Hurts Like Heaven

"She seemed to insist she was a Saiyan," Taori replied on the subject of Rosemary's genetics, "Just that, uh, something happened to her. She died, or... Something. Maybe she used demon magic to stay alive, I don't really get it. Not a fan of her weird fascination with the Oozaru, though." He still didn't really understand that, though it likely had something to do with that mind control Amara had been talking about. If it was true that Rosemary could only hold dominion over a transformed Saiyan, then that gave an easy explanation to her infatuation.

"Do the Tuffles actually have a leader right now, though?" Taori asked. Last he'd heard, their leader had been killed in the same attack the previous Saiyan King had met his end in. And, as far as he knew, no new leader had made themselves known in that time. Were they keeping the new leader's identity a secret on purpose? Taori supposed he'd end up finding out, one way or another. 

Regardless of all that, Taori paid attention as Amara demonstrated she could fire off ki blasts, it seemed just not without the aid of those special devices of hers. Well, if it worked, it worked. Taori got himself ready as Amara approached him with a new kick, and he responded by tripping backwards over his own foot and taking her foot square to the chest, which sent him sprawling back onto the grass behind him. "...Ow."

He got up and dusted himself off, his chest more than just a little sore, and his pride more than just a little bruised. These little hits here and there were starting to add up, huh? Well, it wasn't as though he was nearly out of the fight, yet. But he hoped to be able to do a bit more damage to Amara with his next few attacks. "Well, that's why we're training," he stated with a chuckle. "So that doesn't happen in, uh, a real fight." If he made a mistake like that against Rosemary or Azoth, he'd have been toast.

"I think I'm more out of practice than I thought, though..."

A 'strong Demon stank' to her aura, huh? Well, Taori didn't much like the sound of that. He knew she was probably some sort of Demon, but that pretty much confirmed she wasn't just part Demon. She was the full, real deal. And she had command over any and all Saiyans. Granted, most Saiyans weren't all too thrilled with her presence to begin with, but the fact remained that her power rather massively eclipsed pretty much anyone else on Plant. Well, except Azoth, but he was an exception - and he likely had no interest in attempting to crown himself King of the Saiyans. At least, Taori hoped he had no interest.

Taori let out a snort when Yangcong's name came up yet again. "Why am I not at all surprised he tried some sort of coup?" he asked with a chuckle. "Sounds like you were there to try and stop him at every turn, though. Shame the two of us couldn't have caught him together - we'd probably have both come out of that alive." Yangcong certainly couldn't have handled the both of them working together if he couldn't handle Amara on her own. It was still a wonder how he'd survived that solo attack on Sadala, too, though Taori supposed being buried alive in rubble gave everyone good reason to think he'd died down there.

Cheri, though... Cheri... That name was familiar... Ah, wasn't she...? "The incredibly pink woman?" Taori asked. "I've met her - she, uh, saved my hide in enemy territory, once, actually." That probably sounded strange for a Tuffle to do. "It's a long story. But, she was a kind woman. If she's in charge of the Tuffles, then we have nothing to worry about." 

"And yes, I will uh, not trip," he sheepishly added. He righted himself properly, then got ready for more, gesturing for Amara to come at him again. "If I do hypothetically become King, I can come back and tell you all about it," he offered, "And I'll bring Alpinia with, next time - so, don't go letting yourself get recycled until then, got it?"

"The hell?" Taori mumbled as Amara explained the... Events that had taken place in Hatchi City with Yangcong. The old man was, er, eccentric as always, he supposed. It was certainly a good thing Amara and 'Korado,' whoever that was, were there, or they may be having to deal with a Tuffle society under Yangcong's control. And that was not a Tuffle society Taori could see them having any treaties with. He sighed again when Amara mentioned the unfortunate circumstances of Garrick's demise. "Tch, if those rotten bastards hadn't bombed him, this war could've been over years ago," Taori grumbled.

Saiyans loved to fight. There was no doubt about that. But to persist in a seemingly endless war for generation upon generation? As much fighting as that allowed, there was a certain point in which things needed to end. "I hope Cheri is receptive to any ideas if I manage to get into talks with her at some point, then," he added. "Actually, looking for information on Garrick is how I came into contact with her the first time. I didn't know he had uh, close contact with any Tuffles, but I guess it makes sense, if he was looking to organize peace talks."

More fighting, now. Taori got ready as Amara finally came at him with another kick. This time, though, Taori had something ready up his sleeve. But he didn't want Amara's attack to be able to brace its impact - so, he steeled himself and took the blow, which surprisingly went right for his knees. His legs were rather harshly kicked out from under him, and while that did sting more than he'd have liked it to, he caught himself with his hands before he hit the ground, and whipped himself around to start the counterattack.

The very same knee Amara had just kicked in began to glow as Taori poured all his ki into it, and he thrust himself off the ground behind Amara, slamming the knee swiftly and powerfully right at the center of her back with all the might he could muster! Whether it hit or not, such a massive burst of ki easily created an explosion that gave Taori the chance to launch himself back and away from Amara, putting distance between them once again.

