Sneer of Death

A buffeting wind was the capstone to Lottus’ words, which enhanced his power fivefold. Such might! Surely Vocado should’ve expected this, but one might suppose the Saiyan commander was overconfident in his ability to intimidate a madman.

He felt the sting of skull against skull, reeling as something in his nose crunched in a funny way. Vocado’s eyes snapped shut, but he couldn’t let the pain continue. With a shout, he loosed a Kiai, shooing away the remaining vestiges of the mercenaries who had been able to keep their footing before, as well as making distance, at least temporarily, between himself and the enraged Saiyan.

”Tch. Fine.” With a snap, he clicked his nose back into place, hissing at the motion as he slipped into a battle stance.

For now, he’d play slow. Enhancing his own Chi to its maximum would end the fight in a single blow. He needed to test Lottus; feel out how much potential he actually held.

With a shuddering step, Vocado blurred ahead, matching Lottus’ blows with fists of his own. Striking palms and sharp knees clashing with immense force.

”Impress me, savage. Or I’ll throw your bones beneath the dungeons!”

With that, he’d slip past a wide hook, aiming a gut punch at his foe. Should it land, he’d tighten his fist further, clicking the firing mechanism into place and loosing a shot from the arm-mounted blaster he was equipped with into his foe’s chest.

---

The blow landed with a satisfying pop, spilling blood from the fresh wound on his opponent’s chest. He felt a surge of adrenaline; the telltale building of excitement as the opposition began to falter.

He allowed himself a smirk, slotting another thick energy cartridge into his weapons chamber as the previous bundle of spent ammunition clattered clean into the puddle of blood.

”Is this what you crave, whelp? To be laid low by a superior? So be it.”

Lottus charged forth again, which forced a response from his fellow Saiyan. Taking a knee, he ducked under the first swing, clicking free another shot from his blaster. This one was further away; easier to evade, but still a sincere problem if Lottus didn’t pause to consider his options.

With that, he’d backpedal, evading any potential blows as best he could before slipping through the doors to the main hall once more. Still, there was few people here, but the ones who’d been hurrying this way or that had suddenly stopped. Not for any concern, but more to watch the combat prowess on display.

The second cartridge ejected itself, leaving Vocado without a third to use. He hadn’t packed much ammunition, given he was in the palace and all, but now he was wondering how bad of an idea that might end up becoming.

”Make me get serious, Lottus. You pick a fight and give me so little to work with? Just like the old days!”

---

Vocado gasped as the energy pierced his bullet, tearing clean through the strike with immense force. He brought his arms up to guard, but it was too late. He tumbled backwards, falling end over end before sliding to a stop on his knee somewhere in the center of the hall.

Pain snaked up his hands, tingling his chest as the small crowd parted. Guards streamed into the room; a quartet of them. He stayed their advance with a simple hand motion, and they obliged obediently.

Vocado heard the telltale snapping of bones, and sighed as the Saiyan across from him barreled through the door. Rather than stay on the defensive, Vocado decided to take charge. He met Lottus in the middle, surging Ki into his arm to deliver a killer hook to the jaw. Land or whiff, the effort put into the swing would loose a shockwave from its wake, shaking the landscape.

Should the strike land clean, he’d continue the momentum by grabbing at Lottus’ arm, swinging him around and around before tossing him toward the palace’s massive double doors. Lottus would crash through them if he failed to defend himself, cracking wood and stone on his way out.

Vocado would follow closely, leaping skyward to keep an eye on where his foe ended up exactly.

---

The adrenaline pumped sharper. Endorphins flowed freely. This was what battle needed to be. Demolishing an opponent was a lost art. Perhaps Lottus could serve as a punching bag if today ended up being a dud.

Vocado landed with a soft tap, standing over Lottus with a glare of disgust.

”It’s over.” He stated it as a fact, hoping to be proven wrong. ”You’ve lost. Concede and preserve the few bones still left unbroken.”

He knew what would happen next. A flare of Ki, or a defiant final strike, and it would be over. With his previous wounds, there was no way Lottus could keep going. Still, it certainly proved one thing: Lottus was a warrior worth recruiting.

All they needed was to fix that temper problem.

”You work for me, now. Listen to my orders, and listen well. Otherwise we’ll have to repeat this little bout again and again. Unless of course that’s what you want? To have me pulverize you every single morning?”

The crowd from inside had begun to spill out onto the palace stairs, watching to see what the rogue Saiyan would do next. Most of them seemed eager for the fight to continue, but none dared speak up.

---

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The world shuddered.

Vocado braced himself, stepping back as Lottus’ power began to surge. Defiance he expected, but this? It should’ve worried him, perhaps even scared him, but instead it brought a swell of excitement.

For the first time since the battle began, Vocado unleashed his true power.

Lightning cracked in the air, opposing energies meeting and intermingling. Auras burned bright, and a crater began to form itself beneath their feet. Whomever had been watching before had begun to clear out, with the slim few still in the area echoing the telltale shattering of scouters on their ears.

The Shredder Corp Captain’s power erupted, muscles bulging as his pupils began to fade away from the immense strength he held. This power was different from that of the Oozaru. Unlocking itself when emotions ran high.

Raising his hand, he leveled the arm toward his foe as an energy ball grew larger and larger. By the time Lottus’ attack had screamed its way toward Vocado, the captain was already at full strength.

”Welcome to the crew.”

-BOOM!-

The beams clashed, and instantaneously the tides turned. Lottus’ attack, mighty as it was, had been sheared away by the overwhelming force of Vocado’s energy wave. The thick red wave washed out the black, swallowing it whole, and threatening to do much the same to the owner of the attack.

A massive explosion would soon follow, sending dust and debris skyward. What became of Lottus, though, was still a mystery…

---

The dust settles.

Smoke plumes subside.

Vocado lowers his hand.

The palace courtyard had seen better days. Perhaps more surprising was that it’d seen worse, too. Cleaning drones, deposited onto the scene from the sides of the palace, got to work on tidying up. Bits of debris swept into pans, and dislodged stonework being repaired as quickly as possible.

It was with a casual stroll that Vocado approached the half-dead body of his new subordinate. Snapping his finger, he ordered a drone over, and it whisked Lottus away, dragging the dead weight back into the infirmary. This time, he’d be given a healing tank. He needed someone that determined back to full health as quickly as possible.

With the battle over, most of the populace went back to their daily routine. A few who’d missed the final strike sounded off their disappointment, but quickly held their tongues as Vocado walked by.

Today had given him plenty to think about. He was still torn on where to start, and how, but his decision to take the crown was all but made. Swiping it today would be foolish, though. He needed to bide his time. Grow stronger. Gain further alliances.

But first? Paperwork. Someone had to explain this mess, as well as transfer the prisoner over to his squad. Some would surely consider being transferred to the shredder corp a face worse than death.

Maybe it was.