Difference between revisions of "2831/WMAT BQ2 Bardock vs Satsuki Kiryuin"

Latest revision as of 00:39, 22 August 2015

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    It's a cold and barren place that our two combatants will be smashing up today. Fairly far from civilization, the Yunzabit Heights is one of the more 'unkind' arenas possible. No audience to be found, only broadcasting aircraft to show their fight to the world; on some level, Satsuki muses, it's rather nice as far as battlegrounds go. No one to get in the way.

    For once, the uncontested ruler of Honnouji Academy has opted to descend first. With no crowd to put on a show for, and an opponent of a race known for prizing fighting skill above all else, making a flashy entrance holds little meaning. So, instead, Satsuki has arrived early, picking herself out a particularly tall plateau of stone and grass and simply waiting.

    Scabbard pressed into the ground, palms resting on the grip of her sword, the Council Prez simply looks out over the Yunzabit landscape, silently contemplating while she waits.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    A remote wilderness where full destructive power can be unleashed without endangering a population or audience? It really is a good spot for a battle. But this is a tournament match. And while each is trying to win, blowing up the terrain simply because they can or using lethal force is not part of the program. So even here... While the two combatants must fight with all their spirit, restraint of SOME kind of necessary.

    A golden flame streaks across the sky from over the horizon. Within about half a minute, a figure with spiked hair turned the same gold as his aura, and blue-green eyes looking out from beneath golden, downwards-slanted eyebrows, descends from the heavens and comes to a halt on a rocky outcropping within visual range of Satsuki, though neither too close nor too far. Body armor of the same model worn in previous matches adorns Bardock. His tail around his waist doesn't seem to have taken on the same color shift as his hair, though perhaps more light-brown than black.

    He folds his transformation-enlarged arms across his chest as he looks Satsuki over and then meets her gaze unflinchingly. Then he inclines his head in acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you," he offers roughly.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    There is one person here, at least. Johnny Tallbranch is sitting out on top of of those nearby wrecked buildings, looking calm and composed. The Courier is out of his Combat Gear today, the heavy Riot Suit that Satsuki would recognie from their fight. Instead he's wearing his more casual duster and cowboy hat, a desert wrap around his mouth and neck to keep the dust out of his face.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    A meeting of gazes can be quite telling; to some extent, what Bardock sees may remind him of certain people he's known in the past. Satsuki's gaze is cold as ice, calm and hard. And there is at the same time ambition there, a combination of desire, self-assurance and calculation that most ordinary people can only wish for. "Little time for pleasantries, Bardock of the Union?" She leaves the statement hanging just long enough to inspire doubt about her opinion, before finishing, "Good. Sometimes getting straight down to business is a welcome change."

    Right hand moves to left bicep, and fingers snap three catches in quick succession on the blue bangle there. A bright twinkle of light flickers at her arm, followed by crimson radiating down her clothes, dyeing all that white a bloody red...

    And then the fabric explodes outwards, forms a cage, a cocoon. Flowing, reshaping itself, surging up like a monster made of fire that engulfs Satsuki before being restrained, tied into place. Straps pull tight, fabric takes shape and clings to figure, and with a monumental effort of will, Satsuki masters this 'beast' that is her outfit, shoulders surging upward into tall spikes.

"LIFE FIBER OVERRIDE! KAMUI JUNKETSU!"

    Satsuki's boot twitches, kicking Bakuzan up into her hands; she casts aside the sheath, brings the long-bladed katana up into a vertical stance... and then flicks it downward, one-handed, unleashing a razor-sharp 'shockwave' of air towards Bardock.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    Bardock can tell that Satsuki has an iron will and is quite a serious combatant. And she does, indeed, remind him of various people he may know from the past. But more like King Vegeta than one of those like Zarbon or Dodoria or Frieza that he still holds so much hate for. He can't know her entire history and identity just from looking her in the eye. But he can tell he is looking upon someone with power.

