Theatre of War [SPLIT]

Cato exhaled sharply. She expected the other Saiyan to be difficult, so it was no surprise--still, it would eat up valuable time she could have been using to put out other fires. She just had to hope that everyone kept their heads screwed on right in the meantime--but by the powers flaring in the distance, still blaring warnings across the screen of her scouter, she doubted very much that would happen.

She maintained her fighting stance, but didn't launch her attack right away. She couldn't deny everything the other warrior had said, but she couldn't help but reply to some of it. Time was precious, but her pride couldn't stand being lectured.

"Decimate an entire species?" she gave a shake of her head. "I already told you that we evacuated most of the population. This whole plan even included a separate plan, hatched by a Tuffle. People die in war every single day. It's unfortunate, and it's unavoidable, but we did a hell of a lot more to try to get Tuffles to safety here than the Kingdom did in any of their previous strikes on Hatchi."

"Lottus might be wrong, and I'm probably wrong for standing alongside him," she admitted. "But don't delude yourself into thinking you're some kind of lone hero standing against some horrible evil. If you cared about that, you'd have chased down that Heran mercenary with designs on killing and replacing the Queen, and launching a conquest of Earth--one that would claim far more lives than the stubborn souls who decided to refuse evacuation here."

"He has problems," she stated, flatly. "He doesn't always think straight. But he let Vocado and I evacuate the city, only days after Vocado tried to take his life. He can be made to see reason, and I won't let him launch some new crusade against another city or planet."

She spared a moment to pat down the still-singeing burns across her sternum, before coiling in preparation for an attack. The orb in her palm continued to burn with unreleased energy--but rather than fire it at her directly, she hurled it upwards into what remained of the auditorium ceiling. The blast struck true, and a shower of rubble and debris fell to cover their makeshift battlefield in a haze of smoke.

Better hope she can't sense energy.

Cato launched herself forward, using the signal on her scouter to guide her past the growing cloud of dust and smoke that shrouded her vision. When she was close enough that the scout began to blare with an alarm that danger was close, she touched down on the ground and planted her heel hard on the ground. She sprung her leg upwards until it extended straight, aiming to plant a hard kick to whatever part of Jagaimo she wound up connecting with--ideally her head or torso, but her aim wasn't so clear under the cloud of smoke.

---

Cato felt her kick connect, but she could tell even without having to look that it hadn't landed as flush as she would have liked. She tried to leap backwards to safety, but her scouter could only report the location of her foe: she couldn't see what she was planning, and as she touched ground, she felt her leg give out form under her as the other Saiyan collided into it.

She crashed to the ground, a gasp of pain escaping her in her surprise.

As the blows began to rain down, she was left momentarily stunned. Between the other Saiyan's assault, and rubble beneath her painfully pressing into her spine, she knew she was in a bad spot. As blood escaped a now-broken nose, she did the only thing she could think of--she raised her hand and, from point-blank range, released a sudden blast of energy.

Chaotic yellow ki erupted from her outstretched palm, barely having time to form the outline of a sphere before it jetted forward. She didn't care much where it hit, but her target was clear: with her opponent in so close, she was aiming to blast her right in the face. If covering the arena in smoke wasn't enough, then maybe ringing her senses would be.

Almost the instant the blast left her palm, she shot backwards with a sudden jolt of energy. The movement freed her, but it left a deep gash down the back of her armour where jutting rubble cut clean through. Still dazed, she forced herself back up to her feet, with little time to gauge the effectiveness of her ploy.

"The Heran," she snapped. "Fukushu. You'd better put some time into learning what he's up to once you get out of here, unless you want some puppet-King ruling Plant at the whims of a offworld conqueror."

She lifted her hand to wipe the blood now trailing from her nose clean away. When she looked to her now red-streaked hand, she couldn't help but let out a laugh, in spite of the tension of their increasingly desperate situation.

"You're better than I thought," she admitted. "But I can't afford to lose to you here. If we lose this battle, then someone has to be there to calm Lottus down and return him to normal. It won't do anyone any good if he self-destructs in a desperate bid to win and unwinnable fight. And if we win..."

She trailed off. It was the same problem.

---

Cato raised her palm to the sky again, ready to summon yet more of her energy in the hopes of putting this fight away. The seconds were ticking away, and with each moment she lost, the executioner's axe fell even closer over Lottus' back. She still had no news of what had happened with Vocado and Fukushu, no idea of how her friend had managed to match up against Nasu. Then there was the strange elf-creature, and his strangely familiar viewpoints.

But then, the very power that distracted her opponent caught her attention, too. She couldn't sense energy on the best of days, but this was different--it made the hair of the back of her neck stand up, and an uncomfortable shiver grazed her spine. When she finally turned her attention and clicked down on her scouter, the number just began to raise, higher and higher, as Cato's stomach turned in on itself.

600,000.

700,000.

800,000.

900,000.

990.000.

Crack.

The scouter's computer detonated under the strain, smoke rising from the device as the viewscreen shattered apart. She picked the now-useless device off from over her eye and crushed it in her hand, staring upwards as the glow of golden yellow seemed to bathe the whole area. It was a warm aura, like the break of dawn upon a desolate battlefield -- but there was something terrible about it, too. Powers like that shouldn't be possible.

She turned her attention briefly to the other Saiyan, doing her best to conceal the fear that was now creeping its way up her spine and settling in her once-confident eyes. She could feel death knocking on her door, and there was nothing she could do about it. There was nothing any of them could do about it, really. But she hadn't stopped Lottus from launching this attack, and that meant whatever power they had awakened amidst Hatchi was her fault.

