Nova had continued to watch the battle in a shocked silence. She had assumed that the Sai-jin who had defeated Frieza, prior to learning that he was dead, would have been around the twenty-five or thirty million mark by now. But no more. And that no others would be nearly that powerful. And yet here were two fighters well beyond that. They were more than a hundred and fifty million. It was mind boggling. Especially since their friends seemed to be suggesting this wasn't all they could do.
Yamcha suddenly whistled as Hotaru flew up into the air and began to prepare a new attack. "Now she's really getting serious." he said.
As the ground exploded Raditz watched on in shock. "What... was that?"
"Taiyou Inmetsu Hirameki." Yamcha said. "Hotaru came up with it about three years ago. It's complicated as hell to do, I don't even fully understand the mechanics of how to even try doing it. I just know that, somehow, she adds some sort of charge to all of the photons, in other words, the light itself, between her and her target. As a result, all of the photons explode."
Raditz looked over toward the Human and then back down at the battle pit. The dust still hung high in the sky and there was no sign if the battle was still on going. "How the heck does someone come up with something like that?" he wondered.
Yamcha shrugged. "She's always trying to think of new attacks. Developing new techniques is second nature to her. She's got quite a few originals she's developed, probably even more than I've ever seen her use."
By now the battle had resumed again, the dust having been blown away from the warriors. Yamcha cringed a few moments later when Vegeta landed a solid blow to her stomach and then face. Trunks, however, was grinning. "See." he said, looking over to Sakura and Goten. "I told you he couldn't be beaten."
Sakura frowned and looked over to the young prince. "It's not over yet Trunks. See?" She pointed toward her mother who was now on her feet again preparing a new attack. Sakura smiled as her mother's Kameryokuha was launched and met no resistance from Vegeta's counter. "Go mom!" she cried.
"Yeah, go mommy!" Akemi cheered.
But then Vegeta's power began to climb quickly and soon he was pushing back her attack. When she ended it and his attack impacted and exploded Yamcha heard worried gasps from the others but smirked. He'd felt her energy vanish for a moment before the attack had hit, she'd dodged it no problem. He also felt her power churning and shifting. "Now things get interesting." he said as the dust cloud was blasted apart.
Sakura's eyes widened as she sensed the pattern shift to her mother's energy. She jumped off her chair and ran to the window to look down at where her mother was with her own eyes, not the monitors. "No way..." she breathed. By now her mother was hidden inside the orange dome of energy. "She's... she's... transforming..." Her words came out soft, the surprise and awe evident. "Kick his butt mom!" she cried out suddenly, the surprise and awe replaced with pride.
Bulma couldn't help but smile as she looked at the girl. She'd heard the same kind of pride in Trunks' voice before when he'd first witnessed his father's power. Turning her eyes from Sakura to the monitors again she watched as Hotaru's power climbed. It had dropped to her un-enhanced power of 56 million prior to the start of the transformation but had since increased to 190 million and was still going up. But then, as the energy dome and the woman vanished, so did her power.
It only lasted a second and then the numbers came back quickly hitting 224 million. Vegeta's power was holding at 445 million. "Hotaru's amazing." she said softly as the energy around her subsided allowing them to see her new appearance. "I can still remember when we first met her, she wasn't even as powerful as Appla then..."
18 nodded. "Hard to believe I was once so much stronger than her. Than either of them." she said.
"I can still remember..." Gohan began. "Our fight against Recoome. She gave it her all then and yet, still, she hadn't been able to beat him. And now..." he paused as she activated her Kinryoku and then continued. "Now she's even stronger than I am as a Super Sai-jin. And so is Vegeta..."
Nova was listening to the others talking as she tried to absorb the numbers being displayed. She just couldn't fathom powers this high, it was inconceivable! Almost 450 million! How could that even be possible? She turned from the monitors and looked toward Bulma. "What did lord Vegeta mean by the second level of Super Sai-jin?" she asked.
"Oh, you don't know?" Bulma asked. The Changeling shook her head. "Well, there's a second transformation, one after Super Sai-jin. We didn't even know about it until Gohan reached it seven years ago."
The Changeling Queen looked toward Gohan, eyes wide. /Seven years ago he would have only been a child!/ she thought in shock. /And... just how much power does this other transformation give? How much power do these people have?/
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Otherworld, Grand Kai's world
Appla glanced to her right as she felt a familiar power nearing. "Ah, there you are. I was starting to think you'd miss the entire first round."
"Yeah, so was I." the new arrival said with a frown as she took her seat beside the Sai-jin. "You wouldn't believe how much paper work is involved with running Otherworld. Or how much of it the Grand Kai manages to somehow get someone else, usually me, to do for him."
Bardock laughed. "Hey, you were the one that volunteered to help him out, Sora."
The Tanarian sighed. "I know, I know. So, how's the battle gone so far?"
