Nothing Else Matters...

That word again. Just an underhanded way of calling her soft and weak. At least the trainers at the academy had the courtesy to be blunt and direct with their insults, they had never needed to hide what they meant behind a variety of words, to them everyone was weak and they let you and everyone around you know about it. Vocado seemed to be relishing the fact he could be creative with his insults…and his insistence she had more to give, that somewhere inside her more power waited to be unleashed. Was he just being cruel? Toying with her sense of worth and self by trying to build her up before breaking everything she had worked so hard for already? She had crawled and climbed her way from practically nothing to gain some semblance of strength and at every turn there was someone who showed her it just wasn’t enough. That nothing she did was going to matter…

When she attacked Vocado seemed to up his game, slipping punches and evading other attacks with ease, his movements slick and precise, no wasted effort on his part as he shifted this way and that with a heightened efficiency. With the way he moved Jagaimo’s assault may as well have been that of a childs. After the initial blow split his lip earlier, nothing she threw now even came close to landing. He just wasn’t there where she expected him to be, he was too fast to land another. Not content to try and wound her with words, the Shredder Captain now seemed intent on wounding her pride by playing with her at every occasion.

Suddenly Jagaimo’s vision went dark round the edges and the breath was driven from her lungs as her opponent's fist slammed into her stomach with enough force to double her over and lift the young Saiyan’s body completely clear of the ground. She watched his features as if in slow motion through a graying vision before everything sped up again and the arena floor swirled in her view. The blissful feeling of weightlessness ended abruptly when her body slammed into the wall of the arena some distance from where she’d originally been engaged with Vocado. She could taste blood in the back of her throat and stars flashed in front of her eyes, stone dust rising all around from the impact with the ancient barrier.

Deja Vu struck her as she recalled the last time the two of them had met, history somehow repeating itself now as then…except that the wall was much less polished this time, and far far older than those of the palace above. With a quiet groan she crumpled out of the crater his one attack had created using her body, catching herself at the last moment on her hands and knees so she didn’t just faceplant into the ground. He was shouting at her now, telling her…no ordering her to fight back…just like all the other Elitists…thinking they could command just by shouting the loudest…somehow she forced a chuckle to her lips as she spat out a mouthful of tangy blood and watched the dusty stone change its colour.

Jagaimo pushed herself up slowly, rocking onto her knees, shoulders slumped as she wiped the blood from her lips with the back of a hand, focus returning to her eyes when Vocado began to speak again, bathing the ground around him in the light of his Ki, gesturing and pointing right at her. The colour drained from her face leaving her pale and her eyes widened in shock when his words began to sink in, her hands shaking…A Super Saiyan?! The thought chilled her to the very core, that he thought she could be an instrument of destruction, of indiscriminate slaughter. She’d witnessed first hand what that kind of change brought out in someone over the skies of Hatchi, felt that terror at witnessing a being of legend walk out from the pages of Saiyan history. A power that could magnify the devastation someone was capable of by a hundred fold…how did anyone hold that kind of power and stay sane…the power to change the fate of whole worlds in an instance…it was intoxicating…and horrifying…

The very thought that she could wield that much power was unnerving…could she even handle possessing something like that, could she control it or would she just be another destroyer of worlds?

Her trembling voice was barely a whisper…

“I’ll never be like him…”

Far off she could hear the thundering of fists and the sound of metal twisting in the darkness, Vocado’s challenge sounding with the creature she tried to keep inside, that part of her she despised but could never escape..it could sense her fear, her reluctance…her resolve waivering...it wanted out. He wanted everything she had…it howled out, happy to oblige, eager to test the threat against it as its Master struggled. Her grip on its bonds slipped and those horrible red eyes swallowed her up…

The stone work under one hand bloomed a pale blue light under he splayed fingers, rising up as her hand lifted the pulsating orb for him to see…before slamming it into her own chest with a scream that was to large for her small body, its light swallowed up as the aura around her exploded outwards, spraying clouds of dust and tearing up the stone around where she knelt. Her expanding Ki cast a dark purple light that danced over everything it touched and her body hunched over, muscles taut, veins bulging where her skin was exposed. She moved and a footstep slammed into the ground when she rose to one knee, her already long thick hair, stiffening, running down her back while muscles thickened and bulged as if trying to burst from her skin. A second foot slammed into the cracked floor of the arena and she pushed herself to standing, eyes a glow with an odd red light and a nasty grin on her lips, this imitation Jagaimo a little taller and much thicker than her previous naturally lithe form.