"You're too hurt," she stated, flatly. "You can barely move. If you try to fight whatever that is, you might well get in the way--people will have to take huge risks to safeguard you. I understand you're proud, and you want to help--but now, more than ever, get out of here. Find Korado, if you can, and get him out too."

"This is my fault--whatever this is. Just... don't let every powerful Saiyan and Tuffle and die here today. If we fall to this power, someone has to be left alive to rally the defense of Sadala."

With that, Cato launched herself into the air. She froze a moment, not quite able to will herself to leave through the open auditorium ceiling. But then, with an unsteady breath, she blasted forward in a rush of speed, her eyes half-lidding. She had always wanted to die in battle. Now that she was getting her wish, she couldn't help but wonder what had ever possessed her to want it in the first place.

---

Jagaimo raised her head towards the other woman and looked her dead in the eyes even as she struggled to stand upright. Her own barely moved from her side but her jaw clenched. She knew what was coming next. Her opponent was gathering power and this time it might just be enough to finish the young warrior off…the tank was starting to empty and while the soul screamed out to keep fighting the body just wasn’t reacting the way it should. Breathing was hard work and every muscle was in pain when she tried to move. This technique was the last thing she was going to see and she’d be damned if she was going to face it on her knees with her eyes closed.

But then the power gathering in the pink haired Saiyan’s hand dispersed and the same look of fear that was in Jagaimo’s eyes was mirrored, if only for a moment in the eyes of the women that had singled her out, to put her out of commission for this fight. Jagaimo slumped a little when her opponent turned her back, that hand moving to the device at her eye this time. She was checking what was going on…sometimes the young Saiyan believed she should wear her scouter more often but she didn’t want to rely on something her own senses were beginning to encompass…it was just a distraction if she didn’t need it…although the comms piece was still handy…

When it shattered on the other woman's face, Jagaimo didn’t even have the energy to be surprised, just watching the pieces fall to the ground in a smoking ruin after being crushed by the Saiyan’s hand. The glow came over the ruin and it was then she noticed the colour of it, the city wasn’t burning…it was whoever had unleashed that much power on them all…

The battered Saiyan shook her head slowly, taking a stuttering step forwards, holding that confident stare with the single working eye of her own. The woman was certainly right, straight to the point in fact. The pride bit was a nice touch. This had nothing to do with pride…ok this had a little to do with pride…

“You know you're gonna have to put me in the ground to stop me coming up there…”

Jagaimo staggered another step forward, biting back a curse as muscles protested, closing the distance between them one step at a time.

“No ones been looking out for so far…can’t imagine its gonna be any different if i step out there right now.”

The other woman finished her piece and launched herself fro the ground into the air, blasting off in the direction the power had come from. This close she wasn’t going to need a scouter to find it…Jagaimo wasn’t even trying to sense the source and she could feel it clearly. So this woman believed Lottus had broken some kind of limit, that it was her fault. How was she meant to face something like that alone.

“The best of Salada is already here…if we all fail here there won’t be anyone strong enough left to mount a defense…”

As her opponent reached the edge of the auditorium someone grabbed her on the way past in a single arm tackle and dragged back down to the ruined floor, skidding to a halt on his hands and knees. Jagaimo’s good hand clenched as she pooled what energy she could into the palm, readying herself until the dust cleared and she let out the breath she was holding, the energy fading from her hand, body relaxing once more, almost slumping against the rubble. It was the Shredder Corps Captain, Vocado. He obviously survived the encounter with whoever he had tackled in the distance in his Oozaru form.

It took a moment for the first words out of his mouth to sink in. Surely he’d been hit in the head one too many times in the last fight…but when she looked at him again, looked into his eyes the fear there was all too real, he truly believed what he had seen, what they were all feeling. So it was Lottus…but the Super Saiyan was a myth, a story from centuries ago, golden haired warriors who were unstoppable in battle…the greatest guardians of old Salada…Lottus though? He was himself injured, the hasty bandages doing little to actually cover any of the wounds she could see…but his head didn’t look like it had taken any severe blows…Jagaimo shook her head, going back over the stories she’d read, the ghost stories she’d heard in her travels…no one had ever seen one so like everything there was likely a kernel of truth…but a true Super Saiyan? Vocado seemed to think so...Jagaimo didn't think she'd ever see the man so scared of anything.

Ah so her opponent had been called Cato…and she did in fact know Lottus. Her head inclined in a slight nod when Vocado spoke to her finally,

“She did…but you know me…always need to be told things a few times before they get through my thick skull…”

She tapped herself on the head with her good hand, avoiding the charred burns on her face, hiding a wince as she did so.

“I’ve met Lottus once before…and you're telling me he’s somehow awakened a power thought to be mythical? If it's true then there's no point in going home. The worst will come along if everyone falls here. So if it's all the same to you…I'd rather not have my last moments be spent cowering in a hole waiting for him to come find us.”

She stood up as straight as she could, the power of her Wrathful state subdued but not gone,

“Cato here thinks she can get through to him, you think you can get through to him…so why are we still standing here, it sounds like we don’t have much choice. So find your damn backbone and act like a damn Captain should…”

Jagaimo moved past Vocado slowly, then nodded to Cato, turning to face the male Saiyan, a burning look in her eyes,

“And I swear to the Otherworlds and any Gods listening that if you try to run when we need you, you better look over your shoulder for the rest of your life because somehow I will find you.”

She nodded to Cato,

“After you.”