"It's been close thus far." Appla said. "But King Vegeta just powered up to his maximum. Hotaru did well so far but she can't match that. Looks like you got here just in time for..." Appla stopped as the dust cloud around the current Tanarian Queen was blasted apart.
"Hey, is she...?" Goku started, eyes widening a bit as he leaned forward.
"Unbelievable..." Sora breathed. "She's... broken through to the third transformation."
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Galactic Games Arena, Battle Pit
The two warriors were little more than blurs, even on the monitors. They'd charged in at each other again and were throwing punches and kicks at incredible speeds. They were dodging at speeds just as great, too. Neither had yet to land a solid hit to the other, every attack over that last minute had been blocked or dodged. And between the two of them there had been more than six hundred attacks.
Seeing that just going head on like this was getting her no where Hotaru changed tactics. She drifted back as she dodged a kick and then she vanished. Vegeta's eyes widened in shock and he stopped mid punch. His mind searched for her energy but he couldn't find it anywhere for several seconds. And then, without warning, it was right behind him. He spun quickly to the left, bringing up his left arm, and just managed to block the kick aimed at his head.
Before he could launch a counter attack she had vanished again. His eyes darted back and forth as his senses searched for her. He had a feeling she'd appear behind him again but at the same time he knew she was smart enough to know he'd be expecting another back attack and would be ready for it. Sure enough her move threw him as, instead of appearing behind or beside her, she appeared in front of him. In the exact same spot she'd left from a moment before.
As soon as she'd appeared she thrust her right arm forward, her hand closed into a fist. The Sai-jin tried to dodge it but the moment's hesitation from the shock was enough for her to catch him. Her fist smashed into his stomach and doubled him over as it also sent him sailing backwards. Again she vanished for a moment and this time appeared behind him by several yards.
As he reached her location her foot snapped out and she kicked him the back knocking him the other way. Once more she teleported, now in front of him again. But this time he had already recovered. Still just beyond her reach he let out a cry and a burst of Ki in all directions. The rush of energy caught her off-guard and knocked her back a little.
It also disrupted her defense and left her open. An opening Vegeta capitalized on by smashing his knee into her stomach. As he moved back his hands grabbed the sides of her head. With a quick jerk he pulled her head down as he thrust his knee up and smashed it into her face. The blow snapped her head back and lifted her higher into the air.
And then his left arm snapped out and smashed into her abdomen. As that arm pulled back his other shot out. He kept up his assault landing twenty-three punches before Hotaru vanished again. This time Vegeta had an idea and he shot off to his right twenty yards. As he pulled to a stop he turned and looked back the way he'd come. An instant later Hotaru appeared there and he smirked.
/So I was right./ he thought. /She decides where she's appearing when she vanishes. It just takes time for her to get there. Which means all I have to do is move in a random direction far enough to avoid her when she comes back again./ His smirk widened as he saw Hotaru scowl and then vanish again. This time he dropped the forty feet to the ground and then looked up. Sure enough she appeared above him, in just the right place she could have attacked had he not moved.
"That wont work anymore." he called up. "I've figured out the weakness to that skill."
"Maybe." Hotaru said, smirking. Vegeta narrowed his eyes a little at that, not sure what she had up her sleeve now. Then his eyes snapped open wide in shock and pain as her foot smashed into the back of his head. As he was flung forward the after image she'd left in the sky vanished. "You were saying?" she asked, still smirking.
Vegeta pulled to a stop and spun around to face Hotaru, scowling. "Quick on your feet, I see." he said as his scowl dissolved into a smirk. He'd been thinking of ending this quickly but now he wasn't so sure. He wanted to see what the girl was capable of. Her power was slightly higher than his and her skill with using techniques to their fullest was perhaps even greater than his own. It was a challenge his Sai-jin blood couldn't refuse.
"You have no idea." she replied, grinning. Then the Tanarian closed her eyes and arched her back a little, her arms going out to her side. At first Vegeta thought she was merely stretching but then an orange glow formed about her and hid her from view. A moment later the glow began to divide as two large orbs split off to either side and stopped a few feet away from her. These divided further into two each leaving five such orbs of energy.
"What the... hell!?" Vegeta cried, his eyes widening. He could feel power from all five of them. Power equal to the Tanarian Queen's full power! /How can that be possible!? Every technique I know of for dividing yourself requires you to split your energy between bodies.../ As he tried to figure it out the glows faded away revealing five Hotaru's, all of them smirking.
Suddenly the right most one lunged in at him and started attacking. He swerved around the swings quickly avoiding her blows as he kept his mind focused on all five of them. He felt two of them moving behind him and suddenly launched up into the air as they charged him, legs extended, intending to kick him in the back of the head. With him missing, however, their feet smacked into the one that had been in front of him and knocked her flying instead.
Vegeta looked up from them as he felt something in front of him. Quickly he moved to the left just barely avoiding a punch aimed for his head. He counted with a kick to her stomach but his foot passed through thin air. "What!? An illusion?!"
