Capacity Does Not Imply Intent
You take a short, sharp, breath through your nostrils. Then you smile. It is not a nice smile.
"You know what? Fine." You pluck out the Senzu bean and whip it at his face. You take a certain glee in seeing it bounce off before he can react. "But eat that, first." No, he'd never do that just because you said so. What would provoke a Vegetan? Oh, there you go. "I wish to challenge your TRUE power. Not this...broken wreck."
[Trait Gained! "Hot-Blooded"]
In the middle of stooping to pick up the bean, his eyes flash and he stiffens, glaring at you. You've made an impression.
"I am
not BROKEN!" he shouts, straightening.
"You're not fixed, that's for sure!" you reply.
He snarls at you.
[Communication check tripped...narrow failure]
"Are you trying to
make me broken?" he asks, waving the bean at you. "My father will
cripple me if I take this, and
leave me that way. I'll be even
worse than I am right now, maybe for weeks!"
You pale. "W-what? But he wouldn't-"
"Kill me?" Jaffur spits. "No. Not even he could get away with that. Uncle Raditz would stage a coup. But Senzu beans can cure...a lot..." His gaze loses focus for a moment before he shakes himself and scowls at you. "You have no idea what you're making me risk, giving this to me!"
"I'm trying to heal you!"
"Some help! I-" He bites himself off, taking a break. "I..." He shakes his head. "It's too much. You'd need to break my arm and beat me to a pulp all over again." That said, he slips the bean inside his gi.
You shudder away from the thought.
No. "At least let me heal you first," you say, trying to get him to see reason. "It won't be a
fight if you're still hurt."
He cocks his head. "I hadn't heard that you were a healer."
"I'm not." You hesitate and shrug. "I mean, I don't
know if I am. I never tried."
He grunts. "Figures. Father never had me tested, either."
[Communications check tripped...failure (damn, those rolls)]
He sighs, shaking his head. "No."
"What do you-"
"I mean
no. Don't heal me, I'll fight you as I am."
"You don't stand a chance," you say, confidence, worry, and pity all surging within you at once.
"Hmph." He smirks, straightening. "Just...just give me a minute." He closes his eyes and slides down to the ground, entering the lotus position with the ease of one who's performed it countless times. His aura lights up around him.
You start powering up yourself, only going as far as you can easily reach. About eight million sounds good.
His eyes open. His power level is holding steady at five million, and his expression is unnaturally calm. "Only around eight?" he asks, his voice slightly dreamy. "You're not taking me seriously." His head dips and his expression takes on a distinctly...predatory...cast. "Don't."
His aura shifts, wrapping closer around his body -- less him standing in a blue bonfire, and more him wreathed in shining sapphire flames. You have never seen this before. You don't recall any stories of anybody having ever seen something like this before.
He vanishes from view, leaving only an afterimage behind.
What?
WHAM
With a blinding impact, you are flying backward. You regain yourself and look back at the spot you were standing a moment ago.
Jaffur phases into view right next to you.
What?!
WHAM
You smash into the ground, avoiding injury only by virtue of your ki.
"My gift is speed," he says, phasing back into view above you as you drag yourself out of the crater. "I move way faster than I should. I can play in your league, Scion, no matter how hurt I am."
"What are you doing with your aura?" you ask, gaping.
"Me? Nothing." He phases out of view again. You press your fingers to your forehead and-
vip
-reappear at the very edge of the arena.
Jaffur slams into the ground where you were standing below, and looks around for you for a moment before sighting in on you. "There you are," he says. You can only read his lips before he's tearing off again at breakneck pace.
At this distance, you can see him coming fairly clearly. He's fast, but you're not at full power yet. With a flex of your muscles, you bring yourself up to ten million and set yourself up to receive him.
With another burst of
stupid speed, he twists around your strike and launches a kick at your head which you barely block.
"Ten million!" he says, withdrawing and lunging forward to grapple with you. "Better!"
You and he strain against each other, and you marvel at the sheer, manic strength he's exerting. "H- how...?"
He draws back. "You're still not
taking me seriously!" He lunges forward, levering his forehead into yours.
You drift back from the hit and use Instant Transmission on instinct, moving to the other side of the arena.
Once you gain your bearings again, you see him homing in once again. You frown. If he insists on being like this, you have no
choice but to take him seriously -- no matter how ridiculous it is that he's not down yet. If you were fighting for keeps this fight would be done, but you're curious about how he's moving so far beyond his abilities. You'll figure it out later, though.
You place your hands by your head as fast as you can. From his perspective, it must look like you blurred.
And you call out, "Taiyoken!"
LIGHT
Jaffur comes jarring to a halt with an aggravated scream, clutching at his blinded eyes. You take the opportunity to bring yourself up to your full power.