The young woman cocked her head to one side, eyes never leaving Vocado’s gaze before she vanished, a crater left where she had been stood only moment before, the distance between them covered in the blink of an eye, bringing her right under the older Saiyan’s nose, empowered limbs striking with a strength she’d never unleashed before, every fiber intent on shattering the Bonewood’s defenses and crushing his bones to powder…

She hit him again and again and again, unloading blow after blow into his defenses and his body, punishing every action that left some part of it open to her attention. There was no grace or elegance to her style, no real direction, the transformed Saiyan simply hammered against him with all her might channeled through a combination of blows. Her heart hammered in her ears and her lungs burned with every gulp of air she swallowed down, but the grin never left her lips, nor did the look of outright hatred leave her eyes. Jagaimo herself didn’t hate Vocado, she had little reason to…but what he had pushed her to unleash despised every fiber of his being simply for being stronger than it. Something primal inside pushed it onwards, unable to rest while another challenged its power right here and now.

Jagaimo fought and struggled against the chains that bound her in the dark, screaming into the space of nothing as she watched events unfolding like a viewer watching a holovid…

When her last attack caught the older Saiyan by surprise, a bellowing roar of triumph escaped the Wrathful Saiyan’s lips, feeling the impact drive the other Saiyan’s body off its feet and send it hurtling across the arena floor to strike the wall, cratering the stone around where he landed. Jagaimo’s feet stomped back and forth as Vocado ballooned the crater out around him and pushed himself free. She could feel his power waiver as he spat out blood on his knees, she could sense he was injured, smell the copper tang in the air even though it didn’t bathe the area. Why was he holding back…she knew what power he held at his command, had felt it when they’d first met…where was it now?

She screamed at him from across the arena floor, before bursting forwards, feet skimming across the ground behind her as she reared back with one fist to drive down into her staggered opponent.

His words were meaningless, she was tough, she had endured injuries and events that would have left lesser warriors on the road to the Afterlife. She didn’t need him to give her any credit…everything she had now she had fought for to gain…the young Saiyan felt the commanders power flare, like a brilliant flame giving a sudden burst of light and he met her charge head on, clashing with her, his strikes controlled and practiced…trading blows with her wild clubbing attacks. His battle power had risen to exceed her but she hadn’t felt, hadn’t seen him transform…had he been hiding something from her all along?

The bulked up young lady didn’t flinch under Vocado’s hail of blows, tanking the first few exchanges before she began to weave and slip, crouching low to make use of the height difference, practically moving on her hands and feet, tail lashing angrily this way and that…seeking an opening that she thought she saw…legs swinging under her body in a reverse planche, feet aimed in a dropkick manner at her opponents knees…

With nothing for her feet to impact on thanks to Vocado's timely sidestep, the force of Jagimo's thrusting dropkick slide her along the ground past her opponent for a moment before she rolled and slid back to her feet, hand crack the stone she'd used as leaverage to bounce back up. The aura around her flarred erratically when she fixed her eyes on the Shredder Corp's captain, the breath filling her lungs in great gulps. The urge to shut this man up, to stop him lecturing her was growing with every pasing moment, knuckles popped every time she clenched her fists thinking about them crushing his jaw when suddenly he bloomed with Ki...

There was a dark chuckle that rumbled out somewhere from her small frame when she felt the power around her opponent explode to life...honestly she'd expected more from the man given what she'd felt when they first met in the throne room, and there previous encounter the last timeshe'd tried to gain access to Taori. He'd been fra stronger than her then...what was holding him back now..he'd transformed that much was obvious but the strength flowing from was confusing...it didn't meet her expectations...she'd hoped for more. He felt like her to the young woman's senses but he didn't look like her. Whereas Jagaimo was bulky and straining like every fibre was trying to burst from her skin Vocado was much sleeker, more compact in his transformation.

It didn't matter, she was his equal...

You'll never be his equal, just look at him! He's calm, precise...he's incontrol...your pathetic!
Jagaimo screamed into the dark, her throat hoarse...screaming to make herself heard...straining against whatever held her back...