    Likewise, Satsuki may be able to see in Bardock some of what kind of man he is. He has been a heartless murderer, a caring mate, a desperate savior, a failed one, and one who has found some sort of redemption. His spirit has been hardened, broken, and rehardened, tempering him into a warrior that can bend his ego without also bending his principles. And in this form, there is something else as well. Satsuki Kiryuin may be controlling her beast, commanding it, forcing its obedience with her will... She WEARS her monster.

    Bardock's monster is inside of him, and as a Super Saiyan, closer to the surface than ever. He has power and aggression in equal measure, a restless feeling of needing to USE this strength on something, anything, even if it costs him life and limb. It's his will and the experience he's been gaining with each battle that make him the master of his own monster, and not the reverse. He can not separate himself from it. He can not merely shed it. He has to exercise constant vigilance, lest old, bloody habits re-emerge.

    Satsuki's transformation is startling, but Bardock immediately drops down into a fighting stance, expecting a referee will start the match like the previous ones. "Don't get me wrong. I've got no problem talking if there's something to say. I just don't have anything like that right now. Not when I'm about to go up against someone as strong as you."

    Unfortunately for Bardock, as he's waiting for a referee, an invisible wave of force lashes out through the air, striking him directly in the chest and hurling him off his perch and backwards. He tumbles for a distant before bringing himself to a stop, upright, in mid-air. He doesn't say anything further, instead thrusting one hand outwards and releasing a kiai. "YAAAH!" A wave similar to Satsuki's own, but less focused, blasts forth from the force of Bardock's muscles alone, trying to blast the other fighter from HER perch.

    Even if it fails, the perch itself may not survive.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    You can often take the measure of a fighter by how they respond to the most simple of attacks. A punch blocked, deflected, avoided or countered speaks volumes about the style of fighting the defender employs. A simple burst of ki is no different. Where most would dodge to one side, counter the blast with their own, defend with their arms or even disappear in a brief burst of impossible speed, Satsuki takes an approach that bespeaks calm in the face of danger and boldness in capitalizing on split-second opportunities.

    She leaps towards the ki blast. "HAAA!"

    Or rather, she leaps slightly to one side, veering off at an angle such that Bardock's simple blast skirts right by her, grazing the scion of the Kiryuin family as it passes by. And between the blast itself and the sheer force of Satsuki's push-off, the small plateau she was standing on is smashed utterly. Her angle of attack puts her on an arc that will go right past the golden-haired Saiyan, just out of blade's reach, and while she lacks the ability to fly, Junketsu isn't completely useless for aerial maneuvering.

    A shining rainbow-hued fountain of power erupts from each of the vents on the backs of her shoulder pauldrons, adjusting Satsuki's course in mid-flight. It gives her just the right angle to lash out with Bakuzan in passing, lacking the leverage for a more solid cut and so settling for a quick strike.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    His opponent is nimble, Bardock will give her that. And she has scored some good opening hits on him that have not left him in a great position this early in the battle. The sword slash is barely reacted to in time to catch it on his forearm. His aura bends around it, and a red mark is left on his skin like a lesion, that soon turns to actual blood. He hasn't shown a sign of the pain he has been dealt so far on his face, though. But when he prepares to lash out with a back-handed swing of his fist, Satsuki has already passed by. For him it seemed she lingered a moment thanks to his transformation's accelerated reaction time. But her speed is still incredible enough that he can see where his fist isn't going to hit because that brief contact of blade on flesh was for her merely an attack of convenience rather than a contest of strength.

    The saiyan warrior decides not to be such a stationary target, blurring out of existence and reappearing in Satsuki's path with a kick aimed at her face. The foot draws back and kicks a second time, in two rapid thrusts that send a wave of golden energy tracing the arc of each blow after they've been launched -- whether to success or failure.