"Solar Flare," he grunts, trying to rub his vision back into place. "Oh, you little..."
And we're done.
You fly towards him and kick him away from you. Then you chase him down, hammering your feet down into his midsection before phasing down below him and blasting him to a dead halt. Then you use Instant Transmission to close with him and grab one of his wrists, holding him aloft, his eyes fluttering shut.
"Little what?!" you yell, shaking him. "Little
what, you stubborn idiot?! Am I weak now?
Huh?!"
"Ch...Cha..."
You bring him closer. "Hm? I didn't hear that."
"Cha...Char..."
"
Louder, stupid!"
His eyes snap open, and you feel his hand against your belly. "Charon's
Breath!"
SHREEEEEE!
A bright silver beam of energy, only as wide across as his palm, blasts into your stomach and carries you away from him.
"Oof-!"
You push yourself off with some difficulty. It didn't
hurt, just winded you, but that said...
"...that was ten million units," you say, staring at him. "How did you do that? You're only at five."
He grins, bloody. "Heh." He falls into a stance, still shaky. "Taking me seriously yet?"
You take your own stance after a moment. "...yeah."
His grin widens. "Then you'd better power all the way up now, because I'm about to cut loose."
And you suddenly get it. He thinks you're at his level. Presumably he hasn't been keeping track of you like you have been him, or maybe he just assumes that you've been holding back and that's why he has such a negative opinion of you.
Or he's just a jerk. That could be it.
His expression sets, and he charges.
He kicks, you dodge, you punch, he blocks, and in the ensuing exchange of blows, one thing becomes clear.
Jaffur is not as good as you.
He is
better.
You are faster, stronger, and more perceptive by him by more than double, and fighting him is honestly like fighting a very persistent child. But he moves with an economy and ease of motion that astounds you, every twitch of his body utilized to its fullest extent despite what must be a truly
crushing amount of exhaustion and pain from his day. You have no idea where he found the time or inclination to train like this, but he is perhaps the most highly-trained Saiyan you have ever met -- easily in even your Dad's league.
[Jaffur's Combat [Hand-to-Hand] skill level revealed -- Exceptional]
Yet even with all of this ease and efficiency, he is tired, pained, and increasingly angry. There's nothing he can do to meaningfully hurt you at this level of difference between you two, not even with all his skill. Your heart isn't in this.
"Still only twelve," he gasps, scowling. "Take me seriously.
Take me seriously. TAKE ME SERIOUSLY!"
"I am," you say, blocking a powerful hit.
"Don't...you...
dare." He disengages and stands back. "I will
not be teased like this! I am the Scion of Vegeta! I am a
Prince! Fight me like your life is on it! I won't accept anything less than your best!"
"I'm
giving you my best!" you say.
His eyes narrow. "
Liar! KAIO-KEN!"
His aura flares red, and he vanishes, reappearing to slam into your back.
Okay. Okay. Eight million, now. You can still handle that. You can-
"
RAAAAAAAAH!"
WHAM
You fly back up towards the sky until you bounce off the wards, all the breath leaving your body at once. You fall for a half second before he catches up with you and slams you back into the invisible ceiling.
Frantically, you release all your ki in an area burst, clearing the skies and sending him tumbling back. At least that works right. He didn't become immune to the laws of being hit by somebody stronger.
"You know that
too?" you say, recovering.
"I spend every day and night fighting," he says, catching himself and gasping in pain. "I have trained every day of my life. Of
course I know something as useful as this." He zip forward, and you barely block his strike.
He's hitting a lot harder now. It's not threatening yet, but his aura isn't even
flickering, and it looks like despite everything, he can keep this up as long as he needs to. You put your fingers to your forehead and flash away.
Well. If he can do endurance, you'll just have to fight like he can. You need to take him down all at once. At the other end of the arena you gather your strength, aura flaring bright blue even as he turns around to face you.
"Ka...Me..."
His sudden grin in reply is bloody and absolutely
crazed. He clasps his hands together in front of his chest.
You keep on. "
Ha...Me..."
He brings his hands forward, palms towards you. The tips of his thumbs touch while his fingers interlock, forming a basket with his hands.
You bring your hands forward, channeling your ki down your arms. "
HA!"
His aura flares, and he cries, "
Apocalypse Beam!"
His silver beam, only as broad as his hands are wide together, meets your blue wave straight on and
punches straight through. Your eyes widen, and-
[Skill check tripped: DODGE!]
-you lunge out of the way relatively easily, the beam continuing on like a laser to carve a gash out of the wall behind you.
You stare at him, wild-eyed. "How?! How did you do that! That blast hit twenty million,
how is that even possible without you transforming! Why do you not make sense?!"
He snarls back, his good mood apparently gone. "Me? What about you?
