can take your father; both are incredible fighters, but your father specialized in splitting up multiple opponents, while Jaffur has trained his entire life to kill a super saiyan in single combat. Once your father is unconscious, Jaffur can help you take down Vegeta.
[ ][FIGHT] You'll take Berra. Your father must be in there, somewhere. If you can reach him, you can turn him against Dandeer again, and get the odds back in your favor. Jaffur can take his father; it is literally the opponent he's built himself up all his life to kill.
[ ][FIGHT] Kais on high you wish you'd fired up Spirit Saiyan in advance now. You need it, right now. Jaffur doesn't have to beat both Vegeta and Berra -- frankly, you doubt he can under these conditions. But he should hopefully be able to give you five minutes to charge.
[ ][FIGHT] Write-in.

Any other things in mind? From the following, form a plan comprising all items that apply. Just bear in mind that concentration and multitasking abilities are finite resources right now.

[ ][OTHER] Somehow, nothing really seems pressing enough to justify splitting your attention right now, thanks!
[ ][OTHER] This is a bad situation, but you need to handle something.
-[ ][OTHER] What happened with the Seers? Start contacting people and try to figure out what's going on.
-[ ][OTHER] You need to rally some of your people. You're in a numerically even fight, and need every advantage you can get. Get in contact with the Heads in on the conspiracy and direct them to provide massed fire support and counterspell work to the fight. Every little bit counts right now.
-[ ][OTHER] Find somebody who can get out a message and get Dandelor in here now! There's other sorcerer in the world who you'd bet even stands a chance against the woman who soloed fifty sorcerers at full power.
-[ ][OTHER] Write-in.

MANUAL MORATORIUM. APPROVAL VOTING.

I understand that this will be a controversial update. It always seems to end up that way, whenever we suffer a serious setback.

I still fully expect you all to remain calm and civil. We're all here to have fun; let's have fun with it.

And on that note, I hope you all enjoyed this update! I had a lot of fun writing it. We are now fully into the climax of this quest's first true narrative arc, and what happens here, one way or the other, will determine the course of events for the remainder of the quest! Tread carefully, and enjoy yourselves. I'll see you around the thread!

 

[Alectai]

Huh.

We have no option to abuse multiform to just... You know, go around her bodyguards and pummel Dandeer into submission?

Kakara's going to just let her cast whatever she wants while wasting time being distracted?

She doesn't need to be able to win, she just needs to stretch her guards further than they can handle, and then she's squishy apparently.

I guess her mind control works on us too, considering "Just fucking geek the mage using our multiform powers" isn't an option. It might not be a good one, but just keeping little miss infinite sorcerous power and "I can suppress an entire planet of high willpower monsters with an autonomous spell" and "I can mind control three of the strongest people on the planet reflexively" from having the freedom to cast an infinite power spell seems critical.

 

[chryssalideater]

Hmmmm.

Ok, vegeta being a tool is obvious in hindsight. Our dad is worrying, but still understandable. Yammar is concerning, but not predicting this occurring at all is fucked.

We missed something Dandeer hid somewhere, but the bright side is we still caught her off guard.

The chanting is obviously her editing the mass memory spell to hide this shit, but for the moment, I'm unsure how to proceed with the insta-gib mind control.

EDIT: also fuck yeah, that's a good update.

 

[Khona Moshr]

Huh.

We have no option to abuse multiform to just... You know, go around her bodyguards and pummel Dandeer into submission?

Kakara's going to just let her cast whatever she wants while wasting time being distracted?

She doesn't need to be able to win, she just needs to stretch her guards further than they can handle, and then she's squishy apparently.

I guess her mind control works on us too, considering "Just fucking geek the mage using our multiform powers" isn't an option. It might not be a good one, but just keeping little miss infinite sorcerous power and "I can suppress an entire planet of high willpower monsters with an autonomous spell" and "I can mind control three of the strongest people on the planet reflexively" from having the freedom to cast an infinite power spell seems critical.

Click to shrink...

Alectai it's more likely that Poptart just didnt think of having it be a default option, and since there's nothing that says we can't make a write-in using it, we just need to write up a strategy using it.

 

[chryssalideater]

-[ ][OTHER] What happened with the Seers? Start contacting people and try to figure out what's going on.

-[ ][OTHER] Find somebody who can get out a message and get Dandelor in here now! There's other sorcerer in the world who you'd bet even stands a chance against the woman who soloed fifty sorcerers at full power.

These seem like good options.

Do we have time for a vision, or has that come and gone?

 

[Alectai]

Hmmmm.

Ok, vegeta being a tool is obvious in hindsight. Our dad is worrying, but still understandable. Yammar is concerning, but not predicting this occurring at all is fucked.