Her body drove forwards as Vocado sought to meet her with an attack of his own. The Ki flooded over her advancing form, slicing through cloth and flesh with equal ease, bathing her in lethal energy moments before it exploded around her, shaking the entire foundation of the arena beneath the Palace. The dust and smoke from the explosion obscured the area between them for a moment before a stagger figure moved through the rolling clouds, exposed flesh scorched, blood trickling from multiple fresh wounds that had criss crossed her body, pitter pattering onto the stone work below as the roar of the older Saiyan's attack subsided...

Jagaimo felt something give...a silver of light creeping into the darkness...but it wasn't enough...its hold was like iron...

"More..."

Her voice carried out through the smoke, the aftermath of Vocado's devestating attack. The young Saiyan stumbled on the uneven surface but she kept moving, one foot infront of the other towards Vocado, a dark glow dancing in her eyes a smirk on her lips that belied the pain running through her body, arms hanging down by her side...

"We are a species of instinct and rage...Why would i deny myself that strength now? That calling in my blood? Maybe I don't want it to stop...you asked for the real me..."

She lunged, leaping through the air towards, hands raised to hammer down on the older Saiyan from above.

"Well here I am!"

Jagaimo's leap was brought to an end with the flash of power from Vocado, launching her backwards, tumbling through the air of the arena. The blast of force had lifted her from the ground and where she finished spinning she remained...floating above the ancient stone floor as the Commander began to circle slowly, precisely...as if nothing she could do bothered him, almost dimissive with his casual strides. It was maddening, she wasn't to be ignored, not anymore...

The chains shifted, the crack of light in the darkness brighter..."But he's right to ignore you...you've shown him nothing he hasn't seen a thousand times leading other into battle...he thinks your pathetic...do you hear that?"

There was a growl from the back of the young fighters throat, power flaring around her and bathing the arena in the purple light of her aura. But it waivered...lessoned somehow in the moment when Vocado spoke. Muscles still strained and the red glow still illuminated her eyes as she glared at the Shredder Corp's Captain but whenever he called out to her something faltered in the light.

"He sees through you you know. All that strength and rage...its meaningless without direction, without control to give it focus...he can see you have nothing he wants, nothing he values...just like all the others, blunt instruments...like waves against the cliff...useless...I don't need you anymore". The howling Grew louder as those red eyes turned inwards, the oppressive presence filling the void, bearing down on the chains that bound her inside when it roamed free. Jagaimo did her best to turn away, staring out into the abyss, anywhere that was away from those eyes.

There was a snarl from behind the man when he turned his back on her,

"DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! YOU NEED ME! I SAVED YOU...I'VE ALWAYS SAVED YOU!"

The voice screamed and howled down at Vocado, the young woman seemingly incontrol of her power once more, aura exploding outwards and flinging stones, rubble and dust out in a circle towards the edges of the battlefield but she didn't move, just hovering a few feet above the ground now.

"Hah you hear that...the Pits..thats how much he values you, how much he needs what he sees." She was on one knee...she'd never even felt herself move but somehow, despite the crushing weight she had, straining against the hold it had over her, the mans voice outside a dull noise to her ears, like a person underwater with the noise muffled. Something massive moved and slammed down against her, driving her downwards...but unable to stop her progress to stand on both feet, the chains lighter. 

Jagaimo doubled over in the air, crashing to her knees on the ground, hands tearing at her face and hair with a scream.

The light streamed in through the ever widening gap in the darkness, and for the first time she could see the creature that had lurked inside for so long. It was just as massive as she'd thought but through all its howling and snarling the light was fading from its eyes. It was afraid of her...

The voice from outside rang out clearly this time and with it Jagaimo felt her body flex, the beast cowering as it faded from sight with the light, the chains shattering into millions of pieces like glass raining to the ground.

The floor around Jagaimo shattered, flinging stone and debris in every direction, the ground cracking and bowing underneath her as her aura flared like a roaring fire, raging out and illuminating the far reaches of the empty gallery that looked down on them. Her body seemed to shrink in on itself. Where before the muscles of her body strained like they were trying to escape the confines of her skin, now she looked almost the same as when Vocado had first come across her in the throne room. A little thicker in the muscles, but the extra height and mass just seemed to evaporate as the light around her died down and she was left panting and sweating on her knees...the dust slowly settling as a trembling foot lifted and pushed the young woman slowly to her feet once more.