    Melee and ranged seem to be equally comfortable methods of attack for Bardock's opponent, so trying to pick the one she's not as good at doesn't seem like a winning strategy. Landing decisive hits is necessary. Strength doesn't matter as much when you have speed. And Bardock has to start moving faster if he intends to make a good showing.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    There's only so much Satsuki can do in mid-air. One change of course already made things difficult for her, and even with Junketsu's inhumanly high boosts to her reaction times, she can't respond to Bardock's sudden change of position in time for anything other than to brace. She manages to tilt her head in just such a way that the first boot isn't a knockout blow, but it does still hit hard enough to ring her bell - and even still, she manages to get her arm up in just such a way that the second kick slams hard into her forearm rather than her face. It's still a solid hit, but in a less dangerous place than the first. It also serves to give Bardock some interesting information. Kicking at Satsuki almost feels like kicking a member of his own race. Whatever can be said about her untransformed, with Junketsu active she's as durable as any Saiyan. And while she might not be a match for his strength, she's at least in the same league, and has the skill to make up the difference.

    The pair of kicks send Satsuki end-over-end in mid-air, and by the time she hits ground she's lost control of the leap entirely, skidding across rock and into a stone wall that spiderwebs with cracks behind her. She quickly recovers, however, and rather than leap into melee with Bardock again, she cocks the black blade of Bakuzan; one, two, a pair of quick slashes this time, each unleashing another cutting wave. It's almost an invitation, in a way. A dare for him to come to her.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    That's good. He's still not going to be aiming to kill, but knowing his opponent has similar resilience to his own means he won't have to worry as much about accidentally snapping her neck. He knows everyone in his bracket was placed there because they are capable of fighting him on an equal level, and vice versa. So he isn't TOO worried... But better to use too little force in a tournament rather than too much. Losing a match is nothing compared to the loss of a life.

    The second encounter with Satsuki's ranged sword attacks has Bardock slightly more prepared. He flies into her attack similarly to how she flew into his, super-speed flickering in and out of existence so that the first attack slices his shoulder a little and a few strands of Ki-charged hair. But when he reappears, it's directly in the path of a second shockwave slash, and he is knocked off course, forcing him to adjust to land against a stone pillar briefly in a crouch before launching himself off of it and sending the pillar is shattering into boulders and dust! A golden streak of Ki with a saiyan in the middle zips out in a curved trajectory and then comes closer to Satsuki just as she seemed to be asking for.

    Those ranged hits of her carry quite a punch and leave some nasty, bleeding marks... Every hit with that blade does. It's definitely dangerous, even to a saiyan. But a super-speed punch aimed at Satsuki's mid-section, intent on driving her back into and possibly through the stone wall behind her, might also hurt a teensy bit as well if it hits.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    It seems that Satsuki prepared herself for a direct attack like Bardock's charging fist. She might have been able to respond on some level for a number of other attacks, but the straightforward attack is the one she planned on - and the result is that she's in a perfect posture to respond. And even still, she waits until the last possible instant, to minimize the chance that Bardock will be able to rein himself in; his fist grazes her abdomen as she turns, clipping her hard enough that there will doubtless be a bruise there soon enough but not quite finding purchase. It's a very aggressive, all-or-nothing style she uses, one that suits her personality perfectly.

    And to no one's surprise, she turns to capitalize on that opening as well. It's a single move, flowing from her last-instant turn into a spin that lends her momentum, enough so that she can bring her left leg up and around in a swift swing that picks up speed fast. Her knee shifts, her foot snaps out, and a quick kick is swung at the Super Saiyan's back, intending to drive him into the stone behind her with just a smidge of extra force.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    He should have known better, really. Probably did. But perhaps a bit of ego got in the way of planning, as his saiyan instincts drove him to see if he could beat whatever plan his opponent had through sheer outperformance. Seems not. This is not just a strong opponent, or a fast opponent, or a calculating opponent, but one skilled in battle while possessing all of those things. No more foolery from Bardock.

    When he smashes his fist into the stone wall and basically obliterates it, sending a wave of destroyed terrain rippling forward for at least half a mile, he also gets kicked in the back, making him fly forward after his own missed blow. He keeps flying, and flying, no longer carried by momentum and force but by his own ability to soar through the air. Where's he going anyway? Is he fleeing the battle!?