We missed something Dandeer hid somewhere, but the bright side is we still caught her off guard.

The chanting is obviously her editing the mass memory spell to hide this shit, but for the moment, I'm unsure how to proceed with the insta-gib mind control.

Click to shrink...

She's already shown that she can ban certain topics from memory. How hard would it be to hide "Oh hey I prepped mind control puppet magic on the most powerful people in the world" compared to "I literally massacred the entire sorcerer community of half of our species"?

It's probably a lot easier I think, especially since it doesn't get challenged as often. A Seer can See it--and then immediately forget that they saw it.

 

[chryssalideater]

She's already shown that she can ban certain topics from memory. How hard would it be to hide "Oh hey I prepped mind control puppet magic on the most powerful people in the world" compared to "I literally massacred the entire sorcerer community of half of our species"?

It's probably a lot easier I think, especially since it doesn't get challenged as often. A Seer can See it--and then immediately forget that they saw it.

Click to shrink...

Shit that's worrying. If she hid the memory of Berra and yammar being mind controlled, would the seers be able to remember a prediction of them acting under Dandeer's control?

 

[Gore17]

I warned you. Should have formed the Genki Dama.

Seriously, did no one else see this coming?

 

[spiritualatheist]

Seriously? At this point I'm just tired. Of course Dandeer has mind-controlled super-saiyans. Why wouldn't she?

 

[Carrnage]

Welp it seems that if a seer tries to see something and a sorceror tries to conceal it sorceror wins.

Really wondering how exavtly seer is supposed to be more bullshit.

 

[Gore17]

Seriously? At this point I'm just tired. Of course Dandeer has mind-controlled super-saiyans. Why wouldn't she?

Click to shrink...

Indeed, why wouldn't she have done so? It's an obvious measure.

 

[fictionfan]

Just attack and don't keep the collateral damage down. Dandeer is super squishy comparatively. We should be able to get her with an area attack.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

So much for "Ki beats spells"

 

[Wiadi]

Huh.

We have no option to abuse multiform to just... You know, go around her bodyguards and pummel Dandeer into submission?

Kakara's going to just let her cast whatever she wants while wasting time being distracted?

She doesn't need to be able to win, she just needs to stretch her guards further than they can handle, and then she's squishy apparently.

I guess her mind control works on us too, considering "Just fucking geek the mage using our multiform powers" isn't an option. It might not be a good one, but just keeping little miss infinite sorcerous power and "I can suppress an entire planet of high willpower monsters with an autonomous spell" and "I can mind control three of the strongest people on the planet reflexively" from having the freedom to cast an infinite power spell seems critical.

Click to shrink...

I mean...bear in mind that multiform cuts power level and power level determines speed. I wouldn't be surprised if splitting up makes it actively easier to block any moves toward Dandeer.

Welp it seems that if a seer tries to see something and a sorceror tries to conceal it sorceror wins.

Really wondering how exavtly seer is supposed to be more bullshit.

Click to shrink...

 

[redzonejoe]

Neat. This should be fun.

 

[Gore17]

So much for "Ki beats spells"

Click to shrink...

It does if you have enough. They do not. Especially if it's applied while powered down.

 

[Carrnage]

I mean...bear in mind that multiform cuts power level and power level determines speed. I wouldn't be surprised if splitting up makes it actively easier to block any moves toward Dandeer.

Click to shrink...

iirc Poptart said around the time we found out we were a seer and not a sorceror that seers are more bullshit.

And no matter the details in order to do this she had to beat every seer on the planet, even to subvert a sorceror would require stopping seers from getting warned by their sight.

 

[Alectai]

So much for "Ki beats spells"

Click to shrink...

It's more that "Ki Beats Spells, as long as you know the spell is coming"

And once the spell hits, it hits will--and breaking it requires you to beat the Will score set when the spell was cast, which means that the spellcaster wins because they can stack up so many modifiers to it that you could never break it under ordinary circumstances.

Basically, this is the expected result of fighting a paranoid, trans-Babidi (Or Bibidi, whichever is better) magic user when they have the ability to just lock out the ability for societies as a whole to notice they're doing anything wrong.

Hell, the only reason Kakara isn't her puppet right now is that we hate her enough that we never spent enough time in her presence with our guard down to let her set a mind control contingency on her. She's apparently good enough to ban her actions from being detected by Seers apparently, or that the Seers are all in her her conspiracy/otherwise subverted through some kind of memetic spell or something. (Where seeing that she's up to no good includes a memetic attack that subverts the Seer and bans them from remembering what they saw)

 

[fictionfan]

[] just keep blasting at Dandeer with wide range beams. It is really hard to defend and weak target. From area attacks. If they try and come to you fly by them and attack Dandeer directly. All fighting is to be with the objective of hurting Dandeer.