You're still at twelve million!"
[Willpower push activated: passed]
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Energy rolls out of him in a wave, buffeting you even as far back as you are. In a heartbeat, he's in your face, and he slams you down into the ground.
"I won't be mocked," he says, every word thrumming with power. "I won't let you win like this! Give me everything you have, Scion, or I'll
tear you apart!"
You stare at him, wide-eyed. He's at twelve million, just like you. The fight is now, however briefly, even.
I rolled this fight out with my wife, who handled Kakara's rolls. Here are a few (paraphrased for humor) samples of our conversation.
* * *
WIFE: Why are you even bothering with these?
ME: If I just decided that you win, it would be stupid and I would have come up with these rules for no reason.
WIFE: Fine, whatever, let's just get this done. Pointless, though.
(LATER)
WIFE: Well, I'll give him this much, he's doing pretty okay.
ME (FROWNING): Yes. Because you crit-failed the first exchange and he got a ninety-four.
(LATER)
WIFE: How is he still going? Isn't he beaten half to death? Still wanna kill his Dad for that, by the way.
ME (FRANTIC): Why do you think I'm rolling the dice before we start every single round? He's having to make willpower checks to not collapse every round!
And he's passing them!
(LATER)
WIFE: Oh what the fuck.
ME: HE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO USE THE KAIO-KEN WITHOUT PASSING OUT. HE ROLLED A NAT-100 FOR THAT.
WIFE: What the
fuck?
(LATER)
WIFE: I DON'T CARE WHAT BULLSHIT HE HAS. KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!
ME: Well, he has a reply to that, so he'll at least try to fire back. (
roll) Still doesn't pass out from sheer exhaustion. Do I need to give him a trait to reflect this? I don't think "Stubborn" works here. (
roll) Okay, he still controls the Kaio-Ken. Somehow. Whatever. (
roll)
And he keeps up his Style effect. Fantastic. (
roll)
WIFE: ...
ME: ...
BOTH: WHAT THE
FUCK?!
(LATER)
WIFE:
HE DOESN'T NEED A DAMN WILLPOWER PUSH! HE'S DOING JUST FINE ALREADY!
ME: IT'S WHAT HE WOULD DO IN-CHARACTER, I HAVE TO TRY.
WIFE: If you roll those dice, you are sleeping on the couch.
ME: NO.
WIFE: So help me-
ME: NO. NO, THIS FIGHT IS APPARENTLY A STRESS-TEST OF HOW BADLY DICE CAN FUCK OVER THE SYSTEM NOW. WE'RE SEEING IT THROUGH.
WIFE: Why do you get like this?
ME: (
roll)
WIFE: Oh my god.
ME:
WHAT THE FUCK?!
* * *
As you can see, things got slightly out of hand. I felt like Jaffur was ranting at
me when I wrote out his speech at the end of the update. I felt that it was only responsible to check in with you all at this point. Before now, despite being complete and utter
bullshit, Jaffur hasn't actually inflicted meaningful damage on you. The Apocalypse Beam and subsequent willpower push mark the first opportunities he actually had to hurt you, so we're putting the rest of this up to a vote.
...I swear, by sheer law of averages he's going to fail a check
sometime soon! HE ONLY HAS TO FAIL THE "DON'T PASS OUT" CHECK ONCE! IT GETS HARDER EVERY ROUND! *breaks down sobbing*
I mean, I built him to be a combat monster because that's his character, but this is literally statistically implausible. Statistically speaking, he should have put up a valiant effort and gone down by the time he fired up the Kaio-Ken due to being thoroughly outclassed in sheer power. He's not natively
this good. But yeah, you were supposed to crush him, since he refused any kind of healing. Suffice to say, whatever rail-like shapes I had in mind for this encounter, we are now thoroughly off of them.
Yes, he used a willpower push, not a transformation. The transformation comes in response to a need, not a desire, and Jaffur does not
need to transform -- not yet.
Your options, for dealing with what is apparently the living avatar of
bullshit, are:
[ ] Head-to-head. You need to take him down fast, before he can pull something else out of the box.
[ ] Stall for time. He might have made up the power level difference somehow, but it is
literally impossible to maintain something like that. You just have to wait him out.
[ ] Give in. You've had enough. You don't like fighting anyway!
[ ] Try to explain. Defuse the situation. You really are giving it all you've got. You have nothing left to give.
This is it. [Trips Communication]
[ ] Write-In
New Trait!
Hot-Blooded: While you are a gentle girl, you don't take kindly to insults or abuse. You have a fiery temper, and while you have great practice in restraining it, sometimes lose your head when the right insult is offered. Your QM will identify certain triggers. When those triggers are hit, heavy vote weighting will come into effect favoring aggressive and to a lesser extent violent responses.
