View source for 1722/AWftF: The Duel Begins

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/03/04
|Location=Void - Skyland
|Synopsis=Kakarot and Serori meet to duel, and to discuss Kakarot's history. It doesn't go as planned.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=37, 723
|Tinyplot=A Wish for the Future
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:37|Serori (37)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Skyland's a hard place to describe, aside from the floating islands, anyway. It's in space, but it's also not. It's in a chasm, but it's also part of the Void. Looking down reveals cloud layers and skies ranging from the pearly blue to the near-black. It's certainly an interesting region -- it's also the perfect battleground for a pair of confrontational saiyans.<br /><br /> Assuming it comes to that, anyway.<br /><br /> Serori awaits Kakarot as she said she would. There's nothing to dampen her powerful aura, or to disguise it from his mind's eye. She's armored in the traditional saiyan style, and a scarlet cape -- the signature look of saiyan royalty -- floats back from her shoulders as if weightless. She's not transformed, yet.<br /><br /> But she is scowling.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:723|Kakarot (723)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serori didn't need to give coordinates for the King of the Neo-Saiyans to find her. He was present at her arrival on the battlefield, he knows what to look for. <br /><br />But the speed of his arrival is more notable. It only takes a few seconds after her commentary on the radio for him to arrive in a rippling blast of air. <br /><br />Has he been watching? <br /><br />Kakarot hands there in the sky as well, an easy effortlessness to this denial of gravity. His armor is also mostly of the traditional Saiyan style - Serori can note some slight alterations in the design, but nothing that would compromise its ability to do its job. His armor is tinged gold and black, a cape also snapping behind him. <br /><br />He is also not transformed, but one can feel the auras snapping against each other with crackling tension, like a storm prepared to strike. <br /><br />His expression is one of clear anticipation and curiosity - Some traits that might be more expected than others, perhaps. His eyes narrow slightly as he looks over Serori's chosen clothing. "At least you present yourself properly." He grunts. "If you wanted my job, though, you should have said so. I'd have prepared a more appropriate introduction."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:37|Serori (37)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> "I am already Queen; I don't need to be King, too." The claim is made without much boastful pride to get in the way of its smooth, practiced delivery. Serori is growing accustomed to her title, and more, she's getting used to other people giving her the respect such a title confers; it's natural she'd expect Kakarot to do the same, even if he lacks the proper background to understand how and why she came by a royal rank. "From scout to Queen. Has anything of the like ever been done before?"<br /><br /> Now she allows herself a soft chuckle, and a prideful smirk. "I'm not the only one here who knows how to climb ladders. How /did/ the son of a low-class warrior like Bardock end up as King, anyway? I can't possibly believe you annihilated every single would-be aristocrat in your path. Or did you let Frieza do the heavy lifting for you, so that you could sweep up the remains and glue them into the foundation of your empire, too?"<br /><br /> A reference to Vegeta's accomplishments? It's not very clear. Serori's eyes narrow a touch as she looks Kakarot over, up and down. "I was born the lowest of the low. Now I have an empire to foster. I want to know what you mean by coming here -- are you a threat to my vision, or someone sent to empower it?"<br /><br /> At that, she reaches to her shoulder, tears away the insignia forming her cape's clasp, and sends both it and the garment falling away in a red tangle to whatever floating island will be the first to catch it. Serori's right fist curls into a tight fist at her hip; her left hand positions itself more loosely at about chest height. A warrior's stance.<br /><br /> "I want to know everything about you...including how you fight."<br /><br /> Serori vanishes in a blur. She reappears directly in front of him, all her strength thrown into breaking his guard.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:723|Kakarot (723)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Anything is possible if you're strong enough." Kakarot shrugs. "I admit, I have a certain amount of appreciation for what you've accomplished. My own scouts report that things have not gone well out here for our people." <br /><br />At her accusation, Kakarot simply laughs. "You want to know? All right, let's take a trip down memory lane while getting some proper exercise." <br /><br />Kakarot casts his cape aside at the same time Serori does, and he takes a wide grappler's stance as she blurs in and strikes. The impact is colossal, echoing through the air as he takes the hit with an open palm and counters the backwards force with his own flight action. There is a shudder for several moments as the energy ripples through the air, and Kakarot's eyes widen slightly, part in pleased surpise, and partly in a wince. "That's a good start." He says, moments before his own hands blur, twisting his hands into a grip on Serori's forearm and turning inward to yank the Queen into his attempt to drive his elbow into her abdomen. "Vision helps, but without strength, vision doesn't accomplish much. My father had both."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:37|Serori (37)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> The first collision is satisfying at the way it strikes the air like a thunderclap. Power reverberations course up Serori's arms, inspiring both fear and pleasure over how easily her opening move is checked. Serori's teeth bared in a gritted grin, she continues to resist Kakarot's force, until his might and speed are both exerted, and she's caught in a sudden, vise-like grip, and winded by a punishing blow to her solar plexus.<br /><br /> Yet she doesn't pull away. Capitalizing on the closeness Kakarot's engineered, Serori pivots to drive her knee into his rib cage with enough force to make splinters out of a redwood giant.<br /><br /> The attack is accompanied by an almost disbelieving snarl. Serori's leg recoils into a half-cocked pose, ready to fire off a second time if it's required, but her curiosity needs to be sated before her bloodlust can be addressed. "Bardock had -- what?! There was nothing remarkable about him! He was never cruel, he had no ambition -- he did his job, and that -- "<br /><br /> The saiyan woman's eyes snap open, and her head turns to direct her gaze to some distant horizon well beyond Kakarot's shoulder. The fur along her tail bristles up in response to the apprehension taking the edge from her anger. Now would be the perfect time for Kakarot to strike, if he chose.<br /><br /> "Vegeta..."<br /><br /> Whatever Kakarot chooses to do will play out elsewhere. Serori jabs two fingertips to her forehead in a very familiar way, and Skyland vanishes for them both.<br /><br /> She could take him /anywhere/ -- even into a Citadel prison -- but based on the vexed curse she lets out, that's probably not their destination.<br> <br>

:'''Go to [[1726/Hulk_vs._Vegeta|Hulk vs. Vegeta]] for the conclusion.
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