The woman before him smirked as her fist snapped out and cracked into his face. The blow only knocked him back a little and didn't pack nearly as much power as he had originally expected. Still, the fact that it HAD hit him was something even more unexpected.
As he recovered and slipped around another punch and then blocked a kick his mind worked on it. /How can she hit me but I can't hit her? How are their five of them with equal power to her actual full power?/ He shot up into the sky and back as he felt three others charging toward him. /Wait, why are only four of them attacking me?/
His mind reached out as his eyes scanned the ground. He found the fifth one a moment later. She was still standing where she had been but her eyes were closed and she was glowing faintly. /Damn, so they ARE illusions! But what kind? I know Tanarian's have mental powers... are these things not even real at all? No, that can't be it, their mental powers aren't that extensive./
His thoughts were cut short by a thunderous crack as a foot smashed into his back and drove him down toward the ground. He let himself plummet all the way down and then thrust his arms down at the last second. He pushed off as he hit, the ground shattering beneath his force, and surged toward Hotaru. The one standing with her eyes closed and glowing. He reached her a moment later and slammed his fist into her face, the blow sending her sailing away.
As she was knocked away he turned and looked toward the other four who he'd felt chasing him. Their images shimmered and then vanished, replaced instead by four small balls of orange energy which dissipated a moment later. Smirking he turned back toward Hotaru again. She'd flipped over in the air and landed on her feet, bending down and sliding along the ground until she stopped.
"Impressive. An illusion of light for a visual distraction. But how did you simulate the energy?" he asked as she stood again.
"Mental energy." she replied. "Mixed in with the Ki designed to produce a pattern your mind would interpret as me. Basically, it tricked you into sensing my ki coming from it when it was only coming from me."
"Ah, so that's why you didn't hide yourself or your power. You couldn't. If you'd lowered your energy then it would have felt like your illusions had as well." Hotaru nodded. Vegeta had to give her credit, she was ingenious when it came to battle tactics. But there was more to a battle than fancy moves. "Too bad all of your tricks have weaknesses."
Hotaru shrugged. "You try moving through the space between planes, it's not easy." she replied. She was grateful for this pause in the battle for conversation though. It gave her time to prepare her next tactic. The Vegeta she'd witnessed in battle before obviously wasn't the one she was fighting. He'd been reckless, careless, and had let his ego and pride cloud his vision. This Vegeta was thoughtful, calculating. Always analyzing his opponent's actions for a new opening to capitalize on.
Which meant to defeat him she would need a move he couldn't prepare for. A move he couldn't see coming. An attack whose weakness he couldn't decipher before it had taken him out. She could only think of one move in her repertoire that she could use without it being noticed, if luck was on her side, and would be capable of knocking out the Sai-jin King. Of course, to have the time to do it would be an issue...
She smirked. She just need to keep him busy and distracted. Which meant it was time to start field testing some techniques she'd developed. First she'd need to divert Vegeta's attention, if he saw her start the attack he might get suspicious. Her hands moved quickly through a series of complex motions as she kept her eyes locked on his. Finally she stopped, raised her arms, and cupped her hands in front of her face making a tunnel to look through. "Shika-Shidou Konmei!" she cried. Her eyes flashed bright orange and then his did the same a second later.
Vegeta let out a loud scream and clamped his hands over his ears as he shut his eyes tight. She wasn't sure exactly what he was experiencing, the technique produced a different effect on different people and when used by different people, but he was definitely distracted. Quickly she shot up high in the air and raised a hand in front of her, cupping it like a claw as she focused. "Ikioi Reikon Ikioidzuku." she said softly.
Energy traced around inside her hand and then a ball of pulsing white and silver energy took form. She smiled as she lowered her hand and let the energy drift up higher into the sky. That done she looked down at Vegeta again. He was recovering from the Konmei now, the grimace of pain on his face was fading. If it weren't for the fact that his mind would be immune to its effects for a few days she'd have used it again to get in a few free shots. Instead she lowered down to his level again and began to create a new set of motions with her hands.
Vegeta shook his head and opened his eyes a second later, his vision was a little blurry still but clearing. The ringing in his ears was gone now, too. As his vision cleared completely he saw Hotaru doing more hand motions. /Why didn't she attack while I was defenseless?/ he wondered. /She could have done some damage at least... perhaps this other move just takes a while to ready and she wanted to make sure I wouldn't interrupt... Well, if that's the case, too bad for her, because I will anyway./ With that he surged in at her.
She saw him coming but wasn't worried. She was ready. Her right arm snapped out to her side as she smiled. "Shika-Shidou Yaiba!" she cried. Blue energy flared up around her hand like a glowing blade and she shot in at Vegeta. She slipped around his punch and then swung her right arm. The glowing blade hit his left thigh and passed right through as though it wasn't there. Vegeta let out a cry of pain and shock as he moved back and grabbed his leg. Hotaru just smirked.