    He stops about ten miles away, turns around to face back the way he came, and then pulls back one hand as he charges Ki into it. He blasts forwards through the air, shattering the ground beneath him with the force as he powers up while on the move.

    His aura swells, as he lets out a low growl that builds into a yell, and then when he is barreling towards his opponent so fast that the wind in his wake is shattering rocky pillars he passes and throwing the ground into the air... He doesn't attack with speed, but with a thick beam of blue-white Ki that he releases as he thrusts his pulled-back hand forward! And that beam splits into dozens of smaller beams, raining down on Satsuki, even bombarding the path she takes at evasion if she manages such, and sending domes of Ki erupting outwards from each impact with anything they touch!

    Building power while on the move isn't easy, which is why Bardock needed the delay provided by distance. Because holding still and hoping Satsuki will be courteous enough to let him get stronger doesn't seem like a solid plan.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    "You're not planning to flee the battle, are you?!" It's a simple, quick taunt, more for the sake of banter than any real outrage. She doesn't expect Bardock to flee the fight. He seems entirely serious about the fight. So when the Queen of Honnouji takes off after him, running and leaping from mesa to mesa, it's with a faint grin on her face. She's got nowhere near a Super Saiyan's flat-out speed, but she can still cover the ground pretty quickly. And with her opponent coming back towards her as well, the distance will narrow quickly indeed. The ki blast isn't entirely unexpected; if he'd tried the same charging attack again, she'd have been profoundly disappointed. But it's still a technique she doesn't quite have the knack of handling.

    A leap to the left, a lunge forward, a roll and a dive; Satsuki darts and dodges, but the barrage clips her here, grazes her there, and towards the very end there's one coming right at her - only for her to seemingly disappear at the last moment. It's a move worthy of a saiyan, but after a few seconds in which she doesn't reappear, it becomes obvious this wasn't achieved with speed. She seems to have vanished entirely.

    If Bardock is quick on the uptake, he might be able to sense what happened. But there's little warning, as Satsuki turns both his speed and her own to her advantage, leaping up out of the canyon directly below the Saiyan with all the strength she can muster, shattering the ground below her and the cliffs on either side on the way up. It's another airborne attack, a quick dash-by slash meant to take full advantage of the element of surprise.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    Despite the fact he's serious about this fight, Bardock is grinning. Even the fact he's having trouble landing direct hits as he'd like to doesn't seem to be diminishing his enjoyment. This tournament is great. It lets him face so many different opponents with so many different kinds of powers. He fought a young lady who could turn into a battleship last time. Where else are you going to get to face someone like that? So Satsuki's nimble evasion of parts of the bombardment, and her sudden disappearance at the end, while surprising, don't upset Bardock. He just enjoys the challenge. He isn't quite in the habit of trying to sense power levels through Ki senses yet, though he tends to notice when those with great Ki are nearby regardless.

    He doesn't know what Satsuki uses as her power source, but when she streaks upwards and slashes him with an overhand strike, his warrior's reflex is all that allows him to bring his arms up in an 'x-block' to try to blunt some of the force, only to get more slashes on the appendages and be hurled from the sky down to the ground. The terrain craters beneath him, and he lets out a grunt of pain. But he's back up quickly, handspringing onto his feet, and then cups both hands together at his side as he looks up towards Satsuki, trying to target her while she's still in mid-air... But no. Not the time for that move. She's too evasive. He'll need to wear her down before committing to a technique he hasn't mastered. It's heavily draining to use while imperfect.

    Instead he channels Ki into both hands, puts them together, and transfers the Ki into just one hand. His left hand becomes engulfed in a sphere of blue-white that super-illuminates the outline of his fingers and palm. Then he lets loose with the attack without fully charging it. He has plenty of Ki, but he isn't hitting with it. Maybe it's time for quality over quantity.

    "RIOT JAVELIN!" The sphere streaks upwards, turning into a blue, comet-like blaze after leaving Bardock's hand. Let's see just how good Satsuki's mid-air maneuvering is!