 

[Tylonius]

So, can we afford one Multiform to rev up a Spirit Sayan while the main body fights? Because without that I'm pretty sure we just lost.

 

[Gore17]

iirc Poptart said around the time we found out we were a seer and not a sorceror that seers are more bullshit.

And no matter the details in order to do this she had to beat every seer on the planet, even to subvert a sorceror would require stopping seers from getting warned by their sight.

Click to shrink...

Not to my knowledge. Here's what I could find what Poptart said:

Spoiler: For length

I reinterpret Seers, here, as those gifted with the ability to truly see.

So...pretty powerful. Past, future, and present are all, to the proper mindset and the right level of skill, laid totally bare. Seeing ki is actually one of the tamer applications -- it's just inherently impressive to a nine-year-old who has become accustomed to the idea of being functionally invincible outside of three other people. You'll never hit omniscience, but you will have unfettered access to all the bullshit that having the gift of Sight is privy to. Every opponent might as well yell out an itemized itinerary of their attack plans, your opponents might as well share their schemes with you over scones and tea, the works. You aren't invincible -- you still need to be capable of acting on that Sight -- but it's a hell of an advantage.

Ho hum. However will I make that not hilariously broken?

I once read a fascinating quote: "You can't give Frodo a lightsaber unless you're willing to give Sauron the Death Star..."

Click to shrink...

...eh? I don't quite know what you mean. I interpret it as, "you can't make your hero powerful unless you make your villains powerful enough to challenge that," which is...well, just good storytelling. Boring invincible heroes are just that: boring. I mean, how would it be interesting if I just let you romp all over every opponent by being a combat seer? I mean, you're going to be powerful, but I'm not going to let you break the setting.

I don't literally think that the Death Star is an equitable match for a lightsaber, I just think the quote is pithy and illustrative of the concept of narrative balance.

Click to shrink...

Aha! Yes, that is abysmal and I will never use it. No, I just mean that Seer abilities have appropriate countermeasures. But yeah, if Harry gets a Jedi Holocron, Voldemort will counter that by exposing several of the glaring weakpoints that Jedi have, not by immediately getting the equal and opposite. I could write that story, but not with the Sith Holocron being something I just slap onto the narrative as a countermeasure -- it would do disservice to whatever premise I was trying to write.

No, in this case it's just that your ability to exploit the Sight is limited by what you can physically do, still. For instance, if there's a bomb, you won't be able to See your way clear to "accidentally" defusing it perfectly -- what would happen instead would be that you'd have to consider what and how you'd like to try and then See what happened -- and more often than not, you'd watch yourself blow up, again and again, all while the real timer was ticking down. So there's one safeguard. I won't be giving enemies some magic bullet to defeat you, no worries. I'll just make sure that this thing isn't broken, and that your opponents are smart enough to pay attention to what you can do and adapt to it.

Or I'll occasionally do the usual DBZ thing and throw a big hulking bruiser that you can't even scratch at you. Respect the classics!

Click to shrink...

 

[Zefferen]

It's a good thing that Jaffur is going to be a Lord and a sorcerer or else the sorcerers would take centuries to recover from this. A sorceress pulling this kind of shit would stain them for centuries. Nobody would trust them after one of their own subverted the minds of their entire people before mind controlling three out of six super saiyans while somehow having also fooled prophecy against her for an attack that took her totally by surprise. It's just too much. Dandeer is too evil and powerful to not cause issues for her fellows.

And poor Berra. We thought his mental anguish was going to be bad before, but after being mind controlled to fight/kill his daughter on top of everything else? I don't think that he's going to be a state suitable for ruling for awhile.

 

[Wiadi]

[] just keep blasting at Dandeer with wide range beams. It is really hard to defend and weak target. From area attacks. If they try and come to you fly by them and attack Dandeer directly. All fighting is to be with the objective of hurting Dandeer.

Click to shrink...

Uh...leaving entirely aside the question of killing Dandeer for the moment, this is probably gonna result in a lot of collateral damage. The last we saw of the state of the hall was:

Exiles flee every which way as Dandeer drags herself to her feet.

Click to shrink...

This doesn't exactly sound like an orderly evacuation to me. People are hopefully good enough at getting out of the way that they won't just end up incidentally splattered by missed shots, but if we're deliberately carpeting Dandeer's location in wide-area blasts then I'm hard-pressed to imagine how we'd avoid catching bystanders as well.

 

[Lagrange]

Instant transmissions to get behind her... punch with full force and kill her? At our power level we should be able to hit her faster than she can possible react.