"Whew," he proudly stated, "Like that one? Haven't gotten to use it in a good while."

Boy had that attack felt good to send off. It was quite rare that Taori was able to blast out all his ki at maximum power like that, especially in a sparring match. He'd made sure the attack wasn't strong enough to actually cause serious damage to Amara, so she should've been - wait, actually, could he even do that? Amara was already dead, technically, so how were they even fighting...? Eh, best not to think too hard about it. If it worked, it worked. Besides, she obviously wasn't down for the count yet, as Taori would soon discover.

"Ah, gee-" Taori barely had time to complain as he looked up in time to see a massively threatening and massively powerful beam blasting right for him! Having gone quite literally all out on the previous attack, Taori just didn't have anything left in him to avoid it - he braced himself, then took the hit head-on. Amara's beam smashed right into his torso and launched him back quite far, until he finally skidded to a stop, flat on his back, dirt and grass kicked up all around him.

"Ow." He groaned, and very slowly sat himself up. Yeah, ow, okay. He was done. If Taori had a white flag, he'd have raised it up and waved it for Amara to see, but he was presently lacking one, so he instead took a moment to catch his breath, then held up both his hands in surrender. "Yeah, that's uh, my limit," he groaned again. At least he'd dealt some damage to her in the end, though it had required leaving himself wide open afterward, which proved to be the end of the fight.

After a few moments, he felt better enough to start saying full sentences again, so he asked, "What were you saying about Garrick a second ago? You kind of cut yourself off." He was clearly still out of breath, though he'd probably be well enough again to stand up in... A few minutes, or so. He was content to sit on the ground for the moment.

Taori rested his arms on his knees as Amara kneeled down next to him, and he could feel the pain slowly start to ebb away from his body, though it wasn't completely gone yet. Not even nearly, really. He watched and listened as Amara, in an unfittingly cheerful tone, explained that her origins were, well, not what they'd always seemed to be. In fact, she wasn't actually full Saiyan. Half Tuffle, in reality. And Garrick was her dad, but her mom was actually Cheri. And Cheri didn't know that part. Wait, how did Cheri not know who Amara was when she'd given birth to...? ...It was probably a complicated situation.

"Uhh," Taori slowly replied, his brows furrowed, head tilted slightly back, and mouth left barely ajar. "That is, uh, a lot." How exactly was he meant to respond to this? He didn't really feel... Angry or anything. Not with Amara, at least. Or, really, with Garrick. Just... Surprised? Confused? Something like that. Were Saiyans meant to be processing these sorts of emotions at all? Taori sure didn't feel built for it. "I'm not, uh, angry with you or anything, if that's what you're worried about," he replied after a moment of allowing the gears in his head to turn.

"And, I mean, it makes sense he'd have wanted to hide that from everyone." If it got out that Garrick had been involved romantically with a Tuffle, he could've lost everything. All his credibility, his trust, his ranks... No Saiyan would have accepted him. "Still, it's..." Was there even a word for what it was? Taori didn't know.

"Uh, sorry if I've ever said some nasty things about Tuffles in front of you," he said, just now realizing Amara may have taken offense at his past grievances. Though, she didn't really seem like the type to be holding grudges, anyway. "Does anyone else know?" he asked, "I mean, I'm not the only one you've told, right? Does Alpinia know?"

Amara had become quite the chatterbox since she'd died, huh? Taori let out a small snort at just how much she was talking - probably some kind of nervous tick for her, he had to assume. It made sense, after all, this was a secret she had probably been carrying for her entire life - and had carried for her entire life. Only after she was dead did Amara finally feel comfortable spilling the beans on this one. Speaking of spilling the beans, apparently the Korado that Amara had mentioned earlier was her half brother, and he was also a child of Garrick's? Taori didn't even know Garrick had had two kids.

"Yeesh, does Korado know what happened to you?" Taori worriedly asked. "If he doesn't, I don't mind tracking him down and letting him know. I can even teach him about those candle things if you want him to come visit you." It sure was a convenient way to come speak with the dead, huh? Taori may not have found exactly what he'd come up to the afterlife looking for, but finding Amara and speaking with her had been just about as good a substitute as anything could have been.

Taori tried to stand up, felt an agonizing pain in his stomach, then sat back down with a wheeze. "Okay, staying down," he grumbled through grit teeth. He then continued, "Anyway, if you want me to keep it a secret from Alpinia too, I can, though to be honest, she's never much had anything against Tuffles. I doubt she'd hate you or anything. Hell, I doubt you could do anything to make her hate you."

As for all the other junk that was going on, though, Taori let out a sigh. "I guess the best way I can honor you and Garrick's memory is to try and bring this whole thing home, huh?" he asked. "Once I get back down there, I'll... Train a bit more. Maybe spar with Vocado or something. Then... I think I'll have to show Rosemary what's what." After a brief pause, he added, "And, hey, if I do lose and she kicks my ass, come visit me down in Hell so I don't get bored, yeah?"