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    If there's one thing Johnny has always appreciated about the WMAT, it's that Mr. Satan's world makes every fight feel epic as hell. This one is no different.

    Though, now he's having to appreciate the light show with a pair of rangefinders, while he calmly chews on a piece of jerky.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Up goes Satsuki, and then down she comes, turning a flip at the apex of her jump in order to have just a bit more control over her facing and descent. She shifts Bakuzan to a two-handed grip, coming straight down, but finds herself the target of a ranged attack she's got no real shot at evading. Even Junketsu's 'jets' won't push her far enough fast enough. And so, Bardock can probably see the moment where Satsuki resolves to take the hit. Her body turns, her arms cross, and the blast washes over her - but amidst the burst of blue, there is a sudden flare of multicolored energy, a fountain of twinkling starbursts, and the Council President of Honnouji pushes herself right through.

    It's a sudden burst of added momentum thanks to Junketsu's thrust, one that sets her hurtling straight down towards Bardock at what is technically faster than her terminal velocity. She keeps the flow of power from her Kamui's vents going just long enough to bring her close to the ground, and then cuts them out, facilitating her next attack.

    Up comes Bakuzan, high overhead, only to be brought down with a quick, fierce slash that benefits from all the momentum of her fall besides. "TAAAAAH!"

Bardock (795) has posed:
    When Satsuki breaks through his attack, Bardock goes, 'Tch!' a little. So many people seem to do that. Sure, it wasn't fully charged, but this opponent is yet another to add to the growing list of peole who have demonstrated his control of his own power in this form isn't what it could be. But her speed as she rushes down at him soon eliminates any such concerns. His attempt to block this time fails, and he can't even get his arms up, instead getting slashed directly across his chest armor and send hurtling back, hitting the ground multiple times as he skids into and through an abandoned building along the side of the canyon.

    Walls and ceiling crumble, and dust 'poof's upwards as the ruined building settles. But it doesn't get to settle for long before it all flies outwards and away in a sudden surge of golden Ki as Bardock rushes back towards Satsuki, flying in zig-zag patterns, before vanishing right before her eyes, with his fist drawn back, ready to punch!

    And reappearing in a blur behind her to try to strike her in the back instead! He's taking quite a beating, so testing techniques and strategies may soon have to go out the window. They're both taking this fight seriously. But they aren't outputting everything they can yet.

    Bardock aims to change that. Whittling away at each other (mostly him getting whittled away at, if he's honest with himself) isn't nearly as satisfying as just blasting and punching each other, testing mettle and might. But he does find honing his mind by thinking as he fights full-force is starting to get up there on his list of things he enjoys.

    Learning, not just getting stronger of body, is not so bad.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Where Satsuki lands, the ground is smashed to large pieces of rubble, and she quickly takes a hop to one side, just in time to ready herself for his next charge. He's varying his pattern now, giving her a harder time tracking his approach, but there's still only one place he can be heading - towards her. So rather than try to track him, she simply waits for his approach, readies herself, and when he prepares to drive his fist right through her, she brings Bakuzan up to strike-

    -and in the instant before Bardock's fist slams into her from behind, Satsuki's eyes are wide with surprise.

    Across the landscape she goes, slammed by a blow no ordinary human could land. It's a direct, crushing blow, the sound of her alarmed, pained voice all the Saiyan will need to confirm that. And the furrow she tears through the rock is not insignificant either, ultimately requiring the Kamui-user to drive Bakuzan into the stone to slow herself to a stop. It ends up with her on one knee, still gripping the sword's handle, only to pull it out and up into a guard stance...

    ...with a full and proper grin on her face. "At last, we can start in earnest."

    The ground shatters beneath Satsuki. Craters. The force of her charge is more than the rocky formations of Yunzabit can take. Pushing herself and Junketsu to the limits of their combined strength, the Council Prez closes the distance with Bakuzan at the ready, not so much for the momentum of the charge as to simply get in melee range so that they can get to it. Her first attack is simple but brutal, a diagonal slash with both hands - and this time, there is enough force behind it that hit or miss, block or dodge, the stone behind Bardock's position will split from the sheer power.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    There's a mutter around the Jerky as Johnny adjusts his seat, keeping an eye on the fight. He's shorthanding notes while he keeps watching.
    The massive hits though, just get him to grin. "There's the fight I was expectin'. Don't let me down, Kiryuin."

