The two warriors clashed again and again. One was the embodiment of raw power and invincibility, but lacking in skill and experience. The other, though less powerful, possessed a wealth of skill, experience, and powerful techniques that allow him to manuever around his opponent's clumsy strikes and mitigate the effect of the ones that did hit. However, for the latter, this battle was a race against time. His time at the peak would be short, and he had to make good use of it.
With each Phoenix Eye Strike that hit, he evolved his techniques--no, the way he manipulated his energies in their entirety--bit by bit, trying to pierce to the very core of the Brother's being to his hozon... or rather, the Hozon of invincibility that had been grafted onto him. His sight, evolving alongside his techniques, now clearly saw that the Brother's personal hozon and his... crutch, while they intermingled, were not the same.
Though his power was something to be reckoned with, the Brother, in the end, was simply a brute relying on a crutch.
Pathetic
He did not begrudge warriors born with awesome power and natural talent. Most still had to train and condition themselves, both physically and mentally, to handling that power safely and effectively, but this sad excuse he was fighting was all power, no finesse, and the only reason he could manage the level of power he could was because of this Hozon. Without it, he would be considerably less of a threat.
Redoubling his efforts, Voyavoda bobbed and weaved between the Brother's inexpert strikes, only being caught unawares by the odd ki attack. His progress towards his 'gordian knot' solution to the Brother's invincibility continued unabated, Voyavoda having settled on a flaming ki blade as the weapon he would forge into the Brother's slayer. To the outside observer, he would appear to be futilely attempting to inflict damage upon his foe using the same technique over and over again--insanity, in other words.
...and then, it happened. Voyavoda dodged out of the way of yet another half-assed strike and responded with a thrust to the Brother's face. One would expect the Brother to simply take it and have it slide off like so many times. However...
The Brother, his instincts registering not just danger, but mortal danger, for the first time in his existence... dodged. His movements were quick, but clumsy, and while he stumbled out of the way, the blade slid across his cheek.
A tiny trickle of lifeblood sprouted from the tiny wound it had inflicted.
The Brother's eyes widened in surprise, and his hand went to his cheek and wiped the blood away. He stared at his blooded hand in utter bewilderment. "You... you hurt me."
Seizing the advantage, Voyavoda used his Space-skipping Phoenix Eye Strike in combination with his newly upgraded technique, the Supremacy-Breaking Blade, delivered multiple strikes to the Brother. Each one was but a scratch, but with each strike, he and his technique evolved bit by bit. As he appeared behind the Brother, Voyavoda turned and went for another Space-skipping Phoenix Eye Strike, but was met with a charge from the Brother, interrupting his technique. Multi-combinations like that took a tiny bit of time to prepare, especially when used in rapid sequence, but he could still use the basic variations without quite as much wind-up, brief as it was.
Technically, even that wind-up could be evolved past, but as devoted as he was to refining this blade before the flame of his existence was blown out forever, there was simply no time. However, he had been doing a little something to set up a killing blown, once the chance prevented itself.
For around a minute longer, this deadly dance between the Brother and Voyavoda continued, the latter's blade growing ever more deadly to his foe. By that minute's end, he had reached the point where he felt that, with a final, all-out attack, he might be able to end this once and for all. He would have to, as he could sense that he did not have much time left at all...
Less than a minute left... this is the watershed moment.
Voyavoda ma-tobashii'd backwards, gaining some distance. He raised his hand, and the Brother came to a stop as the space control of the Big Bang began to affect him. The attack itself had failed, and he didn't want to risk it again, but the space controlling aspect of its preparation was still very useful indeed.
"Rrrgh, this again!? Tricks... nothing but tricks!" the brute roared, as he began to flex his power to escape. If Voyavoda had been as he had been during their first bout, then it wouldn't have held, and even now, it would only hold him a few seconds, but that was all he needed.
His Supremacy-breaking Blade flared with power as he burnt most of the remainder of his Hozon and channeled the extra power he'd built up over the course of the fight with his techniques. His stance shifted as he hefted the massive, but (near?) weightless blade and pointed it at the Brother. And then he charged, covering the distance with ma-Tobashi, intending to drive the sword into the brute's arrogant heart. The spatial restraints of The Big Bang wavered...
Space burned away and Voyavoda's blade pierced the Brother, a trail of fire and ki following the path Voyavoda had followed.
...the Brother's arm literally exploded into a mangled mess as the Supremacy-breaking Blade ripped right through it, but, notably, not the Brother's heart, as originally intended. The Brother rolled off to the side, screaming in pain and terror. In the brief span between will and execution, he had broken the restraints enough to move out of the way, albeit not completely.
Breath ragged, power expended, and his very being on fire now, Voyavoda propped himself up on his ki blade, taking one last look at his opponent as his vision began fading.
The Brother had been disarmed, both physically and metaphysically; his invincibility broken, and with it, his assurance of victory. The others could probably handle him now. Not quite what he'd wanted, but it would have to do.
Smiling, Voyavoda looked to the brilliant blue sky of Vaikuntha. This wasn't a bad place to die... except that the Brother was now ranting uncontrollably at him. Voyavoda paid him no mind--after all, what could he do now? Kill him?
He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the breeze over his charred skin. On the edge of his awareness, he sensed another great power land next to him. There was a pregnant pause, and then from behind him came a curious double-voice. It sounded as if both Tasure and that Nevanlinna were speaking to him in tandem.
"...you're amazing old man, you know that? Leave the rest to us."
He turned and came face to face with... someone that bore features of both Tasure and Nevanlinna, wearing those mysterious armbands on both her arms. Ah, so that had been that Totoma's plan... fusion. Heh, should've guessed, but embroiled as deeply in that battle as he had been... no time to deduce that.
"You... how dare you ignore me, you worms, I--"
"Oh, shut your mouth," snapped the woman, as she threw out her hand and with a blast of invisible ki, pushed the Brother away. It didn't cause much damage, but it sure as hell made him fly quite far.
"Impressive. Before I... go, does this new form have a name?"
The woman cocked her head and thought. "Tasure and... Malaya together... hm.. Talaya. That sounds good," she said, grinning.
Talaya... though she wasn't aware, that was a name that had meaning in Nevadian.
One who resembles the morning dew from heaven.
Talaya took a step forward and engulfed him in a hug, and Voyavoda tensed, wanting to push her away, but lacking the strength to do so at this point. "No... these flames are dang--"
"The part of me that is Tasure was always too proud to say this, but... thank you. Without you, she never would have met Bekon, Totoma, or become anything near the fighter she is. We know this is good-bye forever... so... please allow me to bear at least some mark of your existence," she said, withdrawing, having guided the flames with ki to mark her in a controlled, one might even say aesthetic way.
Tears welled up in Voyavoda's eyes, evaporating immediately from the intense heat emanating from his body. The inferno around him flared, and his body began to disintegrate into fiery ashes. The old soldier faded away in a pillar of fire, the last embers of his being disappearing into the great blue expanse, leaving behind only memories and the future he had forged for his friends, but never behold with his own eyes.
Talaya stared into the sky, then wiped the tears from her own eyes just as the Brother made his way back to her. He was positively enraged, maddened by the destruction of his arm and invincibility.
"You... you think to fight me!? A weak, pathetic insect like you!?" he growled, his eyes wild with madness and pain.
The fusion turned to the Brother, her brow creasing in anger. Golden power crept into her hair and she burst into Super Saiyan. And then, her anger and rage at the loss of Voyavoda drove her past that previous limit. Her hair spiked up even more, electric sparks began coursing through her aura, and her power flared beyond even her super saiyan form's.
"Fight you? No, you retard, I'm going to kill you."