"You love the sound of your own voice don't you?"

Her voice sounded tired but there was no malice in it this time. She swayed on her feet even as she locked eyes with Vocado again,

"And don't you dare call me Plushie ever again."

Jagaimo held the Captains eye as she swayed a little still on her feet, fists slowly closing when he moved away from the edge of the arena and into a more combat orientated stance. Her mouth opened to say something when he called her Plushie again but whatever she was about to say was cut short when her opponent popped a reload into his arm blaster in one fluid well practiced movement. At that moment two things happened simultaneously...

The shots zipped out from the arm blaster as Vocado emptied the cartridge and filled the space between them with Ki infused shots.

Jagaimo screamed. Not in pain, or rage or anger. But in defiance. She would not be brought low with one of his toys. If he wanted to put her down he was going to have to get his hands dirty. Her feet lifted from the ground as she floated there, arms thrown out to the side, the sound echoing through the vast chamber as her aura flared brilliantly, power flooding through her body from some previously untapped source. When the shots hit home, they scorched her bare skin and burnt holes through the clothing she wore but there was barely a reaction from the young woman. Everything was beginning to hurt now as the fight drew on, right down to her bones, but she gritted her teeth and pushed through, determined to stay on her feet till the end.

"You and your damn toys! Fight me!"

As she floated there, shining with the deep purple light of her aura surrounding her she brought 2 fingers up to between her eyes, almost touching her forehead. Her eyes closed for a moment as she took in a breath...and then opened them, narrowed, focused solely on Vocado. The two fingers whipped forwards, slashing through the air like a miniature sword as slivers of Ki lashed through the air towards her opponent. Each wave sliced through the stone it struck like a hot knife through butter, filling the air between them with a net of bright cuts...

When the dust settled Jagaimo wasn't grinning at him anymore, not like before where it had all seemed like a game.

"My name is Jagaimo, you would do well to remember that...Captain."

The sudden shift in techniques, the wounds appearing on her opponents body and the control she'd needed to exert to hone her Ki into multiple razor edges had let the mirth slip from her mind. He was injured clearly but he still stood defiant as she would expect from any Saiyan worth a damn, but there was power there behind his movements despite the blood she could see seeping from under his armour, that called for focus, for clarity. She wouldn't last against him now in her state if she let the beast out of its chains again. For the first time in her life she felt more in control than she ever had before...stronger...but not strong enough. It hurt when she breathed and her chest heaved with every breath that she drew in. Jagaimo could hear her own heart hammering in her ears and thumping in her chest as it fought on. Bones and muscles ached but she'd never willingly bowed out of a fight before its conclusion while she could still stand, she wasn't about to start now.

It was starting to get difficult to keep focused, the black spots dancing in her vision were at odds with the bright lights of the arena and she grunted with the effort of keeping her footing underneath her where one of the previous shots had punched through her thigh. Thankfully the heat of the attack cauterised the wound...still hurt like the Hells though.

Her arms came up as he rose into the air and plunged down to meet her, his own movements looking less refined than when they had first started this face off, pulling in her guard at the last moment, trying to hook one of her larger opponents arms as he tackled her down, intending to spin him off her with his own momentum. At least that had been the plan in her head. Reality had other ideas. As she tried to twist her knee gave out and her grip gave way, collapsing to the ground with Vocado coming down hard into her gut, driving the air from her lungs. In the fall her other arm had come down heavy, trying to drive the elbow instinctively into the side of her attackers neck on the downward fall. His attack had left her gasping like a fish out of water while she tried to fill her lungs and catch her breath, fingers clawing into the stone moments later in agony when his boot drove into her gut, forcing what little air she'd taken in out from her body once more and bringing the bile to the back of her throat. She retched between breaths and tried to roll away from the offending boot, the edges of her vision going grey from the lack of air in her body.

Without thinking she pulled her Ki inside, eliminating all trace of herself to anyone that could sense such things, almost like a wounded animal playing dead, eyes closed tight as she tried to get herself under control and keep track of Vocado...body shuddering and relaxing on the ground where she lay...