Bardock (795) has posed:
    Bardock is struck directly by Satsuki's fierce retaliatory blow, sent flying for the umpteenth time during this fight, out across the canyon and into its wall, and then further through the terrain, leaving a 'side canyon' in his wake. His armor slashed open across his chest, one piece of it falling off completely, and a deep bloody gouge in his skin where the blade traced forcefully across his body. Even as a Super Saiyan, he can be injured seriously.

    But he also has the speed, strength, endurance, and will, to get back up and attack again. This time he flies out and around Satsuki, centering a barrage of golden Ki blasts, one after another, on her position, essentially stafing her without getting close enough for her blade to land a physical hit. Her shockwave attacks are painful, but nowhere near as brutal as her direct blows. Hopefully she doesn't have some kind of 'super shockwave' she's been hiding or something.

    The continuous barrage of Ki blasts isn't necessarily intended to decide the fight, but if one of the many energy bombs going off with a force that knocks the clouds out of the sky and turns the terrain into a crater-filled wasteland happens to achieve that? Well, swell!

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Were her opponent anything but a Super Saiyan, Satsuki would probably not be striking nearly so viciously. But knowing that her opponent has skin harder than steel, the strength to shatter granite with little effort, leaves her free to apply the full strength of her Kamui without concern for the wellbeing of her foe... and the remote location guarantees no worries about the surrounding area, either. It's a rare chance to cut loose within the bounds of the tournament. Now that things have gotten interesting, she's not one to just let Bardock go sailing away; she follows after on the heels of her own attack, doing her best to keep him from opening too much range. In the end, her greatest asset is relentlessness. Once she gets started, she doesn't let up.

    But flight yet remains beyond Satsuki, and Bardock's circling keeps her able to do little but run laterally to maintain pursuit. She maintains a steady grip on Bakuzan, watching his movements, waiting - when the barrage of ki rains down, she anticipates where each blast will fall by the movement of his hands alone and dodges before they land, managing to escape without a single direct hit... although, with blasts that powerful, even indirect hits and collateral force are enough to leave her body singed and stinging. At one point, however, her dash to keep up with Bardock's movements suddenly halts, and she launches herself /backwards/ into the cloud of dust kicked up by the Super Saiyan artillery strike.

    And once again, the golden-haired fighter above gets a few seconds to wonder what she's playing at, followed by a sudden parting of the dust cloud as a positively gargantuan chunk of stone comes sailing out, hurled by Satsuki for the raw surprise of it. But such a big, slow-moving hunk of rock is little threat. No, it's a simple distraction, to give Satsuki a chance to take a high leap and come down on Bardock from /above/ with another falling slash.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    Improvising a new spin on a previous maneuver is clever. But this time around (mostly by chance) Bardock times an attempt to keep Satsuki's overhead attack he suspects is coming from such an obvious distraction from succeeding... At the same time the younger warrior launches her attack. He smashes through the boulder face first, sending it flying in pieces in every direction as he risks damage for the sake of trying to catch his opponent off-guard. But he winds up zipping right through empty space, just as Satsuki attacks where Bardock was moments before.

    In the end, they both wind up with their backs to each other, attacking an enemy that isn't there. But with their reflexes and skill, it shouldn't be even a fraction of a second before they realize their mistakes and turn to face each other again!

    Bardock flips through the air, doing a somersault, and unleashes a thick beam of blue-white Ki from the palm of his hand when he comes out of it, back the way he came. This time, it doesn't divide up into smaller beams, so its overall strength is much greater. But the kamui-using fighter is an incredibly adaptative, fast, and, yes, relentless fighter. Bardock is no genius. He's a low-born warrior. He definitely thinks more than most of his kind do, especially one with his background... But he's already realized that Satsuki Kiryuin is probably much, much smarter than him. The only thing keeping him in the battle now...

    Is pure instinctive battle ability. Intuition nearly on the level of precognition. Ironic that his actual precognitive abilities are nowhere near as useful. He can't guess what Satsuki is going to do next with his mind. He can only intuit her movements and maneuvers, and try to match them on reflex alone. Now with them giving their all, there's no time to stop and plan.

    Also that Ki beam carves a gouge in the terrain from impact point all the way to the horizon, through everything in its way except Satsuki, and then explodes in the distance, turning the dark sky into mid-day, even if it doesn't hit her. Because he was ASSURED no one else would be here.

    Hopefully any spectators aren't getting their eardrums blown out.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    It's something of a comedy of errors, the way both of them end up blowing by each other through the sheer aggression of their fighting styles. When Satsuki realizes what Bardock's doing, she quickly pulls herself around in a circle to try and recover, but it's too late, he's gone. She's caught in the air, with nothing to do but fall and take attacks; this time, there's a chance for her to kick on Junketsu's thrust, and it's all that saves her from being hit dead-on. Instead the blast smashes only the left side of her body, sending the swordswoman hurtling to the ground in a spin she can't recover from. She manages to get back on her feet quickly, but the injuries are starting to tell... and, perhaps, something else, some sign of exhaustion or strain that doesn't quite jive with the hits she's taken thus far.

    But ragged as she might look, there is a refusal to back down in those eyes. It comes as no surprise when those heeled boots push off again, and Bakuzan whips back and forth in a rapid-fire, 1-2-3 slash attack flinging more of her cutting waves at the Saiyan high above. Right behind those arcs, however, comes Satsuki herself, jumping in an attempt to flat-out tackle Bardock in mid-air, kicking Junketsu's thrusters on once again to push him straight down to the ground.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    Bardock focuses his Ki into his arms to harden them, and simply tries to take the hits, as unwise as that may be. This seems to work somewhat for the first attack, blunting some of the shockwave, but the two that follow are not so blunted, and his already-bruised-and-bleeding forearms become even more lascerated, sending searing agony through them that, if he were not who and what he is, would have him not only unable to use his limbs for much of anything, but would probably have him incapacitated from the pain. But he IS Bardock and he IS a saiyan. So despite all the hits he has taken, all the bruises and cuts... His heart is pounding in his chest not with fear or anger, but simply from the physical exertion of doing what his species does best and enjoys most. Well, alongside eating, anyway.

    So he erupts into a blaze of golden and flies high into the air, directly out of the path of Satsuki's tackle attempt. And there, in the sky, the technique he decided not to use earlier in the match is prepared. He still hasn't mastered it, so it's going to drain his reserves something awful. But it's a powerful attack, to be sure. So he draws both hands back when he reaches the apex of his ascent. "Kaaameeee..." he chants. A sphere of blue Ki forms between his cupped hands, which grows and grows in intensity, until even way down at ground level, it may appear as though a new start has appeared in the dark sky...

    ...BENEATH the cloud cover.

    "Haaameeee..."

    Powerful winds whip through Yunzabit Heights, the scarred terrain becoming only more so as bolts of electricity streak down from above, blasting the ground, and rocky formations shatter spontaneously, being drawn upwards towards a central point. The ever-present cloud-cover in the sky swirls and swirls and swirls, forming an open space with Bardock at the center, and huge boulders spinning around the edges. The eye of the hurricane.

    Then the Super Saiyan releases his attack, thrusting both hands forward, and yelling out, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" so loudly that it echoes for hundreds of miles in every direction.

    But the cataclysmic roar of a solid pillar of blue-white Ki that bleaches everything in sight the same color as it streaks down towards Satsuki Kiryuin, with what is probably well beyond any level of force one would expect to use in a normal tournament. But it is recognition of his opponent's strength that has him going all-out like this.

    Bardock trusts that she will survive. And, given this may well drain the last of his energy, if she makes it through, she will probably claim rightful victory as well.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    The attempt to bring Bardock down to her level fails spectacularly; attempting to go air-to-air with a flight-capable opponent when you yourself cannot is always a gamble, and sometimes that gamble just doesn't pay off. Sometimes the opponent realizes that even a serious attack can be a distraction, and responds to the threat behind it. She's at least given the chance to descend to the ground again this time, but someone as sharp as Satsuki isn't going to miss the reason why:

    'It doesn't matter if she reaches the ground or not.'

    There is only one thing that bright, shining light in the sky can be. She doesn't need to hear the name to understand. That growing, surging power, that incredible flow of energy, there's nothing that could cause it but an attack so potent that it doesn't matter where the Queen of Honnouji stands. There is no running, there is no dodging. She can only brace herself, and face the storm.

    Her entire world becomes nothing but light and pain.

    The blast is powerful enough to create a crater out of a sprawling section of cliffs, plateaus and canyons. Where there was once wide and varied terrain, there is now a shallow, featureless bowl. And at the very bottom, the battered and bleeding form of a girl on one knee, supporting herself with her sword, barely able to keep upright even to /that/ degree. Her shoulders heave with the effort of breathing. Her body screams in protest at the punishment it's endured. She's lucky to even be conscious, and she's reached her body's limit.

    Teeth clench. "...if... my body's limit isn't enough... then..."

    Satsuki's foot plants. Her knee shakes, then steadies. Pushes. And then without warning, she comes up to her feet in a full, smooth movement, and all the dust of the explosion is pushed away as her body suddenly erupts in a bright corona of blue-white. "THEN I WILL SIMPLY PUSH PAST THAT LIMIT!"

    Life energy blazing around her, Satsuki stands, brings forth Bakuzan's sheath (when did she...?), and returns her weapon to it. She turns her eyes towards the bright golden light in the sky, crouches down, and pushes off - and the ground behind her blasts outward as if a second Kamehameha had gone off. Up she hurtles, holding Bakuzan at her left side as her entire body soars towards Bardock like a rocket. It's a collision course, fast enough a human should have blacked out from the acceleration, every last ounce of her body's energy wrung out of her muscles for one last leap. And only at the last possible instant, at the precise, perfect moment that no amount of planning could choose, does her hand come to Bakuzan's handle.

    The slash comes with a speed that approaches even that of a Super Saiyan.

Bardock (795) has posed:
    Bardock hangs suspended in the air, golden hair flickering between that hue and its natural black. He's gritting his teeth, sweat and blood covering his whole body. Trying to concentrate on rebuilding his Ki reserves after the massive depletion, to not allow his transformation to lapse. He isn't sure if he can change again if he lets that happen. Even as blue-green eyes shift back and forth between that color and a hazy obsidian, the saiyan watches below, trying to see the results of his attack. He sees the smoking crater, the dust everywhere, and thinks he makes out his opponent crouched at the center.

    He's glad he judged her correctly. She is strong enough not to die, even to something like that. When a bright light erupts all around and beneath her though, hurling her up into the air at him at incredible speed, he's even more glad he judged THAT part of her correctly too. He's in this tournament, not for victory, but as an obstacle for others to overcome. He realized that in his first match. He has to give his all, striving for victory, so that when his opponents defeat him, they will have earned their accomplishment, and be able to push to even higher levels afterwards.

    So he's glad. Even as Satsuki Kiryuin's blade lashes out, shredding what's left of his armor, and sending him flying back down to earth in a spray of blood. Yet another crater forms from the impact, with Bardock, unconscious, at the center of it. He reverted back to his normal state at some point during the fall.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    That makes three craters. One for the Kamehameha, one for the fall of Bardock.

    One for Satsuki, who is herself damn near out cold by the time she hits the ground, and certainly not moving any time soon. Save, perhaps for a very small shift to hit the button which will call her personal helicopter now that she's won. "...Another victory like this... and I... may have to withdraw," she murmurs, chuckling weakly.